If Dusk is colorful Quake, then why someone decided to bring us brown Dusk?
Jokes aside, Few games can approach minimalism the way HROT does. Simplicity is the basis of almost everything here: No strange mechanics, weapons that everyone are familiar about, level design that is open but without being too complex or large. The colour palette is as minimalistic as it gets. And the story? Minimalistic is too much to describe it: There’s no story at all. Not even a minimum backstory to serve as a an excuse for the action, which is what usually happens in this kind of games. Here, no story at all. Just pure action and atmosphere.
Aesthetics are a very important thing for me when it comes to videogames. At times, they might even do the trick for me even when the gameplay is not that great (which is not the case of HROT, whose gameplay is excellent). That’s why i like to play games done in GZDoom: Even if the mechanics are always the same, sometimes i just want to see some nice things and hear some nice sounds and all of that. My first impression with HROT, wasn’t a very positive one. It’s not that i straight out disliked it’s aesthetic, actually i found it very attractive: Sepia is essentially the colour of everything that’s old, the colour of the memories, and therefore, it was a very sensitive choice considering this game was supposed to be inspired by the nostalgia of 80’s communist Czechoslovakia. HROT is supposed to look like an old photograph, and i find that even poetic (specially for a boomer shooter). But on the other hand, a part of me was seeing a brown Dusk, suspecting that this whole minimalism would end up becoming pure monotony. Thankfully, i was completely wrong actually. I don’t think i have the exact words to express how or what made the aesthetic not only sustain and keep me hooked but also how it managed to surprise me at many times. I guess it must be mostly due to the subtle changes in themes and general mood throughout the episodes.
So i played the first episode expecting some kind of spooky or even depressing mood, but truth is, i felt none of that. I would even describe the first episode as a comfy gaming experience, meaning of course i enjoyed it pretty much. Until Episode 2 for sure, which is where the heavier horror elements start playing a role, just like in Dusk’s Episode 2, because even if Dusk is entirely built around horror tropes, is in the second episode when you deal with something more akin to the typical survival horror experience. And then the Episode 3 is the one featuring the most surrealistic and absurdist elements, just like in Dusk’s episode 3. Also, despite having some dank humour all around the game, i think this third episode is the one featuring the funniest and most bizarre ones.
Weapons are pretty damn good, they are actually pretty similar to the ones from Dusk. And there’s even a crossbow, which i forgot to use during enormous chunks of the game, just like it happened to me when i played Dusk. There’s something very interesting about weapons here, and it’s their sound. Weapons in HROT don’t sound as explosive as they usually do in this genre. The sound design applied specifically to the weapons is another thing that could be described as minimalistic. Most of them are even pretty quiet. But defying expectations, they are incredibly satisfying. I think it is quite an achievement to design weapons and making them super fun to use without being all over the top, which is something that has become quite of a norm in this genre.
In conclusion, i loved this game. I wish there were more games like Dusk. I-i mean like HROT.
Jokes aside, Few games can approach minimalism the way HROT does. Simplicity is the basis of almost everything here: No strange mechanics, weapons that everyone are familiar about, level design that is open but without being too complex or large. The colour palette is as minimalistic as it gets. And the story? Minimalistic is too much to describe it: There’s no story at all. Not even a minimum backstory to serve as a an excuse for the action, which is what usually happens in this kind of games. Here, no story at all. Just pure action and atmosphere.
Aesthetics are a very important thing for me when it comes to videogames. At times, they might even do the trick for me even when the gameplay is not that great (which is not the case of HROT, whose gameplay is excellent). That’s why i like to play games done in GZDoom: Even if the mechanics are always the same, sometimes i just want to see some nice things and hear some nice sounds and all of that. My first impression with HROT, wasn’t a very positive one. It’s not that i straight out disliked it’s aesthetic, actually i found it very attractive: Sepia is essentially the colour of everything that’s old, the colour of the memories, and therefore, it was a very sensitive choice considering this game was supposed to be inspired by the nostalgia of 80’s communist Czechoslovakia. HROT is supposed to look like an old photograph, and i find that even poetic (specially for a boomer shooter). But on the other hand, a part of me was seeing a brown Dusk, suspecting that this whole minimalism would end up becoming pure monotony. Thankfully, i was completely wrong actually. I don’t think i have the exact words to express how or what made the aesthetic not only sustain and keep me hooked but also how it managed to surprise me at many times. I guess it must be mostly due to the subtle changes in themes and general mood throughout the episodes.
So i played the first episode expecting some kind of spooky or even depressing mood, but truth is, i felt none of that. I would even describe the first episode as a comfy gaming experience, meaning of course i enjoyed it pretty much. Until Episode 2 for sure, which is where the heavier horror elements start playing a role, just like in Dusk’s Episode 2, because even if Dusk is entirely built around horror tropes, is in the second episode when you deal with something more akin to the typical survival horror experience. And then the Episode 3 is the one featuring the most surrealistic and absurdist elements, just like in Dusk’s episode 3. Also, despite having some dank humour all around the game, i think this third episode is the one featuring the funniest and most bizarre ones.
Weapons are pretty damn good, they are actually pretty similar to the ones from Dusk. And there’s even a crossbow, which i forgot to use during enormous chunks of the game, just like it happened to me when i played Dusk. There’s something very interesting about weapons here, and it’s their sound. Weapons in HROT don’t sound as explosive as they usually do in this genre. The sound design applied specifically to the weapons is another thing that could be described as minimalistic. Most of them are even pretty quiet. But defying expectations, they are incredibly satisfying. I think it is quite an achievement to design weapons and making them super fun to use without being all over the top, which is something that has become quite of a norm in this genre.
In conclusion, i loved this game. I wish there were more games like Dusk. I-i mean like HROT.