Kholat review

Recommended

by Sasha_Cooper

Product received for free The Game is good. It's a Walking Simulator with a Touch survival horror and Mystery set in a darkly grey Snow landscape where Orientation is hard. The Game revolves around the puzzling Incident in the Soviet Union in 1959, when all Participants in a Ski Hike in the Urals found death. Their Bodies were found scattered around their Tent, partly half-naked, partly seriously injured. There is no obvious Explanation for this to this day, but there are innumerable Theories. We play someone who later visits the Accident site, perhaps to get to the bottom of the Matter. However, we are very poorly equipped for this and have to walk through the snowy Area. After All, we find a Compass and a simple Map that offer some Orientation. As We Roam the Area, we come across diary Entries, Notes and strange Places that make us a little smarter and advance in the Plot. The Story not only moves in the Context of the Speculations surrounding this Case, but also brings mystical Things into it. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1645989376 Sometimes the Game Has Action Sequences or we have to fear for our Lives, but most Of the time we just walk around looking for Objects and Places. In the rarely very distinctive Environment, it is easy to lose your Bearings. Since we can't climb, we get severely restricted in our Freedom of Movement, so you can't just run to Compass either. Even if you suspect a Target is close, it may be a While before you find it or the Way there. Unfortunately, the Game makes the Movement and Orientation a bit difficult for us. We cannot leave Any Waymarks in genretypical And have an inaccurate map, which in places seriously Misleads and also confuses north with South. The Compass fits (but is simply equipped with a Cyrillic one for The North and the one for the south), but the Rethinking between compass north and card north (which is in the South) has led me to the wrong time than I would like to admit. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1645994626 Worse, though, was that our Man can't run. After 2 Seconds, he runs out of Puff and everything blurs in front of his Eyes. So you're forced to mostly sneak through the Snow landscape at an eternally slow pace. If you have just groped past one of the "saving" Tents or the like, which may have been left behind a Rock, can be very annoying. After all, the Tents offer a Fast Travel Function that can make things a little easier. This is particularly annoying if you want to find the optional Objects, the Finding of which at the End is also becoming more and more elaborate. The mystery horror tension is often lost in the long Ways. However, if you only follow the Main Plot, the Game can be played through much faster and be more "exciting" in that respect. Still, if you get into it, the Game can be a good Experience. Considering how difficult Orientation can be in Nature, for example in a low-human Siberian Forest Landscape, you still have it relatively well here and only feel a Hint of being lost. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1645991101 The Graphics are OK, but usually don't have much to do. After all, the Trees move in detail in the Wind and some Rock Formations look like Skulls. There are also a few Highlights, but some things also seem simple. The Sound is also OK. Some Notes are well spoken (English with German Subtitles), others you have to read for yourself. In Addition, there are good Noises and Music that match the eerie Landscape. The Controls are OK in themselves. The Design Decisions that you often can't climb even over small Obstacles and, in particular, practically can't run, can be viewed critically. There are some Achievements for which you have to find all the optional Objects in particular. Pro & Contra: + Challenging Orientation + Walking Simulator in Winter Landscape + Good English Speaker o Light Mystery Elements o Few Action Sequences o Little Horror-At the Beginning virtually no Interaction-Not all Texts are set to music-Nord/South swapping in The Map (Intention?)-In some Places misleading Map (Intention?)-No Climbing even over small Obstacles-Paintfully slow Movement Rating: 7/10 For an exciting Horror game it is (usually) far too long-winded. As a Walking Simulator with difficult Orientation and light mystery horror elements, however, it's already a nice Experience. Only the slow Running bothered me badly.