Conscript Review – War Never Changes

Conscript is a unique survival horror experience in some ways, just as it is one that treads familiar ground in others, but above all else, it’s clearly a game made by someone who loves and is intimately familiar with the genre. Borrowing heavily from classic Resident Evil and Silent Hill games in particular, Conscript, which is largely a one-person effort, isn’t a game that is going to deliver too many scares – in fact, if true horror is what you want, it’s likely to leave you disappointed – but from a design perspective, and thanks to its setting, it’s a game well worth checking out, especially for fans of the genre.

Set in 1916 during World War 1, Conscript puts you in the shoes of Andre, a lone French soldier who must navigate the trenches of the Battle of Verdun in search of Pierre, his brother and fellow soldier who’s gone missing. A survival horror game set during the First World War isn’t something that we see all too often, but the setting is used excellently in Conscript. The game depicts the horrors of war to great effect, and does an incredibly job of creating an intense, oppressive atmosphere that feels appropriate for the nightmarish setting.

"Borrowing heavily from classic Resident Evil and Silent Hill games in particular, Conscript, which is largely a one-person effort, isn’t a game that is going to deliver too many scares – in fact, if true horror is what you want, it’s likely to leave you disappointed – but from a design perspective, and thanks to its setting, it’s a game well worth checking out, especially for fans of the genre."

Of course, the fact that it uses a historical setting and has you facing entirely human threats and challenges means Conscript is constantly fighting an uphill battle in actually managing to scare the player. Though it does an undeniably great job of building up incredible atmosphere and setting a grim tone for the entire experience, it doesn’t actually do much to legitimately scare you. Survival horror games have at times found great success with relying on building tension rather than eliciting scares over the years, and I’d say Conscript very much falls in that category- though if you’re looking for a survival horror game that doesn’t de-emphasize the horror, Conscript might let you down.

If you’re looking for a game to scratch the survival horror itch from a gameplay and design perspective, however, Conscript is well worth diving into. It almost feels like a purist’s vision of a survival horror game in all the genre tropes it uses, and more importantly, uses well- from a focus on backtracking, exploration, and puzzles to inventory management, resource conservation, and more. Unlike with its setting and narrative and thematic ambitions, in the design and gameplay department, Conscript chooses to stick to the genre’s blueprint, and is stronger for it, thanks to a solid understanding of what makes survival horror games tick.

Take, for instance, the exploration. Conscript will have you navigating a number of maps that are not only surprisingly large, but layered and complex in their design. In typical survival horror fashion, there are shortcuts to unlock, interconnected pathways and loops to discover, and plenty of backtracking to do. The latter in particular will often drive your experience, because, again, in classic survival horror style, Conscript places a heavy amount of emphasis on inventory management. You always have limited inventory slots, and figuring out which items to keep with you and which ones to put in your storage box – which you’ll find in save rooms – is important. If you’ve played a Resident Evil game, it’s going to be more than a little familiar to you.

"If you’re looking for a game to scratch the survival horror itch from a gameplay and design perspective, however, Conscript is well worth diving into."

Exploration also remains rewarding throughout the experience, because if you’re not finding a new key item or crucial resources or ammo, you’re either discovering new notes and story tidbits, finding crafting resources, unlocking shortcuts, and what have you. In every save room, you’ll also find a merchant with whom you can trade cigarettes – which act as a currency in this game – in exchange for ammo, resources, consumables, and more, while using gun parts, he can also upgrade your weapons for you, with upgrades entailing things such as damage, fire rate, reload speed, magazine capacity, and more.

Conscript’s level design and exploration being as strong as they are also comes as a blessing for the game from time to time, because it struggles with feeling a little aimless at times. Like survival horror games of old, Conscript doesn’t like to give out too much information on what you’re supposed to do or where you’re supposed to go at any given time, with the idea being to encourage exploration and get players to stumble upon solutions at their own pace. The freedom that that this enables is obviously great, but at the same time, the game can also feel slightly obtuse at times. It’s almost a bit too uncommunicative for its own good.

Combat is another area where I felt the game falters. Conscript is played from a top-down perspective, which means it doesn’t quite replicate the tank controls of classic Resident Evil games, but it does attempt to emulate their combat by not allowing you to move while shooting, making aiming require patience, and making it so that even the most powerful guns don’t feel too overpowered. Whether due to the rate of fire of a weapon or its reloading speed, with the number of enemies you’re facing at a time or with the different challenges different enemy types pose, Conscript keeps finding ways to force players to keep frantically moving about the battlefield in an attempt to maintain distance from enemies.

On paper, that sounds great, and even in practice, it can build genuine tension. There are legitimately thrilling moments and sequences in games that rely entirely on combat, but often, Conscript’s combat feels a bit too rough. Managing your stamina while you run and roll about to create some distance between yourself and an enemy ends up feeling cumbersome quickly, while melee combat in particular feels rather clunky. I get that some of the roughness of combat is very much on purpose, but ultimately, I think it detracts from the experience.

"The top-down look in and of itself is one that gives the game a unique look, but add to that its retro-inspired pixel art, and you get a game with a very particular look and style, one that works quite well in conjunction with the grittiness of its World War 1 setting."

Thankfully, Conscript gives you the option to avoid combat quite often, while generally, the core loop is much more reliant on exploration, backtracking, and puzzles- the latter of which will, again, be familiar to anyone who has played classic survival horror games. Puzzles rely around figuring out which items to use in which places to unlock previous blocked paths, or finding clues or items that you can then use to access previously inaccessible areas. It’s all familiarly designed, but much like other aspects of the game, it’s also very well executed, exhibiting a strong understanding of the genre and its strengths.

Another area where Conscript stands out is its visuals. The top-down look in and of itself is one that gives the game a unique look, but add to that its retro-inspired pixel art, and you get a game with a very particular look and style, one that works quite well in conjunction with the grittiness of its World War 1 setting.

Conscript is not a game that will haunt your nightmares, nor is it a game that treads revolutionary new ground for the survival horror genre, but it’s got a strong, coherent vision that it brings to life in impressive fashion nonetheless. A gorgeous pixel aesthetic, an oppressive and atmospheric World War 1 setting, excellent level design and rewarding exploration, smart puzzle design, and more come together in an engaging survival horror experience that fans of the genre shouldn’t miss.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.