Song of Horror

 Xbox One
Song of Horror Image
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 7 Ratings

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  • Summary: Beware the shadows and the darkness which seem silent. Beware the closed doors, the whispering mirrors. Beware the Song of Horror that nests in the cracks of your mind.

    The famed writer Sebastian P. Husher has gone missing, along with his entire family. Worried, his editor sent an assistant    Beware the shadows and the darkness which seem silent. Beware the closed doors, the whispering mirrors. Beware the Song of Horror that nests in the cracks of your mind.

    The famed writer Sebastian P. Husher has gone missing, along with his entire family. Worried, his editor sent an assistant to his house in order to look for him but he never came back... These disappearances spark a set of events that will soon reveal something dreadful: a nameless, dark entity known only as The Presence seems to be responsible and it's still somewhere, out there, lurking in the shadows, waiting for you... You may die, but the horror continues others will pick the investigation up from where you left it until you all find out the origin of The Presence and put an end to this nightmare.

    A PARANORMAL ADVENTURE OF UNPREDICTABLE TERROR
    Song of Horror offers a truly dynamic terror experience: its antagonist, the supernatural entity known only as The Presence, is controlled by an advanced AI (Artificial Intelligence) that adapts to your actions and decisions. Experience unbearable fear as this otherworldly being responds to your way of playing and hunts you down in unexpected ways, offering a unique experience to every player and gameplay where tension builds up naturally instead of coming from scripted sequences.

    As a player, you will live this story through the eyes of a varied set of characters related to the story in their own way. Every character is different, and brings their unique point of view to the investigation, allowing them to approach clues and items differently. Their actions and decisions will shape the world: some of them will know more or less of certain aspects of the story; some will be more effective against supernatural manifestations, but all of them can die if the Presence gets to them and death is permanent. If they die, you will have to pick the story up with another one, and continue the investigation so their deaths are not in vain.

    SPOOKY CHARACTERISTICS:

    * Investigate a paranormal mystery in a thrilling story of psychological horror
    * Beware The Presence, an otherworldly entity with its own AI that reacts to your actions and decisions in a non-scripted, unpredictable horror experience
    * Choose between a group of unique characters: each one brings its own point of view and has a different relation to the story and other characters
    * You may die, but the horror continues: death is permanent when a character dies, it's gone...but the next one will follow the investigation from where the deceased left it. The world will be shaped by their previous actions.
    * Explore haunted, sinister locations to gather clues and items that will help you solve challenging puzzles while enduring the agonizing tension of the game's atmosphere    … Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Xbox Tavern
    Jun 21, 2021
    83
    Song of Horror is a wonderful psychological horror title with an even better story, the fixed camera and unique gameplay will keep players on the edge of their seats to avoid the perma-death feature.
  2. GameSkinny
    Jun 7, 2021
    80
    Whereas so many modern indie horror games can feel like on-rails haunted hayrides, Song of Horror keeps players on their toes. By innovating on the games that so clearly inspired it, Song of Horror feels comfortably set in two worlds at once: past and present, and with any luck, it may inspire the future of horror games as well.
  3. TheXboxHub
    Jun 16, 2021
    80
    If you’re a fan of Resident Evil or any of the other horror games that are available in the gaming space, Song of Horror is well worth a look. The permadeath of characters won’t be for everyone and the random element of when attacks occur might also frustrate. But for others the tension and thrills will be what make the journey.
  4. MondoXbox
    Aug 8, 2021
    72
    Song of Horror manages to successfully capture the tension and feeling of old school horror games, but it falls a bit too often in frustrating mechanics. It remains an interesting game to explore, though.

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Joe2539
    Jan 3, 2023
    10
    Very Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good
  2. TivooGames
    Nov 10, 2021
    8
    Song of Horror è un’avventura episodica horror prodotta dallo studio spagnolo Protocol Games: si tratta di una prima opera per i ragazzi delSong of Horror è un’avventura episodica horror prodotta dallo studio spagnolo Protocol Games: si tratta di una prima opera per i ragazzi del team, fortemente ispirata dai più grandi autori del terrore come H.P. Lovecraft e Edgar Allan Poe. Il modello di distribuzione cavalca l’onda della somministrazione per episodi, una metodologia resa standard di produzione da titoli come Life is Strange o Hitman (IO Interactive).
    Su console il gioco è stato rilasciato in un’unica soluzione, mentre su PC ha seguito il ritmo di rilascio di episodi che da un lato ha fatto storcere il naso per il lungo lasso di tempo tra una puntata e l’altra, dall’alto ha rappresentato un escamotage narrativo che ha permesso di concludere ogni singolo episodio con un cliffhanger, andando così a rinforzare la tesi dell’orrore e la tematica dell’investigazione, del mistero.
    Gli eventi che guidano l’intera storia di Song of Horror rientrano nei classici thriller psicologici del genere. Il personaggio con cui avremo a che fare sin dalle prime battute è Daniel Noyer, un uomo dal passato travagliato e costellato da problemi di alcolismo. La stessa dipendenza lo porta a separarri dalla moglie, e da lì troverà lavoro come curatore editoriale per una nota casa editrice di romanzi.
    Proprio attorno alla casa editrice si muovono i primi passi di quello che sarà un complesso caso di sparizioni. Sebastian Husher, celebre scrittore che collabora con la casa editrice di Noyer, è improvvisamente scomparso senza lasciare alcuna traccia dietro di sé. Daniel verrà mandato presso la dimora dello scrittore per far chiarezza sulla sua scomparsa.

    L’espediente narrativo è un escamotage per immergere il giocatore all’interno di un’atmosfera fortemente ispirata ad Alone in the Dark di cui sembra, effettivamente, una buona emulazione. La casa di Husher è immersa nell’oscurità più totale e l’assenza di luce scandisce il ritmo di una narrazione che diventa poco a poco sempre più cupa, macabra e sospesa su un sottilissimo filo pronto a spezzarsi in qualsiasi momento.
    Il nemico è dei più tembili, caratterizzato da un’AI così avanzata da riuscire a reagire alle nostre azioni e al nostro stile di gioco: La Presenza, questo il suo nome, ci darà del filo da torcere nel vario districarsi di vicende e personaggi (per un totale di quattro giocabili).

    Chiunque faccia ingresso nella dimora di Husher sembra non essere più in grado di tornare, compreso lo stesso Daniel… sta al giocatore scoprire il vero motivo di queste sparizioni e cercare di comprendere la natura delle oscure forze che permeano quelle stesse mura.
    Il gameplay di Song of Horror ricalca perfettamente la classica avventura horror (con elementi da thriller psicologico) con puzzle ed enigmi da risolvere, configurandosi come uno dei giochi rompicapo meglio riusciti degli utlimi anni.
    La visuale è in terza persona con una camera fissa che si sposta in base ai nostri movimenti, ricalcando un po’ l’onda della visuale alla Resident Evil (i primi), e permettendo così diverse scelte stilistiche e di regia. L’improvviso movimento della camera può difatti nascondere numerosi elementi horror, generando il classico effetto jumpscare (qui ben riuscito e mai ridondante) che rende il ritmo di narrazione sempre coeso e lineare, ben movimentato ma non eccessivamente ansiogeno da causare abitudine. I rompicapo presenti nel titolo sono indubbiamente il perno del gioco, sicuramente ben bilanciati e con un livello di sfida davvero apprezzabile. Analizzare gli oggetti sarà essenziale per poterne venire a capo, spesso dovendoli combinare con altri presenti nel nostro inventario per riuscire ad avanzare. Le varie sequenze di gameplay saranno accompagnate dalla Presenza, che tenterà in ogni modo di dissuaderci dal continuare le nostre ricerche.
    Sul versante azione il titolo non presenta un vero e proprio sistema di combattimento, ma piuttosto delle meccaniche da poter utilizzare per avere salva la vita. Quando La Presenza deciderà di attaccarci potremmo infatti nasconderci o vincere una prova di forza, per esempio spingendola il più possibile dietro una porta. Le prove di forza vengono presentate come dei minigiochi in cui premere i giusti pulsanti (con il giusto ritmo) è l’unico modo di potersi salvare.
    Dal punto di vista della realizzazione tecnica, Song of Horror non brilla certo per innovazione estetica: i modelli di personaggi in 3D sono piuttosto blandi. Alcuni sono più curati d’altri, indicando una preferenza che di certo non ha giovato all’intero titolo. Le animazioni sono, invece, sempre scadenti e piuttosto macchinose. L’ambiente sembra molto più curato dei personaggi, una scelta da parte degli sviluppatori un po’ troppo azzardata, ma comunque comprensibile.    … Expand
  4. MicroBioDM
    Nov 3, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. While an appealing horror game, with a mix of point and click adventure/mystery games of the 90's, Song of Horror does an ok job of keeping the tension rising in the gameplay. I felt on the edge of my seat gaming while trying to solve puzzles, but I did feel that after some point it became more of a nuisance mostly due to poor explanations on choices and mechanics. I can only slam a door on the creature so many times before I lose the fear of it happening.

    The setting itself feels like a Lovecraftian dream, mysterious madness, and a music box causing it all. It was great, the game is built on the story it makes you read through letters, but if you can't find them the cutscenes between chapters lets you know what they said, somewhat lessening the impact of finding them in the level. However, with all the elements of a good HP Lovecraft story, I felt the incipient depiction of death, nooses, corpses, and monster designs, took the character out of that setting and into a more standard horror film. Which can be a real turn-off for me.

    The writing is also, so so in the cut scenes and one particular race of characters in their game which needs to be addressed. The cutscenes reiterate so much information again and again, which is fine to remind the character but it is difficult after 2 or 3 lines being reintroduced to that information again. It can also feel just blah at times and robotic, like the characters weren't written to work with each other.

    And finally the rub, the depiction of Latinos in this game, sucks. It was difficult having to sit through line after line of poorly delivered Spanish, bizarre phrases, racially insensitive roles, very stereotypical lines of dialogue, poorly researched accents, and worse yet it felt they were your sacrificial lambs. They had no clear role in the story in relation to the 3 other characters in each chapter and seemed to be innocent victims to the story's blood-thirsty maw. in the playthrough, sometimes they had the best passives that they could offer on to your characters after they died further establishing the sacrificial lamb role they were chosen for.

    But TL;DR The game does a good role of establishing a Lovecraftian Horror and knocks it out of the part in the first 30 minutes of a chapter putting the player on edge but fails to increase the risk. Along with the randomness of death sometimes, the game can be more frustrating than fun at points.    … Expand
  5. jcasualmente
    Jul 4, 2021
    5
    Excellent proposal, hurt by its bad execution and a bunch of bugs. Song of Horror is a splendid indie that reminds me of the old school horrorExcellent proposal, hurt by its bad execution and a bunch of bugs. Song of Horror is a splendid indie that reminds me of the old school horror games, but it came along with a couple of issues that corrupt your save file, bugs that prevent your progress and a permadeath system which mess up the exploration element by punishing you for being a curious player. Here we are, one month after its launch date, and the developers couldn't fix the game yet.… Expand