Hollowbody Review (PS5)
Summary: A desperate search through a quarantined city quickly spirals into a journey filled with unsettling discoveries and difficult truths. Blending retro survival horror design with a futuristic world, the adventure balances exploration, resource management, and suspense across a tightly paced campaign. Though brief, it delivers plenty of atmosphere, mystery, and reasons to see the story through more than once.
3.9
Bleak Borough
In a city cut off from the world, finding one person means risking everything else. Hollowbody is a tech-noir survival horror game developed and published by Headware Games, originally launched on PC on September 12, 2024, and released on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on June 5, 2026. Created primarily by a single developer, the game wears its inspirations proudly, drawing from classic survival horror series like Silent Hill and Resident Evil while blending them with the futuristic atmosphere of titles such as Signalis, Observer, and Soma. Set within the decaying remains of a quarantined British city, Hollowbody combines environmental puzzles, resource management, exploration, and combat into a compact horror adventure that feels both nostalgic and distinct thanks to its tech-noir setting and worldbuilding.
The story takes place in a bleak future where Britain’s economy has collapsed and several cities have suffered devastating bioterrorist attacks. Portions of the population were relocated to a manmade island in the Atlantic Ocean, while countless others were abandoned behind massive walls surrounding the infected cities. Decades later, you play as Mica, an unlicensed black market shipper searching for her missing partner Sasha. After Sasha disappears while investigating the exclusion zone surrounding the city of Aeonis, Mica teams up with her friend Tax to arrange an illegal rescue mission. Things immediately go wrong when a violent storm causes Mica’s hover vehicle to crash inside the quarantined city. Stranded among the ruins, she must find a way to contact Tax, uncover what happened to Sasha, and somehow survive long enough to escape. The narrative takes a few unexpected turns throughout its relatively short runtime and offers three different endings, giving additional reasons to revisit the story after the credits roll.
Gameplay follows a classic survival horror structure and rarely strays from the formula, but it executes that formula well. You explore interconnected environments, search for clues, collect key items, solve puzzles, and fend off infected enemies while carefully managing your resources. Fans of older horror games will immediately recognize the design philosophy. Progress often requires finding specific items and figuring out how they interact with the environment. You might melt locks with acid, locate heart-shaped keys to open gates, use severed body parts to access scanners, lift shutters with a car jack, or restore power by installing fuses. None of the puzzles are particularly difficult, but they keep the adventure moving at a steady pace and fit naturally into the world.
The game offers both modern controls and traditional tank controls, with the latter feeling especially fitting given the combination of fixed and dynamic camera angles. Saving is handled through telephones scattered throughout the city, where you also interact with the game’s most mysterious character. Throughout the journey you’ll also discover radio signals that can be tuned into at specific locations. These broadcasts provide additional lore and help paint a clearer picture of the tragedy that unfolded within the city. Documents scattered throughout the environment further expand on the setting and its history.
Combat may not be deep, but it consistently gets the job done. Mica can lock onto enemies, allowing you to focus attacks more easily whether you’re using melee weapons or firearms. Various melee weapons can be found throughout the game, including makeshift options like boards covered in nails and a guitar, each offering slightly different handling and attack styles. Firearms include familiar staples such as handguns and shotguns, each requiring their own ammunition types. Enemies aren’t always defeated when they hit the ground, and some will continue crawling toward you until you stomp them out completely. That same stomp can also be used to break certain crates containing useful supplies. One particularly convenient feature allows you to instantly switch between your last equipped melee weapon and firearm using the quick select system, making combat feel smoother than some of the games that inspired it. You can even move around with your weapon already drawn, helping encounters flow naturally.
Its compact runtime works in its favor, allowing the game to maintain a strong sense of pace throughout. The entire adventure can be completed in roughly three to five hours, but very little of that time feels wasted. The environments feel concise and purposeful, with each new location serving a role in the overall progression. You’ll move through city streets, parks, graveyards, churches, subway stations, apartment buildings, and other memorable areas without spending too much time wandering aimlessly. While collectibles remain in fixed locations, health items, ammunition pickups, and even some enemy placements can vary between playthroughs. It’s a small touch, but it adds just enough unpredictability to make repeat runs more interesting. Completing the game also unlocks New Game Plus and a harder difficulty that includes additional documents, a new weapon, and even a side quest that expands on some of the game’s deeper mysteries.
Visually, Hollowbody fully embraces a nostalgic PlayStation 2 era aesthetic. Low-resolution textures, simple character models, and carefully designed lighting create an atmosphere that feels authentic rather than simply retro for the sake of nostalgia. The tech-noir setting allows the game to constantly mix decaying urban environments with futuristic technology, giving the world its own sense of style. One moment you’re exploring an abandoned church and the next you’re dealing with advanced scanners and digital systems. Small details reinforce this futuristic tone, such as text descriptions appearing when examining corpses and a glitching visual filter that begins to distort the screen when Mica suffers significant damage. While there aren’t a huge number of enemy types or character models, the designs themselves are memorable and fit the world well. Performance remains solid overall, though loading times occasionally feel longer than expected for a game of this scale.
The audio design complements the visual style exceptionally well. Much of the soundtrack consists of unsettling electronic drones, distorted ambient sounds, and crunchy industrial effects that constantly reinforce the sense of isolation. Environmental audio enhances the sense of tension, whether it’s distant screams echoing through empty hallways, crackling fires continuing through the night, or the hollow reverberation of a gunshot inside a deserted structure. Enemy noises are appropriately disturbing, and the voice acting adds personality to the cast while helping bring the world to life.
Final Thoughts?
Hollowbody’s puzzles are generally simple, many enemies can be avoided entirely, and experienced horror fans may find the challenge level fairly forgiving even on the higher difficulty. Some story developments may also prove divisive depending on what you’re hoping to get from the narrative. However, its strengths ultimately outweigh its weaknesses, with its focused design, atmospheric world, engaging mystery, and clear appreciation for classic survival horror coming together to create a game that remains enjoyable from beginning to end. It feels like a genuine love letter to the genre while still feeling distinct thanks to its tech-noir setting and British dystopian backdrop. For horror fans, especially those who miss the style and structure of early 2000s survival horror, Hollowbody is an easy recommendation and a memorable indie effort that makes the most of its compact runtime.
About the Author
Nay Clark Gaming holds a special place in my heart and I never stop talking about video games. I really love all types of games and have an interest in games that have complicated stories and lore because I enjoy untangling the mystery of it all. When I'm not gaming, I unsuccessfully try to control three amazing and incredibly bright kids.
Related Posts
Darksiders Warmastered Edition Review (PS5) →
Bluey’s Quest for the Gold Pen Review (PS5) →
Luna Abyss Review (PS5) →
