Plastomorphosis [Review]
Plastomorphosis is a terrifying horror game in the style of an older Resident Evil game. The game has a fixed camera that changes angles based on where you walk, and it even has the options for tank controls (though I personally like to experience older games with the luxury of modern controls that aren’t terrible). The game was developed by VidyGames and published by VidyGames and Samustai Limited. The story follows someone wading through a creepy and mysterious world that we (as the player) don’t know anything about. The player finds a left-behind phone that has voice recordings and notes of someone else’s experience through this world. This mysterious person even left behind QR codes that she graffitied on the walls. Through these notes, you start to learn more about the strangeness around you, about why there seems to be only one safe haven in a place called “Modern-City” (which is where you are attempting to go to), and why the guards seem to do everything they could to keep people out of the safe city.
While the game is in the play style of Resident Evil or Silent Hill, there is a lot more to this game than just being retro. The story is pretty appealing, I like learning about it and the mystery of what happened to everyone. And the game is rather terrifying. There were plenty of moments I was scared to reach the end of a screen because I knew when the camera angle changed it would just reveal a new horror for me to see.
This game does a decent job at “show don’t tell”, because it’s never stated that you’re being watched, but there are mannequins everywhere just staring at you. Cameras and TVs line the hallways, and some camera angles even seem to be from the perspective of someone else or perhaps a security camera. I absolutely love the way the camera angles are utilized in this game. They have a few creative moments like how one area looks like you are looking through a security camera that is covered in maggots. Or one where, as you run down a hallway, the screen zooms in with clicking noise like a camera zooming in and focusing. It adds to the feeling of being watched the entire time.
Yes, I mentioned mannequins. The main enemy of this game are white, faceless mannequins. I don’t have a fear of mannequins, but this game is still frightening regardless, I can only imagine how horrifying it can become to someone with an actual phobia of them. I want to give this game a higher score than I will be, but I did come across some performance issues. For context, I played on the PS5 and the game crashed twice on me, once when I went to save (luckily, the save went through before the crash) and the other when I went to take a look at the notes in my inventory. I will still be giving the game a 7/10, but the crash did put me off the game for a moment. Plastomorphosis is currently available on PS4/5, Xbox One/Series, Switch, and PC.