Recent reviews by eeks

A wonderful remake for an amazing game. The original only just edges out the remake with its characterisation of an important character for me (not that the actress is bad here), though I really enjoyed the acting overall with James and Angela's voice actors putting in their all. You are doing yourself dirty if you don't play this with a headset or earphones.

Pros:
* Atmosphere in spades, loved the sense of creeping dread throughout the game.
* Great sound design and soundtrack by the legendary Akira Yamaoka (the OG OST has been in my rotation for twenty years now!)
* Puzzles are more interesting in the remake; with some levels feeling more like escape rooms rather than random out-of-place puzzles.
* Creature designs are interesting and closer to Masahiro Ito's original concept art (also worked on the game) - glad they didn't go with the annoyingly ubiquitous crusty creatures from the movies.
* Excellent voice acting and facial animations that rival AAA games from larger studios like Naughty Dog, CD Project Red etc.

Cons:
* Not very well optimised, and visual glitches throughout - I had a pretty odd lighting glitch that I've seen in other let's plays, where light sources began flashing in low-light areas. At its worst after the hospital, and seemed to retroactively effect older saves where I didn't have that issue. I also had to mess around with the ini due to a weird ghosting effect. It's a shame, since the game otherwise looks great.
* In doubling the length of the game, I feel there are some pacing issues, particularly in the hospital and the streets just after.
* Whilst I like the reworked soundtrack overall, there are some superior tracks (in my opinion) on the original soundtrack eg. Heaven's Night, Null Moon. Also where's Terror in the Depths of the Fog, that one's such a banger! This is just a nitpick though, and totally subjective and not detrimental to the game's quality. The new White Noise is superior however, fight me.

If it weren't for the visual glitches and pacing, this would be a perfect game for me, but it's a promising direction for the series after Konami spent over a decade flushing it down the toilet. Thank God we got our boy James to fish it out.

PS: If you are getting the digital deluxe solely for the soundtrack, DON'T!! It's only 10 tracks - buy the CD separately if you want to support Yamaoka for the full soundtrack. I was left disappointed, but it's nice to have the artbook at least.