Hollowbody shows us that, even if we have flying cars and fancy futuristic tech, there are still plenty of unsettling things awaiting us at the periphery of ‘civilization’.
Mica can get you all kinds of things on the down-low. Unfortunately for her and her (now missing) partner, that also means they take on risky jobs. One of those tasks left Mica’s partner missing in the exclusion zone, a place filled with disturbed beings that lies outside the shining steel walls of the futuristic world they live in. Mica gets a chance to go in and look for her partner, but when her flying car breaks down, she’ll need to find some way to escape.
This game definitely takes inspiration from classic horror like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, seeing you collecting tools and weapons as you guide Mica through winding streets filled with all kinds of bizarre beasts. Having limited tools and many enemies coming for you makes for some tense escapes as you look for your friend and a way out.
While this all sounds really familiar, something about the futuristic backdrop for the setting gives it this neat twist that I don’t see in many horror games. There is such a separation between the futuristic world and this decayed one that you really feel this sense of descending into a hellish place that feels far outside of, yet so close to, your own. While we may continually come up with new technology to make lives easier, we’re all still more than capable of walling off suffering and ignoring it.
Hollowbody is a great throwback to my favorite era in video game horror that also has some interesting things to say about how our technology and modernity haven’t changed the ways in which we often bury problems rather than fix them.
Hollowbody will be made available today on GOG and Steam.
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