Cryostasis Review (PC)

Genre: Survival Horror/FPS
Developer: Action Forms
Publisher: 505 Games
Release Year: 2009
System: PC

This is gonna be a controversial review of a really deep yet simple game. I got u confused maybe? Well what i mean is that Cryostasis is a survival horror game with the classic gameplay but the story is its most attractive feature. Along the years we have seen many horror games but cryostasis is one that worth a gamer's attention because is a combination of X-Files, The Thing, The Thaw etc. You ll get my drift after reading the following review. Enjoy! 

PLOT: 9.5/10

You play as Alexander Nesterov, a meteorologist that investigates the nuclear ice-breaker "North Wind", using your unique ability "mental echo" that grants you the power to witness and influence the final moments of the dead. Really soon in the game will discover that you are not alone on the wrecked steell creature but something has disfigured and returned to life the members of the crew. As you work your way through the game you will see as flashbacks the captain of the ship and learn step by step its history. Cryostasis is a dramatic story about a captain his ship and his crew. The rest its up to you to discover!

GAMEPLAY: 7.5/10

Cryostasis' gameplay is really simple and quite known to almost any fps/pc gamer. You move Nesterov with W,A,S,D, jump with SPACE, duck with CTRL, run with SHIFT, turn on/off the flashlight with F, and interact with the environment with the RIGHT CLICK. When Nesterov is in combat more the right click serves as block. You can hit with simple punches by left clicking but you can also perform combo attacks by simultaneously pressing two of the navigation buttons and left click. At the beggining you fight just with ur firsts or with whatever u find around u such as chains, and later on in the game u can be equipped with a whole arsenal including tommy guns and riffles! 

The gameplay is as simple as it can be, you navigate through narrow corridors with frozen walls, click to open doors, or click on switches to unfreeze doors. The really attractive element about its gameplay is the "mental echo" mentioned above. Nesterov during his investigation comes across with several bodies and with his unique ability he can relive their final moments and eventually save them. To the lower left corner of the screen there is the temperature indicator along with a stamina indicator. In Cryostasis ur temperature is ur health so instead of meat, pills, potions or first aid kits u use sources of light to stay alive. Thats another one new and clever element! By pressing the ESC button u access the menu of the game where there are the classic choices such as save/load game, options, continue and the Diary option. In the diary he collects every paper he finds on the ship. Note that during the "mental echo" u can't save so u ve got to complete it or lose in order to be able to save! 

ATMOSPHERE/MUSIC: 8.5/10

Hmmm... well this is one of the strongest aspects of Cryostasis. Claustrophobic, lonely, icy cold, and helpless. These are some of the things that each gamer should feel when wandering through the narrow corridors of the "North Wind". The designers made a really good job at the claustrophobic part (u really feel that u can only fit in there and no one else). They designed the ship based on the designs of a real russian ice-breaker. That alone is enough and makes the game is a pretty realistic frightening experience. Throughout the game u can hear the heavy breathing of Nesterov, footstep, water flowing and metal clanging and of course the monsters roaring around  giving u that many reasons for heartattacks that u wont find elsewhere! A real ominous soundtrack can be hear in the main menu as well. 

GRAPHICS: 9/10

Cryostasis's graphics are quite impressive dark yet clear and simple. They give the impression that the gamer is trapped in the ice-breaker himself. There is also that nice visual effect at the screen edges that resembles that even the screen is frozen. Its noteworthy that the game is the first to make use of the Nvidia PhysX real time water physics as displayed in a tech demo of the game engine! 

OVERALL: 8.6/10

In a few words u can call Cryostasis a master piece of its kind because it combines dramatic yet horrifying scenario with a simple and addictive gameplay dressed with realistic sound effects and ominous soundtrack. Its what every horror gamer is looking for so if u haven't played it yet give it a try without thinking it twice!