Stray Souls: A Disappointing Horror Experience

Stray Souls, on the surface, appears to offer everything a horror fan could want. Drawing heavily from the iconic Silent Hill series, it features hellish creatures, a townsfolk cult, and a mysteriously empty main street. However, despite a promising and unsettling opening, the game fails to deliver on many fronts.

A Terrible Secret in Aspen Falls

The game takes place in Aspen Falls, an unremarkable American town that hides a dark secret. You play as Daniel, who recently inherited a rundown home from a grandmother he never knew. As Daniel uncovers the town’s sinister past and gets to know his neighbors, the story unfolds through lackluster combat and excessive exposition dumps. The townsfolk’s habit of leaving evidence of their dark secrets lying around feels contrived.

A Promising Opening, Followed by Disappointment

Stray Souls starts strong with a stunning and grim opening sequence. However, for every positive aspect of the game, there are numerous negatives that quickly overshadow them. The protagonist, Daniel, lacks convincing reactions to the horrors around him, making it difficult to relate to him. His relationship with Martha, his new neighbor, feels forced and inauthentic.

Missed Opportunities

Despite its homage to Silent Hill, Stray Souls fails to capture what made the original games memorable. While the visuals and sound design create a sense of dread, the combat mechanics are subpar. Daniel’s erratic movements when aiming and shooting make it unnecessarily difficult to land shots on enemies. The enemy designs also feel disconnected from the game’s overall atmosphere and themes.

Furthermore, the absence of an inventory system and limited healing options during boss encounters add to the frustration. The game also includes dialogue choices that have little impact on the story, leaving players questioning their purpose.

A Lackluster Ending

Stray Souls’ story lacks coherence and fails to provide a satisfying resolution. The motivations of the townsfolk, the cult, and Daniel’s grandmother remain unclear throughout the 8-12 hour adventure. The game’s puzzles, while initially intriguing, can become frustrating due to the lack of guidance. Boss fights are tedious encounters that rely on repetitive combat-rolling to avoid damage. The control scheme, particularly the choice to use R3 for rolling, is questionable.

In the end, Stray Souls falls short in several aspects, resulting in a disjointed experience filled with cheap jump scares and frustrating gameplay mechanics.