CONSCRIPT PS5 Review. The horrors of war are well trodden territory when it comes to depictions in video games.You have the bombast in Call of Duty, the poignancy in Valiant Hearts, and the levity in Sniper Elite – for those who want to plant a bullet in Hitler’s nether region. There’s something for everyone.
CONSCRIPT PS5 Review
A Harrowing Portrayal Of Trench Warfare
Being that as it may, there’s always room for another take on the period spanning both world wars and with CONSCRIPT, we have another such release aiming to leave its own mark. Taking place during the Battle of Verdun, and largely the sum of one developer, CONSCRIPT charts the journey of a lone French soldier negotiating the horrors of Verdun in search of his brother.
A melange of old-school and more modern Resident Evil sensibilities, the game borrows handsomely from what’s come before and utilises each component in a smart and thematically consistent way, conveying a sense of desperation within the confines of its pixelated trenches. It’s even got the patented ‘this game contains scenes of explicit violence and gore’-style opening.
Shown from a top-down viewpoint, players must navigate across different terrain, all the while avoiding, or indeed engaging, with advancing German infantry. Similar to its inspirations, what this involves in practical terms is traversing a richly-detailed map full of locked doors and points of interest.
This is buoyed by the fact that your objectives are oftentimes slightly vague, which forces you to consult the map, determine which areas you haven’t yet been to, and plan accordingly. It’s a smart design choice because by not being overly explicit with where you need to be at any given time it encourages organic exploration and discovery.
The comparisons to the seminal survival horror series don’t stop there, as the game also makes use of inventory manipulation, gunpowder combinations, and even has a merchant selling wares at save points which is not too dissimilar to that of Resident Evil 4.
The currency used is naturally not the peseta, nor is it the time-appropriate franc, but rather cigarettes, the true war-time commodity amongst soldiers. You’ll find packs of them strewn across each of the areas or on soldiers’ bodies and they can be used to purchase new weapons, consumables, or even some permanent upgrades.
Gun parts, on the other hand, are what are used to upgrade weapons, and these can be found on the bodies of some brutish enemy soldiers or within different areas. Similar again to Resident Evil 4, there are set criteria for each weapon, such as fire rate and damage, that can be improved upon.
As for the combat, CONSCRIPT employs a sort of head height side-to-side aiming with light stealth mechanics. It is a little finicky at first, and the need to constantly adjust your position based on enemy encroachment can remove you a little from the tension.
Appropriately, then, melee combat is a little more palatable – if that’s the word you can assign to it given the brutality – and is in step with the sense of desperation the game is trying to put across. In truth, you’re encouraged to adopt a stealthy approach and take on enemies one by one, there’s even little hiding spots that can be used to bypass enemy patrols but their patterns don’t always make this the optimum way to get by.
Enemies come in different shapes and sizes, with some being melee-focused and others bearing arms. For the former, there are a number of different types, which vary in difficulty, depending on their speed or toughness. There are decidedly less with guns, save for a few set pieces, again maybe in keeping with the close-quarters nature of trench warfare.
Thematically, for the most part, it works. CONSCRIPT is a game that goes great lengths to paint a harrowing picture of The Great War’s longest battle; it is scrappy, debilitating, and oftentimes desperate. The sound design and amibence go a great distance in underscoring that also.
There are points, particularly before the midway point that stretch the seams of the combat, however. These gauntlet-style encounters have you maiming a set number of enemies before being able to proceed to the next story beat, and though they are very infrequent they feel somewhat at odds with the general pace of the game.
It’s likely an effort to ratchet up the tension by exploiting the scrappy nature of the combat, but in reality these encounters funnel you into situations where you’re just scrambling around the area, luring enemies in and kiting, and trying to get off as many shots as possible before you’re hit with either a melee attack or a bullet. You are given a roll mechanic to get out of such chokepoints, but given they can last a while, you’ll just find yourself running around the area in circles, which removes any sort of immediate tension that comes from an encounter.
Where the CONSCRIPT is at its best is in navigating its labyrinthine maps, taking pot shots from a distance, ambushing foes from behind with one of the many melee weapons, and exploring every nook and cranny for the next key item. Make no mistake; each of the game’s maps are sprawling, winding affairs, replete with closed-off areas, narrow pathways, and underground tunnels.
As with games of similar ilk, you’ll find yourself routing the same areas time and again in search of a particular key, which will unlock a new set of doors, before then finding another trinket to be used across the map. It’s worn territory in terms of what we’ve seen in the genre previously, but what’s notable is just how dense it is; this is ultimately a very confident outing from someone who is acutely aware of how this type of game should work.
There’s also a bevy of side content, rewarding players for exploring off the beaten path within each chapter; you can load artillery to clear wreckage that is blocking additional rooms and access points, empty water pumps to uncover gemstones that can be affixed to jewellery and then sold to the merchant, or break open boarded up doors to scavenge for supplies.
Though usually quite intuitive to get around, there are small instances, particularly in chapter two which takes place on the outskirts of the trenches, where it can become a bit of a chore to get around, partly due to the game’s dense pixelated style. There is a set path to walk, interrupted often by deep puddles of murky water, some of which you can walk straight through while others not so easily.
As a result, you may find yourself popping up the map just to save yourself the hassle of getting stuck between two objects that clearly looks large enough to fit you. It’s a minor point, largely relegated to a single chapter, but in a game that’s ostensibly about repeat returns to the same places, it’s worth mentioning.
Given backtracking is a key component here, the game smartly introduces jeopardy while still keeping with the thematic element of trench warfare. Some of the occupied areas will have German patrols set to a particular pattern, and once they’ve been cleared out – be it stealthily or with a more heavy-handed approach – you’ll have the option to mount barbed wire fixtures on parapets to ensure that the enemies won’t respawn for your subsequent runs through that area.
Though that aspect is only relevant in a set number of locales, there’s something else that’s an ever-present consideration as you progress through the six chapters and that’s the rats. A by-product of prolonged bouts in the trenches, rats will appear at the bodies of German soldiers you’ve killed, and once they catch wind you’re close by, they’ll give chase until you can reach another area.
Should you wish to avoid them gnawing on your ankles, there’s one or two ways to address it, the first being by pouring fuel onto the bodies of enemies and lighting them ablaze, while the other involves chucking grenades down the little hatches which house the pesky vermin.
If they do in fact bite you, there is a chance – more often than not, in fact – that they will infect you, which will reduce your total amount of health until you’re able to use a first-aid kit or morphine, which has the added benefit of increasing your overall health. For that reason, it’s worth dealing with the rats before they become a problem, otherwise you’ll have to hightail it through certain areas in a game that commands a lot of backtracking.
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Not surprisingly, then, CONSCRIPT is a game that encourages repeated playthroughs, tailored towards specific ways of playing. Utilising an in-game challenge system – which is in line with many of the game’s Trophies – you’re tasked with completing the game under three hours, doing a pacifist run wherein you don’t kill any enemies, or finishing it in six saves or under and without checkpoints.
Despite wearing many of its influences on its sleeve, CONSCRIPT never ends up feeling derivative. Instead, it carves out its own identity through a raw, layed portrayal of trench warfare. There are some slight rough edges, to be expected in-part due to the game largely being a sole venture, but nevertheless CONSCRIPT hits where it matters and succeeds in creating an affecting depiction of its source material.
CONSCRIPT releases on July 23 on PS5.
Review code kindly provided by PR.