Frankenstein: Awakening of Horror – Review

tory: A Great Concept with Shallow Execution

I was immediately intrigued! A Frankenstein game, the horror genre, third-person perspective — everything sounded great. I got what I wanted. In a way, at least. Unfortunately, the game has its flaws. What really stands out is the absolutely brilliant idea and the Victorian setting.

The story takes place in an alternate 1855 during the Crimean War, where the British government sees Frankenstein's experiments as a potential weapon. You wake up in Edinburgh with no memories, and after a few brief conversations, you discover that your task is to find Victor Frankenstein and put an end to his experiments. Parts of the narrative are also revealed through documents and audio recordings you find along the way.

Everything sounds great, but… beyond the initial concept, the story is rather shallow. The dialogue is overly simplistic, and when it comes to the narrative, it feels like the glass is only half full. Even when an NPC appears to offer a hint, the interaction feels like: “Hey, I'm so-and-so. I've come to tell you this and that.” The whole idea starts off brilliantly, but you eventually realize that there's very little depth beyond the game's central premise and setting.

Gameplay: Solid Combat, Familiar Mechanics

The gameplay follows the classic survival horror formula, with limited resources. You use a revolver and melee weapons, and each enemy requires a different approach. There are also environmental puzzles and traps that you need to avoid.

Resource management can be important, but it is far from punishingly difficult, which I appreciated. There's also a satisfying feeling when shooting monsters. I particularly enjoyed the tactile sensation of pulling the trigger while playing on PS5, as well as the way the action looks on screen. For some reason, the shooting mechanics really worked for me.

Atmosphere and Graphics: Great Setting, Uneven Presentation

The atmosphere is excellent, but unfortunately, that's largely thanks to the setting itself. The rooms feel far too large compared to the natural proportions of the characters. Everything seems oversized, including the designs on the walls, and after a while, this started to hurt my eyes.

The NPCs look lifeless, and scenes involving them don't feel natural. Character movement is also too robotic — although, to be clear, you don't feel this to the same extent while actually playing. And that's not the only thing that feels robotic, but we'll get to that in the next section.

I liked how the revolver is presented; it looks fantastic in the menu. If that same level of detail had been applied to everything else, this could have been an absolute banger. The monster designs were decent, even good in some cases.

Sound: Weak Voice Acting

I wasn't impressed with the sound design. The music feels characterless, for lack of a better word. However, the biggest problem is the voice acting.

The voice performances are practically nonexistent. I haven't looked into whether AI was used, but they definitely sound that way. Characters speak in a robotic, unnatural manner, with no changes in vocal delivery to reflect the emotions of the situation. Their facial expressions don't change either.

What I Liked

• The concept and setting
• Revolver combat
• Enemy design

What I Didn't Like

• Shallow story
• Oversized environments
• Sound design and character voices

Score: 6.5/10

The game was played on: PS5.