Dawn of Fear is a fixed camera classical rendition of the survival horror experience at a budget price. Though it is shorter and more contained than it’s ancestral heritage what is there manages to shine through the issues to offer at least a competent survival horror experience.
The Good
-Visually appealing without feeling like umbrella mansion #Redacted
-Zombies aren’t bullet sponges
-Head-shots though limited are instant death for Zombies
-Limited weapons, but each is solid
-Decent coherent monster design despite a limited pool of models
-$20 Price-tag
-Actually a survival horror game, not an action horror game masquerading as survival horror
The Bad
-A few bugs, one which required an uninstall and reinstall to attempt to fix it
-Areas don’t load sometimes, you can progress through locked doors by accident and get trapped
-No tutorial, but the simplistic design allows for players to easily figure out the ropes
-No Map
-Short, like 3-5 hours
-Frame Rate drops
Neutral
-Fixed Cameras add a retro experience, but occasionally hides things and gives enemies added danger
-Controls combined with fixed cameras can be problematic at times
-Decent puzzles, but no real lore reason for their existence,
-Decent story with a few predictable twists
Horror experiences often define themselves with their visuals and sadly after Resident Evil established the gold standard with the Arklay Mansion we’ve explored more iterations of it than I can count. Each offering an air of familiarity, but banality with only a few setting themselves apart. Set itself apart Dawn of Fear does.
This wasn’t something I was expecting, nor something I found particularly troublesome for what the game was offering. Yet your home was not just another mansion, but a well thought out, visually pleasing locale. One that would feel as if you were walking through a real manor rather than some facade designed to house unspeakable evils.
Walls and rooms are decorated as if someone, in fact, lives in the unnamed local. The more commonly used areas are well maintained, but areas that were renovated or merely not as frequently used show signs of wear and need of repair. The cohesion adds to the terror as I went deeper uncovering more and more of what had transpired leading up to the nightmare Alex finds himself in.
Like a real house, the layout wasn’t overly complex which makes a lack of having a map tolerable right up until I found myself unable to progress thanks to overlooking a path obscured by the fixed camera. Naturally, after purging the manor of all the undead, exploring every available nook and cranny available to find what in the world I had overlooked, did I finally turn to an online walkthrough to “are you kidding me,” before returning to go down the now obvious way forward.
Throughout the manor, there’s mostly zombies with a few additions. Each of the limited pool fitting the motif of something a necromancer could whip up. Sure the pool of enemies was limited, but aside from noticing the repeat of the same model of zombie, it succinctly blended with the lore to make the overall experience feel more believable.
Your pool of weapons is slightly more limited as your enemies are. Albeit at least it makes sense to be limited to a pistol and knife that wasn’t made in China given its durability. Later your arsenal expands with a trusty shotgun for your bloodstains in the waiting and finally a magnum. Ammo for the pistol is decently ample and with running past zombies and learning to use the knife properly you’ll scarcely need to use it lest you want to.
The undead, unless they have recourse to be, are not bullet sponges just as they were not in classic Resident Evil. A lucky headshot will instantaneously reduce the zombies head to a combusting mess and those that plague you longer will only take on average two rounds to drop before moving in with a knife to finish them. 3-4 total if you don’t want to close that gap.
Ah, but your trusty knife will become one of your more commonly used weapons as soon as you realize that enemies are stunned after being hit and will fall back; and aiming low is your winning combination.
The fixed camera is the game’s bread and butter and utilized to great effect here. Of course, I wouldn’t claim you’re going to be citing this game as the definitive demonstration of the style’s superiority, but it will remind you that the style had its advantages and why it was enjoyable.
They’re not perfect though. A few times the angle did hinder combat and combat in-between angles were problematic depending on the location as a result of mobility being based upon the present angle and would carry over till the next angle. Forgetting to adjust properly after shifting between angles could at times create temporary confusion especially if a group of enemies were bearing down upon me.
The last thing worth noting was the dip in frame rates that would occasionally hit the game. Creating a particularly hilarious moment where I became the flash for a few seconds.
Closing Thoughts
There isn’t a lot to Dawn of Fear, but what is there is a competent classical survival horror experience plagued by a few bugs. What saves the game, in the end, is the competitive pricing for the experience. At $20 it left me with no complaints overall as to what was delivered and allowed the areas where the game excelled to shine through the rougher patches. Leaving it a fun, yet flawed experience.
Verdict:
