Silent Hill Vibes: Dive Into the Horror of Hollowbody

2024 has been an exciting year for horror gaming enthusiasts. With releases like "Still Wakes the Deep," "The Casting of Frank Stone," "Crow Country," "Withering Rooms," "Pacific Drive," and the highly anticipated "Silent Hill 2" and "Slitterhead," horror fans have a lot to look forward to. Among these, "Hollowbody," an indie survival horror adventure from the one-person British studio Headware Games, stands out. Here's everything you need to know about this creepy third-person horror game.

What is Hollowbody About?

In the 22nd century, Mica Holloway is a smuggler in the North Atlantic island city of Aeonis. Her partner Sasha went on a research expedition to the long-abandoned British Isles 12 days ago and has since disappeared.

Mica calls in some favors to break through the quarantine perimeter around the UK to travel to Sasha's last known location. However, a sudden engine failure knocks her out of the sky, leaving her stranded in a small British town. She quickly discovers that the ruins are inhabited by strange, hostile mutants and must fight through them to find out what happened to Sasha.

What Kind of Horror Are We Talking About?

"Hollowbody" is a deliberate homage to late '90s survival horror, particularly the original version of "Silent Hill 2." It's a dark, atmospheric game set in ruined streets and abandoned buildings where your flashlight is often the only source of illumination.

If you enjoy exploring old buildings and abandoned neighborhoods interspersed with the occasional puzzle or zombie brawl, you're set for "Hollowbody."

What Should I Know Before Starting?

First off, "Hollowbody's" resources are more scarce than those of the "Silent Hill" games that inspired it. If you're not careful, it's easy to run out of ammunition just when tougher enemies start showing up. But don't worry; you've got access to some good melee weapons like a spiked bat and an improvised ax. However, they don't work equally well on everything you'll encounter.

So, go into "Hollowbody" with an eye toward conserving your health and ammo, just like in a "Resident Evil" game. Don't get into any fights if you don't have to, and when you do need to take out an enemy, try to use your bat or ax whenever possible.

Second, if you're a serious arachnophobe, steer clear of this one. Trust us.

One final thing to note: you don't hit a real point of no return in "Hollowbody" until right near its end. You'll probably know it when you see it. Before then, you can backtrack all the way to Mica's starting point, although it takes a while and you might have to dodge a few new enemies. There are a couple of big secrets and one useful weapon that can only be secured by returning to the first area with some of the later key items.

How Long is Hollowbody?

My first blind run on the intended normal difficulty took about six and a half hours. At the time of writing, you can't skip all the way through cinematics, so "Hollowbody" isn't very speedrun-friendly.

Once you know the routes and puzzle solutions, you could probably clear "Hollowbody" in well under three hours, especially if you skip as many fights as possible. To unlock 100 percent of its achievements, you'll need to run through it at least three times, one of which has to be on its hardest difficulty.

How Many Endings Does Hollowbody Have?

On a fresh save, you can get one of two endings. Which one you get appears to be triggered by the results of a plot-mandatory conversation near the end of the first area, with no other influencing factors.

A third ending is available if you manage a zero to low-damage run through the game on the unlockable Punished difficulty.

What Kinds of Collectibles Are There?

There are a total of 34 collectibles in "Hollowbody."

• Eight are lost signals where you can use Mica's pocket radio to tune into old broadcasts in specific areas throughout the game. Each of these signals has unique achievements tied to them, and you'll unlock the Walkie-Talkie achievement for finding all eight.
• You can also find a total of 26 documents throughout the game, only one of which is ever put permanently off-limits. If you can find the other 25 in a single run, you unlock the achievement Logomaniac.

"Hollowbody" is available now via Steam and GOG for a starting price of $16.99. Don't miss out on this thrilling horror experience!

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