Developer: Protocol Games
Publisher: Raiser Games
Platforms: PC
Tested on: PC
Song of Horror: Episode 4 – Review
Looking back to hit TV series, with the release of every episode, expectations grow. The audience is ready to consume more content. However, this also means the inevitable end is drawing near as every series must end. This might possibly be an ending you don’t like, maybe one of the characters makes a 180 degrees turn and burns the place down. Maybe your favorite character dies and the one you don’t like seems to survive and become king. That said Song of Horror has released Episode 4: The Last Concert, which is the second last episode of this horror thrill ride.
Song of Horror is a survival horror adventure in its purest form. It gets its inspiration from older horror classics. In this episode, you might uncover some reference to Amnesia: The Dark Descent, if you’re interested you can find our review of that series right here. You can also find our review of the previous episodes of Song of Horror right here Episode 1 & 2, Episode 3.
To briefly recap the story until now. When a famous writer named Sebastian P. Husher does not deliver his much anticipated new novel, his publicist sends you to investigate the mansion. You take control of Daniel to investigate the empty mansion. Not only did Husher disappear, but his family also disappeared as well. It won’t be long before you encounter a nightmarish Eldritch creature, simply called The Presence and you go missing yourself. The only clue left is a mysterious music box. So far the prologue.
This is where Episode one actually kicks in. You can now choose from several characters to continue the investigation. All of the characters have a connection to the mansion or Daniel: Daniel’s ex-wife, the publisher of Husher and a good friend to Daniel, an electrician called to the mansion to repair the lights and the alarm and finally one of the servants of the mansion. The attention to detail in the story is excellent, all the characters feel like they have a genuine reason to visit the mansion. If the character you’re currently playing gets taken out by The Presence you’ll drop all items you were carrying and you get to pick another character to continue. If you have no more characters left you must restart the episode altogether.
Episodes two and three will take you to an antique store and the State University of Arts and Humanities. Both locations are also infected by The Presence, while the antique store is the previous location the music box was stored, the university is Husher’s place of work. Husher did a lot of research here and uncovered details about the origin of the mysterious music box that seems to be the origin of The Presence. The information found here will drive you to the next location.
Episode four takes you to St. Cecilia’s Abbey, a once holy place now tainted by The Presence which is currently deserted. This is by far the biggest location in the game so far, compared to the first episode, the fourth is about four times bigger.
In terms of gameplay, the first three chapters have remained overall the same. Exploration and combining items is key all the while avoiding confrontation with The Presence by listening for sounds before entering a room. If The Presence tries to enter the room you are currently in you can attempt to close the door in a frantic button-bashing minigame. Sometimes your only option might be to hide under a table or in a closet. This will also trigger a minigame where you must rhythmically press buttons to slow down your heart rate. Failing at either of the minigames will result in the demise of that character. Each episode provides you with a fresh batch of characters to play with. So only one survivor is enough to proceed to the next episode.
The fourth episode has a few twists up his sleeve. This time only one new character is available but the survivors of the previous episodes will join him. Since this location is huge, this time there will be several starting points, taking some of the linearity out of the game. This episode’s location is about four times bigger than the first episode. The Presence is ever so aggressive as you draw closer to unraveling its origin.
Conclusion
Song of Horror: Episode four is a welcome addition to the game as it continues the story at the high standard it set for itself in the first episode. The location is beautifully made, they included an architect to the team to help with the design of the building and it shows. The location feels very real and very spooky. We can only say that we are looking forward to the conclusion of the story in episode five.
Song of Horror: Episode 4 – Review,
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Looks quite impressive from a graphical point of view.