There’s one thing for everybody among the many giant variety of Indie video games printed by Indie.io, with numerous genres out there. we just lately went hands-on SCP: Fragmented Thoughtsdeveloped by HST Studios, on Steam forward of at the moment’s Early Entry launch on January twenty seventh. That is primarily a horror sport set within the iconic SCP universe, however what stood out to us was its seamless mix of genres and gameplay mechanics. With puzzles, stealth, and even parkour, developer HST Studios has mastered the genre-defying horror sport you’ll be able to play proper now. That is just the start.
SCP: In a Fragmented Thoughts, you get up like a kovich. And all you realize is that you just appear to be alone within the spaceship. As you are taking your first steps by way of the automobile and past its vary, it rapidly turns into clear that SCP: Fragmented Thoughts is just not holding your hand. There are not any directional indicators and your questline may be very imprecise, however this is not a foul factor. This can be a pretty linear sport, however some exploration is required to find the place you are purported to go, particularly within the fiery pink out of doors sections on the floor of Mars itself. This creates a way of isolation that feeds your worry.
The early entry launch of SCP: Fragmented Minds consists of all the “Chapter 1”, the primary full-fledged part of the sport. Chapter 1 took about 3 hours and provided a really difficult and disturbing gameplay, together with parkour, monitoring, stealth, horror, and the primary a part of the mysterious story of the ill-fated Website 113. Harmful anomalies lurk round virtually each nook, with lethal melee and ranged assaults. Solely by mastering a mix of stealth and protection can you retain them at bay and search for delicate markers within the setting to point the place to cover. Do not let these monsters known as “mutant chickens” disarm you.
Whether or not you are in direct pursuit or in uncommon protected areas, these mutants aren’t the one problem to cope with. No matter is occurring right here is perhaps anticipated from an apocalyptic occasion the place doorways are locked, areas are breached, and powers are popping out very often. Among the many extra mechanics launched in Chapter 1, many rooms have a recurring puzzle facet of putting energy cores and changing them with sockets. Different puzzles problem you with fast time occasions when changing fuses. Afterward, there is a tough parkour part that, to be sincere, could have taken me even additional than the monsters. These brain-boring and typically unsatisfying irritating mechanics maintain the gameplay from turning into uninteresting.
There are methods to guard your self from the analysis website’s terrifying anomalies, however a minimum of within the first chapter you are solely given just a few instruments, like an electrical welder that briefly inhibits enemies. There are additionally environmental objects similar to hearth extinguishers and explosives. This can be utilized strategically to vary the course of an encounter underneath the correct circumstances. This lack of weapons, a trademark of a number of the greatest horror video games, as soon as once more fosters a way of worry and vulnerability whereas stopping SCP: The Fragmented Thoughts from feeling too simple. There’s nothing scarier than once you take the improper path and alert the killer monster to your presence.
These are the very mechanisms that make it clear from the primary hours of SCP. It is a fragmented thoughts that the builders of HSTStudios are followers of horror video games. The inspiration right here ranges from the isolation and Soma environment of Alien to the chase sequences of Outlast and Blame, to the puzzle mechanics of Portal. They’re additionally self-confessed “lifelong followers of the SCP universe.”
As a part of this wider SCP universe, SCP: The Fragmented Thoughts consists of in-game collectibles, together with emails and audio logs. For these within the know, this gives a deep and fascinating exploration right into a fictional group identified to review these paranormal “anomalies.” Naturally, the story itself can also be an investigation into company misdeeds. I will not spoil what occurs within the first chapter, however extra questions are raised than answered, and there is clearly one thing darkish and unjust happening. Nonetheless, the shortage of prior data of SCP Basis doesn’t hinder the expertise, as SCP: Fragmented Minds works completely as a standalone story. Nonetheless, I would not be shocked if this sport introduces quite a lot of new followers to the fictional universe.
Reaching the tip of Chapter 1 and contemplating every little thing you have seen on the Mars website, you grow to be determined to proceed and discover out what’s actually happening. Happily, SCP: Fragmented Minds Chapter 1 is presently out on Steam Early Entry, however extra chapters are on the best way. The terrifying journey will unfold in three extra chapters, solely within the full 1.0 launch. With them you add extra SCPS and mechanics and add multiplayer help. Do not be left behind.
