Song of Horror, by Spanish developer Protocol Games, follows Daniel Noyer, ex-entrepreneur, and now an employee of Wake Publishing. Noyer investigates a series of disappearances, starting with his employer’s client, prolific historical fiction writer Sebastian P. Husher. The story is quick to turn from quietly ominous to paranormally bizarre. There are nods to everything from the Call of Cthulhu tabletop roleplaying game through Resident Evil and Alone in the Dark.

As things move from concerning to bad to worse, Daniel and a host of supporting characters are pursued by the haunting, unsettling melody that gives this game its title. With this song comes a creature of myriad shapes known only as the Presence. One of Song of Horror’s selling points has been that the Presence’s AI is less scripted and more dynamically responds to your decisions.

While I haven’t quite wrapped my head around the rules by which this operates, the interest I felt toward this concept when it first came across my radar hasn’t ebbed. I find it to be a compelling way to address both horror and choice in video games.

It creates outcomes and scares that feel more tailored to the player, rather than a predetermined outcome that would take place regardless of your playstyle. Equally, I really enjoyed a lot of the creature design. I would find myself looking forward to the next monstrous apparition in moments where the game would offer false lulls of calm.

It’s unfortunate, then, that the visuals and acting of the characters that give this story its life leave something to be desired. The voice acting often feels stiff and artificial — despite a charming art style being used for cinematic sequences — and less in the amusingly clunky way of early Silent Hill or Resident Evil. Rather, these characters feel like they’re played by deeply earnest actors who want to imbue the characters they play with personality and life, but have been slighted time and again by questionable directing.

The animations are also somewhat hit and miss, be it in facial expressions or in movement. Facial expressions at various points either seemed ill-matched to what was being said or thought. Alternately, they simply didn’t seem to fit the face model of the character they belonged to. Elsewhere, the movement would look stiff and awkward, not helped by rather heavy controls that were somewhat, though not entirely, mediated by playing with a controller rather than a mouse and keyboard.

The puzzle-solving and exploration, reminiscent of old-school Resident Evil or Silent Hill, is slow and meticulous. That may not be everyone’s cup of tea. It will nonetheless prove enjoyable for the loot goblins (myself included) among us. Such enjoyment does require the patience to search every room, nook, and cranny. It also requires the willingness to backtrack if it seems something was missed.

To these players, the jump scares, spikes in tension, and other moments of true horror in the game will feel as rewarding as they do stressful. Those for whom this slower pace and meticulous searching fails to hold interest, though, may not be enthralled by the chills and thrills in the same ways. I don’t know that any experience of the game is the “right” one, per se. However, at its heart, this choice is a rather textbook case of “your mileage may vary.”

That said, in a game that has permanent character death as one of its narrative and gameplay mechanics, it’s vital that the instructions for any minigames or QTEs that might result in character death be absolutely clear and unambiguous. This is, frustratingly, something that Song of Horror doesn’t always manage to pull off. Losing a character due to confusing instructions on the part of the game — rather than an error of logic or a hasty decision on the part of the player — feels unfairly punishing.

There are some smaller moments of patchy writing in the game that rub me the wrong way, too, here and there. This is usually when there are clear proofreading errors in the subtitles, or when the subtitles don’t match what the characters are saying. I’m intrigued and charmed by the idea of a rotating cast of characters, some of whom we may lose. It’s frustrating and disappointing when trying to get attached to them is then impeded by some clumsy voice acting or obvious typographical errors that may threaten immersion.

Ultimately, Song of Horror is a promisingly tense adventure for those willing to accept and play into its internal logic. Long-time survival horror fans may (as I did) have fun playing “spot the Easter egg” as they progress through the story. In this way, too, I think the episodic format is a wise choice. It provides some useful waypoints in a story that, while overall intriguing and well-crafted, may require a good amount of patience in its slower moments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20xHEYb2_Es

The ambiance is solid, particularly when it comes to the significance placed on sound. Overall I have plenty of room at the table for what Song of Horror has to offer. If the technical foibles, written subtitles, and voice acting had received the same love and polish as the interesting core conceit and the evocative soundscape, Song of Horror could truly be a great game, and not just a good one.

A PC review copy of Song of Horror was provided by Raiser Games for this review.

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Song of Horror

$39.99

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Intriguing core concept
• Enjoyable references and homages to older games
• Solid ambiance and soundtrack
• Satisfying monster design

Cons

• Slower pacing may not be everyone’s cup of tea
• Voice acting and character animations often miss the mark
• QTEs and minigames require clearer instructions
• Some fairly glaring proofreading errors