Trench Scan – Squad of Quick Scares

The walls of Trenches collect dark stories and horrible phenomena

There are warlike conflicts like the First World War that give rise to thousands of personal stories. Many of them are worth telling, whether they are heroic, sad, overcoming stories or with a humanitarian message.io. Trenches approaches this war, and does so in a more sleazy waywith undertones of horror interspersed with the psychological mess caused by this type of situation.

To the barricades!

Ratalaika Games and Steelkrill Studio They are responsible for giving us a first-person experience between the trenches. These spaces have been in contemporary wars the refuge of soldiers during enemy fire… and at the same time their own graves. We will see it the second way, by contemplating the horrible crimes that were committed there. Some even supernatural and inhuman in nature.

In order to escape from this fortified prison, in Trenches we will have to go through the corridors of the trench in search of dolls scattered on the stage. Their location is random, and the only way to know where they are will be to listen to their cries. that, and a whistle we can use

know which way to look. Although you should be careful because the beep of this gadget can capture the enemy’s attention.

With mud up to your ears

The idea could be good, because through the tension caused by the place, the paranormal phenomena generated by the spirit and the sounds that we hear around us are positive factors to fully immerse ourselves in the plot. But unfortunately, Trenches don’t end up standing out due to several issues which we will describe below.

To begin with, the scenario is always the same. Hallways, hallways and more hallways. Sometimes with muddy ground, others with planks that generate noise when walked on, and the occasional room in a very specific way. At first it generates tension and fear, but there comes a time when it gets boring. Being careful, avoiding tables and looking sideways before turning a corner, we will start running until we reach the next point proposed by the game.

A soldier without a weapon

The alarms aren’t very well implemented either. The same thing happens with the scene itself. At first we will be surprised by all the “to scare the jump” which has trenches. But there are so many, so random and baseless, that they will cease to be relevant. In fact, there was a time when I even found them boring. If they had balanced that amount of scares by adding more notes for the scene, blurry photos (which do exist), and new game mechanics, I’m sure the proposal would have gained a lot. By the way, if you don’t like these types of jumps, you can turn them off from the menu.

In addition to the tension generated by its sound and graphic aspect, There are enemies who will chase us when they hear our moves. At first there won’t be any, but as we progress they will appear to complicate our exploration. Luckily, we can hide under the beds or cover ourselves with blankets i.e. on the walls, in the same way as other games of the same cut such as Alien Isolation oh Hello neighbor 2.

Tense air that is cut with a knife

In its audiovisual aspect, the title has dark and light. Do you remember Silent Hill? GOOD this fog resource is repeated in the Trenches with the same purpose: to cover damage that we can find if we look at the horizon. The only thing I found remarkable were the halos that are created when we look at a light source.

The sound is implemented a little better, since it is its best asset both to carry out the mission entrusted to us and to scare us every time. jump scare

generated. Maybe it’s because I’m a father, but listening to babies crying all the time hurts me a lot… By the way, the texts are not translated into our languageand although it is not a crucial aspect to circumvent the trenches, it would have helped to have the texts in Spanish.

Conclusion of the trenches

The First World War was a hair-raising conflict on many levels. Ratalaika Games and Steelkrill Studio wanted to capture it in a very particular way, developing a first-person horror game that plays with the mind, creating illusions and scares everywhere. The idea wouldn’t have been bad if they had taken more care over the narration, the setting where the action takes place and if they hadn’t overexposed the whole game with the same kind of easy scares.

Despite its flaws, it has moments of brilliance, with surreal stories that can worry, or a sound section that will keep us tense throughout our stroll through the muddy corridors of Trenches. It’s something different, and those who love the genre will find incentive to experience this horror story, even if it’s not perfect.