Post Trauma is a new horror game that takes its cues when it comes to atmosphere and game design from classics of the genre like Silent Hill. However, the game manages to bring in the same sense of surreal spookiness while looking quite sharp thanks to its use of a modern engine. Developer Red Soul Games was kind enough to answer a few of our burning questions about the title, including its exploration, combat, and puzzle design.
Note: This interview was conducted before the game’s release date.
"Post Trauma is more of a puzzle horror game than a pure survival horror."
Post Trauma takes inspiration from survival horror classics like Silent Hill and Resident Evil, which is an enticing elevator pitch for any fan of the genre, but given the massive boom in popularity that horror games have enjoyed in recent years, what about Post Trauma is it that you’re hoping will catch the eye of the audiences?
The atmosphere, the world, the amazing score that Myuu composed, and our characters. We took inspiration from those games, but we tried to make something our own that hopefully players see has its own personality, and they’ll vibe with it.
The survival horror genre tends to place heavy emphasis on exploration, with interconnected and looping level design that encourages (and often even necessitates) backtracking. Is that something that we can expect to see in Post Trauma as well?
Post Trauma is more of a puzzle horror game than a pure survival horror.
You have to approach each location as a big escape room, so you’ll have to explore each location, find clues and unlock shortcuts. There is some backtracking, but not over long distances.
After you complete a level, the story will move you forward to the next location. When you revisit previously known locations, there will be new challenges for you that do not require information from previous levels.
What can you tell us about the variety in locations that players will be visiting throughout the length of the game?
In trailers, most of what we have shown is the subway station, but we have a lot of the usual places you expect in a horror game, like a school, a hospital or a police station, but we also have some weird levels…
"You have to approach each location as a big escape room"
Speaking of variety, how many different kinds of enemies and monstrosities will players come across in Post Trauma? And moving beyond regular enemies, what is the game’s approach to boss fights?
Excluding bosses, we have at least seven different enemy types in the game and I am planning on adding more and maybe increasing the number of encounters.
There are three boss fights in the game, two of them are actual fights, and the other one is more like an environmental puzzle.
I do want to make it clear that Post Trauma is not a combat-heavy game. There are enemies, they can kill you, and you will lose progress if they do. But the focus of the game is on the atmosphere and the puzzles.
Replayability tends to be a crucial part of survival horror games. What should players expect from Post Trauma on that front, especially with things such as collectibles, unlockables, modes, difficulty levels, and the like?
I have set up the game to support those in future free updates and I have a few in mind. But as of right now, there are no replayability features.
But you can play the game from the start on hard mode, if you want to.
How will Post Trauma tackle combat? Is this a combat-focused experience, or does the game afford players the freedom to approach situations how they wish? And speaking of combat, how many different kinds of weapons can we expect?
This is not a combat-focused experience. After all, most of the time you are playing as an old man who never had to fight for his life.
Outside of bosses and the enemy at the tutorial section, you are not forced to kill any other enemies in the game. But, of course, if an enemy is in a hallway you have to cross multiple times, you will have to deal with the risk and potential of dying if it attacks you.
We have a mix of ranged and melee weapons in the game. Ranged weapons are powerful, but the ammo, I must say, is quite scarce.
"Most of the time you are playing as an old man who never had to fight for his life."
Puzzle design is another core component of any survival horror experience, but games don’t always nail this part, with many finding it difficult to properly balance not holding the players’ hands against not being overly obscure. What has been your approach to puzzles over the course of the game’s development?
We tried not to handhold players too much. You will have to pay attention to your surroundings and take notes, or photos, of the different clues you find around you.
The idea with the puzzles was that, even if you get stuck on one of them, as soon as someone explains the solution, your reaction should be “oh, I was overthinking it! That makes sense”.
If you want to make the puzzles feel rewarding, it is simply not possible to make a puzzle game in which absolutely no one gets stuck. We tried our best to find a good sweet spot, but I prefer it if the player solves nine puzzles and gets stuck on one for a little bit, rather than beating 10 without thinking at all.
Post Trauma has impressed many from a visual perspective, but what was the decision to go with its more modern aesthetic as compared to something like pre-rendered backgrounds, especially given the game’s nature as a throwback survival horror experience?
I am the type of player who, if you give me a good photo mode in a game, I will spend more time taking screenshots than actually playing the game. Doing a game with fixed cameras was hard, but I also had a lot of fun with it.
Post Trauma started as a solo dev journey, and that dictated a lot of the decision-making. Contrary to what a lot of people believe, doing a game with pre-rendered backgrounds is harder than doing it this way, and with pre-rendered backgrounds we couldn’t do a lot of the camera shots we did. In a lot of places, the camera moves with you and the player can influence the camera view a little bit.
Roughly how long will an average playthrough of Post Trauma be?
It will depend a lot on your playstyle. I have seen players beat the game as fast as five hours and I have seen others beat it in more than 10, but most players, I believe, will take around six or seven hours.
