You Will Die Here Tonight is a love letter to older survival horror titles like Resident Evil. When you are playing the game, it has an isometric third-person view. It changes to first-person mode for combat. The game’s graphics look like a game made at the tail end of the original PlayStation’s life cycle, which is a compliment because it looks great. It invokes all those nostalgic feelings.
Everything You Love About PS1 Survival Horror Is In You Will Die Here Tonight
You go to a mansion to track down a killer. Upon entering the mansion, the first thing you find after waking is a note saying, “You will die here tonight. Anything you find might help the other escape. On the back is a photo of your team saying, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” You will soon find out that is true. When a character dies, another can gather their inventory and add it to their own.
Once the second character goes down, you realize there might be a time loop involved. Your character repeats their line and thinks about how they have said it before. This whole setup is enough to pull you in and have you interested. That is all I will say to keep it spoiler-free. The story is exciting and will keep you wanting to find out what comes next. The story should be experienced, not read about.
Once all characters have died, you restart with everyone alive, and progress carries over. You will have all your weapons and items from the previous run. This roguelike element allows you to experiment if you struggle with a puzzle and ultimately kills you. It can also help if you stumble into a boss fight you aren’t ready for. While the game is difficult, the roguelike element helps keep the difficulty manageable.
You Will Dies Here Tonight is a throwback to 90’s survival horror, and you can see that in the puzzles. The puzzles will remind you of Resident Evil quite a bit. Most puzzles are not difficult, but sometimes you encounter puzzles that frustrate you. I ran into a puzzle with statues that you have to move according to a poem. The poem doesn’t help much in understanding the orientation of the statues. I struggled to understand it but moved it around until I got it right.
When you initiate combat, you go into a first-person mode. You can aim like a traditional shooter, but you cannot move. There is a button to escape if that is possible with the encounter. When you switch to combat with a group of enemies, they won’t always be directly in front of you. You can spin 360 degrees in combat mode, which makes encounters much more intense. You start with a Handgun and Tactical Knife. You can find other weapons in the mansion. Within the first three hours, I had found a magnum, shotgun, and grenade launcher.
You find ammo through traditional means such as breaking boxes, breaking vases, and just picking up ammo boxes. The one frustrating thing to happen in combat is getting infected. You have six doses to cure the infection, but it felt like every other encounter, I was getting infected. I think the amount of infectious bites should be lowered to raise the enjoyment for the player. The game is difficult enough that lessening the chances of zombie virus infections wouldn’t ruin anything.
You Will Die Here Tonight Is Incredibly Atmospheric
There is no voice acting for the characters. You get your dialogue through text boxes, but it isn’t overwhelming. The sound design makes the atmosphere creepy. You can hear enemies shambling around and their monstrous voices. Sometimes, you hear creepy music playing in the area that starts skipping, adding to that uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach. The weapons also sound great while firing.
The switch from third person to first person is such a unique mechanic. If you packaged this as an original PlayStation game and had me play it, you might trick me into believing I’m playing one of the most innovative PS1 games ever made. If nostalgia is always pulling at you and you find yourself playing older titles, wishing they still made games this way, look no further. They do make games like back in the day. The game isn’t perfect, but I feel every survival horror should pick this title up. This isn’t just a hidden gem. This is a diamond in the rough.
Wrapping Up
The game does so many things right that when it does a little bit wrong, you can ignore it. Not only will it fill your nostalgia cup fully, but it will also scare the pants off you. The story reminds me of a good book. The more you play, the more you can’t wait to turn that page and see what happens next. The combat is intense but a lot of fun. If you love Resident Evil and the old Alone in the Dark titles, this game will make you feel right at home. Spiral Bound Interactive has delivered a solid survival horror game at a great price point of $19.99.
