Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut Review (PS4)

Lone Survivor: The Director’s Cut is the latest indie title to make the jump from the PlayStation 3 to the PlayStation 4, and with great seasonal timing to boot. The question is: is the game’s special brand of horror still capable of sending shivers down your spice on Sony’s next-gen machine?

In short, of course it is. The title’s 2D pixel art visuals look identical to the original version, clearly not pushing the PS4’s hardware at all, but it’s still the same ever-so creepy survival horror title that it was 13 months ago. Indeed, this is a peculiar and fascinating tale, with the ability to unnerve you this Hallowe’en. However, with no new content or improvements, you may want to think twice before double dipping on this nefarious nasty.

• Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut PS3 Review

For the uninitiated, the game puts you in the shoes of a, well, lone survivor, foraging for provisions in an apartment block, while hiding from and occasionally fighting zombie-esque creatures which mean to do harm to you. If that wasn’t enough, you’re plagued by dreams of three mysterious people – including a woman that you know, but can’t quite remember.

It trades heavily on psychological horror, bringing into question the sanity of your character, and even you as the player, as the side-scrolling 2D world changes around you. The need to sleep and eat adds urgency to your exploration, and the scavenging of provisions fights against your wary instincts of facing the unknown. The subdued atmosphere, the blood curdling, unintelligible screams of nearby creatures, and the unclear but blatantly grotesque imagery achieves a level of fear far beyond what the simple visuals should provide. It’s all brilliantly designed, and this extends to the audio department.