Zombie-Mounted Zombies
Horror game enthusiasts are always looking for their next scare. It will not always be found in obvious places like a triple A studio through. Sometimes you have to dig deep to find it. Recently, indie developer Jukai Studio released a demo and a pre-alpha gameplay video for their upcoming game Stray Souls.
The game is about an Ezra Miller-looking guy named Daniel, who inherits a creepy house from his grandmother. Upon moving in, he meets a girl named Martha, who somehow knows a lot more about the house than he does. From there, his life will change for the creepier.
The gameplay video has Daniel wandering around in an abandoned park, where he is awaiting a birthday surprise from Martha. He stumbles upon a supposedly haunted playground. This is where he encounters some of the strangest monsters I have ever seen. They look like zombified versions of people riding Tauntauns from Empire Strikes Back.
After defeating these freaky creatures, Daniel investigates the playground further, finding a valve to turn off the steam to reveal a passage to get to a graveyard. You know, regular teenager stuff. That seems to be the end of the demo.
Stray Souls has a real Silent Hill vibe going on. The enemies are nightmarish abominations and there is constant fog for atmospheric purposes. The voice acting and facial animation seem really good. Daniel and Martha talk like real people and their dialogue does not feel as scripted as most horror games.
The game’s physics on the other hand look really weird. Bear in mind, this demo is a very early alpha build. Daniel’s running makes him look like he’s free running all the time, which would be cool for some environments, but not in this case. The enemies also have a funny-looking jump when they are defeated, in place of a death animation. Stray Souls does not have a release date, but there is a demo available on Steam.
Would you try out Stray Souls? Let us know in the comments below.