I got a chance to check out an early preview of the game Pneumata. The game is a survival horror FPS and was developed by Deadbolt Interactive and published by Perp Games. The game should be released sometime this year, but I don’t have the specifics or pricing. You can add Pneumata to your wishlist like I have if you’re interested.
The hell is going on!
Gameplay
The segment I got to play for Pneumata had me exploring a detention centre. While investigating, I came across some plans to find explosives and use them to reach the medical wing. The gameplay is similar to later versions of the Resident Evil games, primarily the items and inventory. Your inventory has limited space and goes buy a grid system. I’m not sure if the player will be able to expand their storage, but you can offload excess items into safe zone storage.
There were some puzzles in the game, but I only experienced two. One was for a safe, and the other had me looking around the environment to find numbers with colour codes for a lock. While looking, I was able to find some notes which held information for solving these, which is standard in survival horror.
Weapons and combining items
You can combine items in Pneumata, but I could only make one during the demo, and that was bandages. To make a bandage, I combined alcohol and cloth. Painkillers and bandages are the only healing items only ways to heal. Ammunition wasn’t craftable, but luckily, I had enough ammo during my time with Pneumata.
*WARNING: THERE ARE FLASHING IMAGES IN THE NEXT GIF*
The weapons at my disposal was a pistol and double barrel shotgun. The gunplay felt good, with the recoil responding well to show the differences between the two guns. A few options for melee weapons were there, and I started with a wooden bat. You could reinforce the bat with nails to further increase the damage. The melee weapons use stamina, but the bar doesn’t empty quickly, which I loved.
Enemies
You can’t have a survival horror without some danger, and Pneumata was no different. While exploring the corridors of the Detention Centre, I came across large, grotesque, humanoid creatures with cysts protruding out of their bodies. Upon shooting or hitting them, they would rupture, and damage me and summon a head crab-like monster.
Another monster was large and fat with a glowing orange spot on its body and acted more like a bomber. It took a lot of ammo, but I used the items around the environment, like explosive barrels, to better dispatch them.
Graphics & Audio
The graphics and audio are decent overall for Pneumata. The creaking and scraping sounds of surrounding metal walls and flickering lights alongside the ambient music helped set the mood. The extreme gushes of blood exploding from enemies as you shot them was also a welcome, fun and gory touch. The flashlight also works well, which many horror games fumble on.
Unfortunately, I found that the audio for the dialogue was too quiet, and I struggled to hear what was said. I believe subtitles would help, which is a shame as they weren’t available as an option. Sometimes, the lights in some areas were too bright and blinding, which became straining to keep looking at after a while.
Final Thoughts
Pneumata’s demo does a good job of setting up the horror atmosphere. I do still recommend they turn down the blaring lights, as they can really blind you, especially when the torch works pretty damn well. The controls worked great, but I’m not a fan of the dodging being the mouse wheel. The voice acting was enjoyable and didn’t come off stiff or awkward, and navigating wasn’t an issue. I’ll be checking out the game when it launches.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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