Indie Game Review: Lone Survivor The Director's Cut

The game that I'm going to be reviewing today is a lesser known game called Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut. This is an indie horror survival game which was released back in 2012. The game was developed by Superflat Games, and the original version was published by them as well. Curve Studios, however, is the one who published the Director's Cut of the game which is what I'm reviewing today. This games original version was released for the PC, but then later on saw a port in 2013 to the Playstation Network bringing us the Director's cut. The PC got a free update of this version that year as well, so anyone who purchased it after then, like me, got the full version without any waiting. It also saw a release for the PS4 and Wii U back in 2014. So, there's a wide variety of systems where you can check this game out!  

This is another retro style 2D pixel style game, but this one is quite disturbing at a lot of moments throughout. It's also filled with plenty of nerve wracking moments that have you on your toes as you play. Lone Survivor is a post apocalyptic game which has us playing a nameless protagonist. The character we're playing follows directions throughout the game which are fed to him by his apparent hallucinations. The game has a heavy sense of being isolated throughout, and the atmosphere of the game comes off as quite oppressive. There is an unrelenting feeling of being vulnerable to everything in your environment, and the dimly lit locations and eerie sound design only aid into feeling this. This game is graphic with gore as well as bizarre, disturbing scenes scattered throughout. It's somewhat odd to me how horror filled a pixelated game can actually be. It's an unexpected but welcome surprise, however. 

The game starts off with us being shown our character, who as I mentioned before has no name. The entire game he is referred to as just "You". His only noticeable feature is his medical mask covering most of his face, almost looking like it's giving him some sort of sinister grin. We're quickly shown some sort of dream sequence which makes us doubt our characters sanity right out of the gate pretty much. We're shown a man wearing a box on his head, another man dressed in a blue clothing that has gunshots inflicted on his body, and then a woman in a blue dress. After this, he awakes and we start our search for supplies and possibly other survivors so he can continue to live on. 

Combining his bizarre dreams with his even more bizarre observations and the fact that items from your dreams come to life for no apparent reason, we're quickly left with a sense of mystery and confusion. Not to mention that at times the things you see in game can change after you turn your back on them, so when you make your way back things could possibly be very different somehow. It's honestly one of the things that makes this game so interesting and attention grabbing. The fact that right at the start of this game, we're left with a heavy sense of doubt on what's actually happening and what is real. It sets the tone quite well. 

As you venture out of your apartment to look for supplies and try to piece together what has happened to the world, you'll quickly realize how claustrophobic this game can be. As you start exploring, you may notice that everything is pretty much pitch black and has limited lighting, thankfully though you have a handy dandy flashlight. Unfortunately you're not lucky enough to have an unlimited battery life, so you'll have to conserve the light and figure out when it's best to use it before having to change batteries. You'll also want to make sure not to have it on all the time, as it will attract the zombie like creatures to your location. 

This makes it difficult to see around your surroundings at times, and you'll have to rely heavily on stealth in the beginning of the game. You do this by taking rotten meat which you'll find from your fridge, and using that to lure the creatures away from their places of dwelling. Most of the time you'll need to rush to an opening in the wall after placing the bait down, and turning off your light until the zombies pass. If you make any movements when the creatures get near you during these parts of the game, then you can expect to get torn up. 

However, after a short while of playing you get an alternative to doing the bait and switch method in the form of a handgun. But, you shouldn't expect to be blasting them to bits with it, as it honestly has a limited amount of being helpful. You'll have to watch your ammo count, as your bullets are just as scarce as the rest of the supplies that you need to stay alive. Speaking of that, you have different needs that you have to watch and make sure are filled as you play. You'll need to have food to eat to survive, and you'll have to make sure you get sleep. Managing these and making sure your character isn't falling into madness adds even more tension to the game in the form of psychological horror, and is a great aspect of the game. 

Your decisions throughout the game have a major impact as well on what kind of ending you can expect. Though, making sure your characters needs are meant has just a big of an impact. Basically, the way you chose to play is definitely going to determine what kind of ending you'll wind up getting. If you begin killing monsters, this will start pushing you over the edge. Starvation and not getting the proper amount of sleep will also push you towards insanity, though there are pills you can take to help with the sleep at the cost of your mentality being damaged. 

Though, sleeping is probably the easiest aspect of the game to take care of. It also serves as a save system/checkpoint system for the game, so you'll have to do it every once and awhile at the very least. You'll also use the rest of your apartment to take care of your character, as you will be able to get water and cook the food that you find to keep your body satiated. You'll also find your radio here, where you can speak with other survivors and useful characters. Honestly, it can feel somewhat hectic and worrying trying to make sure your character is taken care of at times. But, again, this aids in making you feel more tense while you play and only increases the terror you feel at times. 

Another neat feature that lies within your apartment is a magical mirror that can teleport you to to your last visited location. As you walk around and explore, you'll stumble across more of these mirror, each letting you go back to your apartment to take care of your basic needs, or to just take a short break so you can breath for a few minutes before getting back to the horrors of the world. This feature will probably become like a muscle memory after a short while, unless you enjoy dying and have to replay parts of the game over and over that is.

Besides using your apartment for traveling and cooking, you'll have to try your luck on the outside to find other supplies like batteries, ammo, and of course new sources of food. If you're having a tough time finding these supplies, there is a way to forcefully make them appear, though it is a very strange way. There are multi colored pills which your can have the character take prior to going to sleep which then makes you meet characters from the start of the game. Magically after waking up, you'll find that your backpack now has new supplies in it. 

But, again, doing those acts will damage you mentally and between that and possibly being malnourished, you could really affect the ending you get within the game. Speaking of that, there are 5 different endings which you can unlock, each depending on the condition of your character at the end and what decisions you have made throughout. This adds a fair amount of replaybility to the game, as you'll want to try and unlock each ending which takes between 4 -8 hours in my experience. 

The game drops hints pretty often that not everything going on is right, as in things are definitely off in a bad way. And, it's not just with the grim situation that our protagonist finds himself in, or the bloody and horrifying environments he stumbles upon, but with the character himself. This is one thing which I wish the game did expand upon a bit more, however. As it hints at things pretty often, but doesn't go all the way with explaining those hints and leaves it open to interpretation only. I find this both interesting, but slightly frustrating as I wouldn't mind having a bit more knowledge of what is actually occurring. However, the game is still wonderfully entertaining even with the doubts you have once you've beaten it. 

And, the last thing I really want to mention is the visual style of the game. I know people usually have a love or hate relationship with 2d pixel games, but I really think the style of art really suited this particular game and looked gorgeous throughout. Even with the pixels, everything is heavily detailed and the dark tones/colors used are what make the atmosphere of the game so dark and tense. Add in the eerie sound effects and brooding music and boy, oh boy, do you have an amazing backdrop going on for this horror game. 

So, would I say check this game out? Yes, I certainly would. This is a well written game, with an interesting story and great mechanics built in. It's got a lot of charm to it, and plenty of replay time with all the different endings. I found myself really thinking about each ending and trying to figure out what it all meant, and I like that the game does that instead of just having an open and closed book type of ending. There is plenty of horror elements within it that will give you a hair raising feeling. The dark and tense atmosphere leaves you feeling anxious and wondering what could possibly happen next thanks to all of the bizarre dreamscapes and unexplainable events scattered throughout. This game was a definite pleasure to play, so definitely pick it up! 

Thanks for checking out my review! Hope you've enjoyed it!