Everything You Need to Know About Hollowbody, a Horror Movie Inspired by Silent Hill 2

2024 has been an exceptionally good year for horror games, with releases like Still Wakes the Deep, The Casting of Frank Stone, Crow Country, Withering Rooms, Pacific Drive, and the upcoming Silent Hill 2 and Slitterhead. There’s also Hollowbody, an indie survival adventure game from UK studio Headware Games (Chasing Static), out on September 12. Here’s what you should know before you check it out.

What is Hollowbody about?

In the 22nd century, Mica Holloway is a smuggler on the North Atlantic island city of Aeonis. Her partner Sasha left on a research expedition to the long-abandoned British Isles 12 days ago, and Sasha and her team have since disappeared.

Mica enlists the help of a secret service to get past the quarantine perimeter around the United Kingdom so she can get to Sasha’s last known location, when a sudden engine failure causes her to fall from the sky. Mica finds herself stranded in what remains of a small British town, where she quickly discovers that the ruins are inhabited by strange, hostile mutants, and must fight them to find out what happened to Sasha.

What kind of horror are we talking about here?

Hollowbody is a deliberate homage to late 90s survival horror, particularly the original Silent Hill 2. It’s a dark and atmospheric game set in a procession of crumbling streets and abandoned buildings, where your flashlight is often the only source of illumination.

If you enjoy exploring old buildings and abandoned neighborhoods, interspersed with the occasional puzzle or zombie fight, you’re ready for Hollowbody.

What should I know about Hollowbody before I start?

First off, Hollowbody’s resources are scarcer than those of the Silent Hill games that inspired it. If you’re not careful, it’s easy to run out of ammo just as tougher enemies start to appear. Don’t worry, though, you do have access to some decent melee weapons, like a spiked bat and a makeshift axe, but they don’t work as well on everything you’ll encounter.

So, go into Hollowbody with a mindset of conserving your health and ammo, much like you would in a Resident Evil game. Don’t engage in combat if you don’t have to, and when you do need to take down an enemy, try to use your bat or axe whenever possible.

Second: If you’re a true arachnophobe, avoid this one. Trust us.

One last thing I wish I had known before I started: Hollowbody doesn’t truly reach a point of no return until the end. You’ll probably know it when you see it.

Before that, you can backtrack to Mica’s starting point, though it takes a while and you may have to dodge a few new enemies. There are a few big secrets and a useful weapon that can only be picked up by returning to the first area with some of the later key items.

What is the length of Hollowbody?

My first blind playthrough on Intended (normal) difficulty took about six and a half hours. As of this writing, there’s no way to skip through cutscenes, so Hollowbody isn’t very suitable for speedruns.

Once you know the routes and puzzle solutions, you can probably complete Hollowbody in under three hours, especially if you’ve avoided as many fights as possible. In order to unlock 100% of its achievements, you’ll need to complete it at least three times, including one on the highest difficulty level.

How many endings does Hollowbody have?

On a recent save, you can get one of two endings. The one you get seems to be triggered by the results of a mandatory storyline conversation near the end of the first area, with no other influencing factors.

A third ending is available if you manage to complete the game with no or low damage on the unlockable Punished difficulty level.

What types of collectibles are there in Hollowbody?

There are a total of 34 collectibles in Hollowbody.

Eight of these are “Lost Signals,” which allow you to use Mica’s pocket radio to listen to old broadcasts in specific areas of the game. These eight signals are associated with unique achievements, such as State Regulations And Occupational risksand you will unlock the Walkie-talkie success for finding all eight.

You can also find a total of 26 documents throughout the game, only one of which is permanently off-limits. If you manage to find the other 25 in a single playthrough, you will unlock the achievement Logomaniac.

Hollowbody is available now via Steam and GOG for a starting price of $16.99.

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