Conscript review – War as real survival horror

Modern media has a responsibility to portray war in all its facets. Past mistakes are forgotten when repeated, and wars are the greatest lessons of all. Yet so often war is glossed over in the media through different lenses: we hear of camaraderie and brotherhood, and in the world of video games, war is a power fantasy. Players take up arms and fight each other in virtual trenches without fear of consequences. Conscript feels like a counterattack on that trend – it’s a dense survival horror game that portrays war as a monster.

resident Evil And silent Hill were cited as inspiration for this game, and their connections are both clear and clever. In ConscriptYou are a lone French soldier fighting through the trenches of World War I, searching for your lost brother in an ever-expanding labyrinth. You discover various clues and come across a heartbreaking story: your brother was drawn by a narrative of victory and a desire to keep you company. But on the front lines, war is not the image of propaganda.

As you travel through trenches, you’ll be faced with a bombardment of horrors, well-portrayed in the game’s gritty pixel art style. Your path is often shrouded in darkness, and a moody soundtrack is frequently interrupted by distant bomb blasts and panicked screams. You can’t always see ahead, and that adds to the sense of uncertainty that follows you with every step.

And in certain parts of the labyrinth, you suddenly find yourself facing huge, faceless enemies that resemble those in a resident Evil or silent Hill. Conscript depicts enemy soldiers as hulking, hulking beasts with gas masks covering their faces. Some carry spiked clubs. Others are so heavily armored that the only way to defeat them is to run backwards and shoot wildly in a panic. If you run into their axes, it’s all over – and you’ve literally signed the death certificate.

In his approach to enemies, Conscript adapts classic survival horror techniques and draws parallels between the fantasy fears of resident Eviland the sheer trauma that soldiers face in real wars. The game sticks to familiar systems, bridges gaps in understanding and brings the emotions of war to the forefront.

It understands and teaches that there is no protagonist in war and that increasing the number of victims does not bring glory. One survives Conscript not by charging forward and making your presence known – but often by ducking into corners, running from your enemies, and wildly waving shovels or clubs. By portraying its enemies as horror villains, the game infuses every fight with a sense of dread and hopelessness.

And when enemies fall to the ground in a bloody heap, joining dozens of other bodies that litter dark trenches, they seem small and insignificant. In dialogue, a quiet comment reveals that you are thinking about these bodies: “An American volunteer…” Sometimes, while searching a body, you find a photograph of a mother, a sister, a brother, or a pet. Then, looking at those bodies, you are left realizing exactly what you have done – and that each body represents a life and loved ones.

This infusion of fear and guilt does not subside as the path becomes longer in Conscript. In fact, the scope of the game only adds to this. Your main mission – find your brother, get help – seems simple at first. You collect clues and items to solve environmental puzzles, defeat enemies, and slowly make your way through a maze of trenches. You’re constantly bombarded by enemies, but fueled by hope, you keep moving.

New hope appears in every corner of the map. You occasionally meet a lieutenant who has heard or seen something from your brother, and your investigation continues. But then you hit walls: Rats appear in trenches to slow your progress and bite your ankles. Enemy soldiers knock you down and take you prisoner, throwing your body against a wall of corpses. After a long battle on the front lines, you collapse in a puddle of water, barely able to regain consciousness in time.

For every step there is another one – and soon hours pass. You solve a connected puzzle, and there are even more puzzles waiting for you. At the place where your brother was reported, another soldier stands and shakes his head. Conscript wears you down on your journey – but a constant feeling of budding hope, not to mention complex puzzles and exciting explorations, lets you continue on increasingly dangerous paths.

And in this design, Conscript is an incredibly powerful war story. It forces you to chase a whispered hope and gather strength, not for glory, but out of pure survival instinct. I didn’t feel happy after surviving big boss fights. I felt exhausted. Conscript tests your will and courage at every turn, painting a grim and unforgettable picture of war as it was meant to be portrayed.

It’s not about glory and honor or the strength of camaraderie, as is so often portrayed. You are alone, hopeless and weak in war. Monsters lurk around every corner – but the game ensures that the mask is removed after the battle. You are not facing monsters, but other soldiers. People with their own hopes and dreams and families who are forced into the war machine.

In vast trenches, you will be confronted with increasing fear and experience the true horrors of war first hand. There is no honour here. Only the cold, hard truth of reality. In this respect Conscript is an absolute must. We must not turn our eyes away from the war.

Five stars: ★★★★★

Conscript
Platform(s): PC
Developer: Catchweight Studio
Editor: Team17
Release date: July 23, 2024

_{For this review, a PC code for Conscript was provided and played on an Asus ROG Ally. GamesHub ratings are scored on a five-point scale.}