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Frequently, I jump into an indie game that can go either way with just knowing a basic bullet or two. In case Fobia – Hotel St. Dinfna, a survival horror game from the Brazilian studio Pulsatrix, that lack of exposure ultimately resulted in a pleasant surprise overall.
To get you up to speed quickly: this game has undeniable nuances Resident Evil 7First-person horror and inventory management, heavily focused on solving puzzles, and has a surprisingly deep story that unfolds as you glide around an infected hotel.
I could have gotten a lot of loss – twice! – but in the end it all worked out.
Fobia – Hotel St. Dinfna (computerPS4, PS5 [reviewed]Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Developer: Pulsatrix Studios
Publisher: Max Games
Released: June 28, 2022
MSRP: $29.99
After finishing this game, I’ll never look at a hotel that way again – probably so!
That exaggeration will be gone, but after spending a few lonely late nights with Fobia – Hotel St. Dinfna, I see floor after floor of locked doors when I close my eyes. You will play as Roberto, a journalist trying to get to the bottom of a series of mysteries – missing people, strange sightings and decades-long cult activity – surrounding a Santa hotel. Catherine, Brazil. You have been referred, and now you are a new guest. You’re lucky?
Early on, the hotel becomes twisted and tattered, with a girl in a gas mask mysteriously coming in and out and monsters suddenly roaming the halls. It’s just you, a camera that can reveal “different timelines” and any clues you can find and notes you can jot down in your diary. You have a contact, Stephanie, but she’s always one step ahead.
You’ll need to get out alive, but given the hotel’s unexpected state, that’s easier said than done. Sometimes – that’s okay, more than a dozen times – you’ll need a private key. Or maybe a keycard and some hidden code. Or maybe you’ll need to break that camera to physically alter the room and get through a hole that shouldn’t exist.
The road ahead of you is often too far out of reach and you will eventually have to circle around to find a way forward. If you are a fan of pixel hunting adventure games, you will be a pro.
Heavy on puzzles and zigzag navigation
One of my big surprises with Fobia – Hotel St. Dinfna How will it focus on the puzzle. Most of my time is spent exploring, searching much mission important items (at one point you’re actually adding buttons to the elevator to get to new floors) and trying to keep track of where and why I’ve been lately – it all starts to blur go together.
There are a lot of loose ends (some optional, some mandatory) that you will need to hang around until you are able to circle back with the right item or knowledge to continue. When you have an a-ha moment, this is amazing; The game is full of them. But when you get lost for 45 minutes because you look over the stairs, you may have pulled down from the ceiling, or you forgot to check your computer at the right time, that’s not fun.
It’s a tough balancing act. Only one ton keys and they are clearly labeled. I appreciate that items like crowbars or bolt cutters will notify you when they are no longer needed; Your inventory will thank you. And when it comes to time-bending cameras, it’s nice to have a visual clue (fingerprints) so you don’t always have to equip it (but there’s still a lot of optional items to find with it but it’s not). clear signposts). That said, some parts of FBI could have been smoother; less squishy.
Lots of time alone, no monsters
Needless to say too much about where the story will go, FBI feel inspired by modern times Resident Evil with a little Silent Hill crazy, but it’s not as good as it sounds.
There are fearsome humanoid creatures to fend off – but they feel pretty finite if you’re cautious, looking for resources, and not wasting ammo. The main threats are the bosses, although there are only a few. When it comes to creatures, FBI feel stretched a little thin.
The first-person shooter is nothing special (please don’t play this game for combat), but it gets the job done. In a way, the creepy survival-horror shooting matches the mood.
Of course, if you don’t actively plan ahead and save – or you deliberately don’t overdo it for a better late-game ranking – the stakes will be significantly higher. You can save only in select places and after losing 15 minutes of progress from death (and then another 15 because I forgot my last few “progress” steps and had to fumble around to find them again) , I make sure to save everytime did anything remarkable.
That said, there is an unstoppable pursuer
While much of the game is set in a hotel, you’ll play certain segments over a different amount of time – a good change of pace – and the final action takes place… let’s talk “underground”.
How many times have I been turned back by rooms and hallways that look alike in Fobia – Hotel St. Dinfna, I never get bored. I think certain clues and goals could be more specific without giving everything away completely, to better indicate where to go next, but the actual physics puzzles are always fun. I feel rewarded for paying attention, reading the full notes, and making connections. Your results will vary, especially with tutorials or just an occasional Google search to lend you a hand.
The atmosphere is at its peak when a sworn enemy is chasing you, but it’s worth emphasizing that this isn’t a Mr. X. These sections are well defined, they don’t last long and don’t have a lot of them, so it’s all manageable. If the pursuer is more common, it will end up being just frustrating, not scary. With all the wild goose chases back and forth, you can keep going while trying to unlock the doors and find a hidden path forward, this is for the best.
That said, I could have done with more enemy types. The shaking corpses freak me out whenever they lunge at me at the last second, but I have plenty of ammo to kill them off. However, those sneaky spiders. The vast majority of them jolt me before I realize they’re nearby, triggering an animation that automatically kills them and causes me to take some damage. They come in groups, and for me that unfortunately usually means three “bite, then strangle” animations in a row. These creatures do not feel chills.
Another note: I recommend switching the voiceover to Brazilian Portuguese with English subtitles, if needed – trust me. It’s a step up and more relevant altogether.
Eight to ten o’clock, give or take
In the end, with a 9 and a half hour game time, 80 saves (look, I’m paranoid!) and taking a lot of damage, I got a C rating. I was amazed! But not that surprised. I thought I’d explored the hotel pretty thoroughly, but I missed one of the weapons, completely lost in two cases, and those nasty spider critters really baffled me.
Rating scale for Fobia – Hotel St. Dinfna up to S, S+ and S++, and has a title to finish the game “without damage”, which I can’t even start. I do so that the results screen will list the materials you’ve explored (I’ve completed 78 percent) and the “sub-puzzle” you’ve solved (somehow, only 26 percent) . All of a sudden the new games + make a lot more sense.
Am I in a hurry to play FBI again? Nothing. It doesn’t have an imaginary power progression like a snowball Resident Evil completed. But eventually I’ll pick it up again, and by the time I do, I’ll have forgotten most, if not all, of the solutions. Wish me luck. Revelations about the ending (bonkers style) will add an extra touch to that second level.
Fobia – St. Dinfna well worth playing for patient survival horror fans who want something that’s lighter in combat and can handle the budget-constrained raw edges. Monsters roam in an attempt to raise the stakes, but the focus is on meticulous exploration, solving puzzles that are barely puzzling, and calculating diagrams of many things, much hotel hall.
[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]
