Lone Survivor (2012)

Lone Survivor is highly recommended to fans of survival horror.

The fact that a game with this style of presentation works so well to make you feel uncomfortable and creep you out is a testament to how well written and designed it is. It would have been easy to put too much of one thing or another in it so that the subtle balance of it all would be lost and this adventure feel like a complete mess, but that's not the case. It's a truly disturbing story that demands using your imagination to perceive this as more than a bunch of huge pixels on a screen, and this involvement is part of what makes the cake lift at the end of the day, and that is a genuine tour de force. That's not to say that it's perfect, as some things are not always executed brilliantly, and yet, in the end, the atmosphere and immersion are not spoiled by such little shortcomings, and the experience ultimately still comes highly recommended.

Sometimes a game can just tell a story, be an experience. Lone Survivor gets bogged down trying to add complexity where none is necessary, and it greatly detracts from the experience of playing the game. The story becomes a sub-point to the gameplay, rather than standing on its own.

With its 2D visuals and seemingly flat environments, Lone Survivor might seem like a simplistic take on the horror genre. Ultimately however, it's under the limitations of this simplicity that the game really shines, leaving just enough to the imagination without seeming too bare. Through the blurred lens of it's admittedly tired pixelated graphics, environments drip with atmosphere, creatures shamble along menacingly, and the search for answers is always compelling. Though it takes some getting used to, partly due to a baffling map system, the psychological horror of Lone Survivor can extend far beyond the confines of the television screen.

'Tis the season for horror games, and it is nice to see some games still understand that the true roots of horror are sown in the mind. Too many franchises (I am looking at you Resident Evil and Dead Space) gave up chilling atmospheres to placate the high action crowd. While there is some action to be had here, do not play Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut looking to score perfect headshots or cheap scares. The pace is slower and as a result the sense of horror is more palpable, memorable experience.