Empty Shell Review

Sometime, I crave the simpler things in life, and this has never been more prevalent for me than now. With every game we could ever want at our finger tips, and developers producing high art left and right it can all get a bit overwhelming. It’s at these times I go back to my creature comforts. Genres that have been a staple part of my gaming history. Shooters of every kind have always been a part of me and I really miss those 90s classics like Alien Breed and Chaos Engine. Their aesthetics and engaging gameplay has seen me rerun to them again and again over the years. And it’s here I’ve found myself, huddled on the couch in the dark, harking back to my youth yet again. I had an idea a while ago, about a way to bring back one of these classics and Empty Shell almost delivers exactly what I was looking for.

Empty Shell, is a twin stick, rogue-lite shooter set in an abandoned research facility. I know, I know, rogue-lite meh, but hear me out. Players control one of several members of a search team sent to investigate the strange goings on. You start out with to a rather rudimentary set of tools such as metal pipes, pistols, shotguns etc, and are sent out to find out what, exactly, is going on. Each level has a task to complete to progress, and it’s up to you to navigate the complex, fighting horrors and solving basic puzzles.

The story is told via each levels opening text log and collectible notes helps flesh out what the people trapped here were going through. There are some tragic tales littered among the day to day HR complaints, security codes and personal logs of the facilities employees. It feels a lot like a demake of something like Dead Space or System Shock. It was genuinely surprising that a bit of effort had been put into creating some sort of depth for what appeared to be a very unassuming shooter.

Moment to moment gameplay is a tense affair. As a beginner, you’ll find yourself moving through areas slowly, sweeping the dark corners for enemies. Panic slowly setting in as a shadow flickers on a wall, to outright terror as something massive sprints towards you and all you have is a hand axe. As you progress and find better weapons, and understand the mechanics, you’ll gain confidence and start moving more quickly, but the game will happily slap you about when you get cocky. Movement overall, is slow. If you raise your weapon, it drops to a crawl. Aiming is handled with the right stick and is snappy, fortunately, it’s accurate on a game pad as well. There’s a dodge for getting out of tight situations and that’s pretty much it.

The levels are labyrinthine hallways, sewer and engineering areas and the occasional trip outside. They are also procedurally generated. Every time you start a new game, or die, the layout will be different. Some parts will look similar as there seems to be a small selection of rooms that make up each level, others are essential for story progress. The great thing about this is that it’s new every time you play. Unfortunately though, it quickly gets repetitive and layouts, whilst different, begin to feel familiar. Other than environmental furniture, there isn’t enough variety in the areas to differentiate them from each other. The only exception to this being when you end up in a forest. It’s a shame because the visuals on the whole are excellent, but more on that later. One other nice thing is that there are a few choices that allow you to take a different route to each objective, so this mixes things up a bit more.

As you explore the facility, you’ll discover better weaponry such as rifles, machine guns and lasers. The flamethrower is one of my personal favourites with the large cone of fire evaporating enemies almost instantly. There are also shops where you can upgrade your characters stats and buy supplies. Destructible walls also hide hidden caches so it’s worth banging a few walls and seeing what you can find.

If I give one recommendation right from the start, it’s that you will want to get comfortable with melee weapons as well. With resources and storage space being limited, getting handy with a hammer, will be your fall back option. Luckily a few hits will kill most enemies, and they are all clearly designed so you know what is coming at you and can plan ahead. Weapons all feel very different and are effective in different situations so experimentation is encouraged. For example, using melee for small groups helps conserve ammo. Machine guns will clear groups but use ammo quickly. Grenades can decimate groups but are limited and inaccurate. You get the gist… the great thing is that melee strikes feel impactful and the weapons pack some punch. Dodging around enemy gunfire and evading last minute swipes is satisfying, but never easy. You need to keep on your toes, as any encounter feels like it can go awry. Enemies hit hard and anyone with a gun is an immediate threat. That’s not to mention some of the bigger horrors!

Creeping in the darkness ready to rip your throat out is a small, but well assembled cast of monsters. There’s basic zombies, head crab looking things, exploding beasties, each easily handled in ones or twos but a risk in larger numbers. Guys with guns will shred your health in seconds if you’re not quick to target them. There’s also larger variants of each basic monster as well as a huge hand that, like everything else, runs at you at pace. You’ll do a lot of back-pedalling! Every few levels drops in a boss fight, which aren’t super memorable, but all present unique attacks and a bit of a challenge. On easy, things will die more quickly and it felt like there were fewer enemies to contend with. The first few runs were still tough whilst I got to grips with the systems at play, but it’s the first game that has made me feel like I was making progress immediately.

Unlike most games with “rogue” in the description, it doesn’t borrow everything. Dying sees the current character permanently killed and you start with a newbie. This person will have a different initial load-out and the level layout will change. You do not get booted right to the start of the game, just the start of the current level. If you’re lucky you’ll find the last dead body which will be holding a random selection of whatever they died with. This can be a quick way to get better weapons or old stat boosts, but you do need to find them as they aren’t marked on your map. The only time I found I needed to abort a run completely was when I hit a boss and didn’t have enough ammo. Runs can be finished pretty quickly depending on exploration, with me finishing an easy run in just over an hour. It is worth exploring though, as you may find a much needed medipak or a ton of ammo. I love that it makes you consider whether or not to hunt every nook and cranny. More resources are great, but what am I going to find? What if a massive beastie appears and I waste all my ammo and take a few hits? Is it worth it? Aye, it’s always worth it!!!

Right, time for the elephant in the room – the presentation. I know a great many of you will be put off by the stripped back visuals and that’s okay. I do however, implore you to ignore your instincts and embrace them. No, this is not a super high fidelity AAA experience but it’s all the better for it. Everything is monochrome. Everything. It’s like watching grainy CCTV footage. You’re taking part but you feel also like an observer.

Key characters – the player and the monsters, are a blinding white and stand out crisply. Each enemy carries a design which keeps it clear what is coming towards you. Lights flicker on and off, highlighting the environment and shadows get cast across hallways. There’s a low buzz in the background, the hum of machinery and things banging about in the background. The general ambience is quite foreboding and sent a chill up my spine a few times. This and slow the slow methodical movement add real tension to the exploration. Added to that is the fact you know you there are things out there, you just don’t know what, or where. Personally, I loved the low fidelity look, in fact it was quite beautiful. It created a different atmosphere and genuinely creeped me out on the odd occasion. The minimalist use of also helps create an air of unease. There’s a nothingness, often punctuated by the sound of a monster shuffling nearby, or the crack of a gun firing. It’s really quite creepy!

If you couldn’t tell, I really enjoyed my time with Empty Shell. A game picked up on a whim and good vibes. Whilst it may not be the most original in terms of story, the survival horror elements have blended well with the twin stick shooter gameplay. It’s more precise and makes you take your time as a result of managing ammo and health pools. The methodic gameplay and presentation also marry together beautifully to enhance the horror elements. I enjoyed the light puzzling and I really got into the combat, to the point where I was a melee pro. Don’t let the Rogue-lite aspect put you off, as they aren’t overly intrusive and only really become an issue if you play too aggressively. This is a great survival horror experience, and I can’t recommend it enough.