Conscript [PC] | REVIEW

I’ve played plenty of survival horror titles inspired by the Resident Evil series, but Conscript is one of the most unique thanks to its unconventional approach to the genre. This isn’t a story filled with zombies, ghosts, or ghouls, but instead one that focuses on the terrifying horrors of war. And you know what? It’s really, really good.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Taking place during the First World War (and, more specifically, the Battle of Verdun), Conscript see players taking on the role of a French soldier as he looks to find his missing brother. This means fighting through a treacherous landscape and facing off against the German soldiers, and with battles raging on around you, one wrong step could be your last. It makes for an incredibly atmospheric experience that constantly kept me in awe, with the raging encounters, constant explosions, whirring sounds of bullets, and grotesque bloodshed giving a constant reminder that you are part of one of the most brutal wars that mankind has ever known.

Conscript feels distinct thanks to the fact that it embraces a lot of the hallmarks of the survival horror genre, but without being a conventional horror release. You’ll have limited ammo that you’ll have to carefully manage, you’ll encounter plenty of locales that are inaccessible until you have the right item to open the way, you’ll have restricted space in your inventory to store the resources you do find, and you’ll even have to use an ink ribbon equivalent to save the game… heck, you’ll even encounter a message saying ‘this game contains scenes of explicit violence and gore’ at the start, which really hits the nail on the head. It’s very much inspired by the classic Resident Evil titles across all aspects of its design, so if you’re a fan of that nostalgic gameplay loop, Conscript will tick plenty of the right boxes for you.

However, the fact that it’s not really a horror game does give it a different vibe. Don’t get me wrong, there’s probably nothing more horrifying than war and the fact that Conscript bases itself around a real battle that took place during the First World War hits hard, but you won’t see the typical monsters, ghosts, and ghouls that you’d typically associated with the genre. It helps make the game feel more unique, and whilst it is very old-school in design, it’s also very refreshing to play.

“It’s very much inspired by the classic Resident Evil titles across all aspects of its design, so if you’re a fan of that nostalgic gameplay loop, Conscript will tick plenty of the right boxes for you.”

That doesn’t mean that the enemy soldiers you face off against aren’t a terrifying threat though, especially with the tough resource management that’ll see you having to pick your shots carefully in order to ensure you won’t run out of ammo. Fortunately, you’re well equipped, with a good variety of ranged weaponry to find that is not only befitting of the setting but that also feel like they pack a punch, whilst you also have melee weapons to use when you do find yourself low on ammo. You can expect to find your ammo running low a LOT though, with it making for plenty of fight-or-flight situations where a wrong move or an unexpected encounter can see you quickly meet your end.

Besides the challenging enemy encounters, you’ll come across puzzles that’ll demand both logic and the right items to solve, expansive locations to explore that hide their own secrets, upgrades to find and equip to your weaponry, and even the occasional set piece that’ll put you in more threatening situations than normal – I didn’t expect to find myself trying to out-run a boulder in the First World War, but Conscript is full of surprises. Again, it’s a lot like Resident Evil, but it’s effectively put together to ensure players are kept engaged during their perilous journey through the trenches.

And if you’re having too tough of a time? There are difficulty settings to tinker with to get an experience that suits you. Whilst I love the Resident Evil series, I do NOT miss having to use ink ribbons to save my game, so being able to change that in the difficulty settings was massively appreciated.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Conscript gets a lot right with its classic survival horror design and I had a good time playing, but there were a few little issues I ran into. For one, the environmental design is very drab, and whilst that’s perfectly befitting of the setting (you are in trenches of the First World War after all), it could feel a little bit dull and repetitive given the amount of backtracking you have to do. Speaking of backtracking, the environment could feel a little too big at times, meaning it’ll often take a bit of time to get from point A to B – the map is useful to help deal with this, but with it limited in scope (and not showing the location of items you’ve left behind like the recent Resident Evil remakes), it can make some aspects of exploration feel laborious.

Still, there’s no doubting that these issues don’t hinder what is otherwise a very entertaining experience, whilst Conscript also manages to look the part too. I’m a big fan of the top-down approach to the survival horror action, with the gritty yet detailed pixel art fitting the horrifying atmosphere perfectly. And the sound design? It’s expertly crafted to capture the brutality of war. And, of course, it can’t be a classic survival horror game without a soothing save room theme for those moments of solace, and Conscript absolutely delivers there too.

Developer: Jordan Mochi, Catchweight Studio
Publisher: Team17
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1286990/CONSCRIPT/