Kholat review

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If you find yourself looking for a horror, mystery game with great atmosphere, intense action and thrills, choose Kholat. Its setting is wonderful, the environment and weather make everything very realistic, but the story and some other key elements lack fulfilment and detail making Kholat the definition of a “mixed bag”.

The story

The story isn’t cliché, but the way it’s told and played out make it feel so. You’re a character (really, nothing else to say), following the footsteps of an explorer or scientist who went after a group of nine Russian university students who went missing in 1959. This is based on a true story, it’s known as the Dyatlov Pass incident. The area of Northern Ural mountains is very harsh and the climate make it practically uninhabitable, the developers recreate it perfectly. You have a compass and a map, but orienting is almost impossible in a snowstorm. People who have found themselves in the middle of one, will know what we’re talking about. You occasionally see a golden ghost of one of the students showing you where to go next. This is the only clarity in the story, because everything else spans and ends up in one big mystery suitcase. You are being chased by a phantom, a weird organism that somewhat resembles a man, but isn’t one. Your main goal is to collect notes… Sounds familiar, right? Yup, it takes a lot from Slender, but graphically and in some other areas, the ante is upped quite significantly.

Gameplay

There are no RPG elements (thanks god) and you can move around freely without having to worry about getting cold or hungry. You make your way around a mountainous area in the Soviet Union. The movement mechanics feel fluid, there isn’t any gunplay to comment on, but Kholat is a horror game that focuses on mystery and tension rather than guns and action. You really feel immersed in the harsh conditions as they affect visibility, mobility and your courage behind the screen significantly. Some things are up for debate though. The fact that you’re being thrown off like a baby bird without any instructions, just a short overview and a lack of direction are all things either loved or hated by players, there seems to be no in between opinion. Well, if you’re interested, we, here at gamespedition simply LOVE IT! This is one of a kind game that really makes you feel lost in a setting that would in reality be very hard to move in and logistically wrap your head around. Soundtrack is very underrated. Kholat has probably one of the most moody and beautiful soundtracks of any modern horror game. It keeps your mind occupied while you wander around without knowing where, when and how it is going to play out (this is true, moving for a few minutes without anything happening is a possibility), but that builds up the tension rather than knocking it over. Audio ques usually mean something is up. The main enemy is a “Phantom thingy” it appears out of nowhere, you can’t beat it with fists or any other attacks, so you have to avoid it.

Conclusion

Have you ever seen a movie or read a book that you didn’t understand? Kholat is something like that. It has a great idea, but can’t pull itself together consistently and the lack of it really can harm what otherwise could be one of the most atmospheric and immersive horror games of all time. The lack of ideas in the “collect and avoid” department and a real lack of help might harm the experience for a lot of players and there isn’t an option to determine how you want to play. Whether that’s good or bad, is up for debate, but you can’t deny that Kholat did many things right.

7.8/10

Published in Kholat - others

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