WARNING: This review contains bloody and scary pictures, if you can’t handle scary or bloody content please read another review.
Introduction
A new game enters the fray of being grilled and to be reviewed by me! This is our first horror story-driven review that I will write. Are you scared yet? In Skyland 1976 (will be named Skyland from now on) you will need to infiltrate a military base where they conduct weird experiments.
This game goes back to the roots of an old school horror game. You barely have any chance of survival or to protect yourself. This is not a first-person shooter where you just run in and shoot some zombies mutated by the H virus that has broken
loose in the facility. Some enemies can be taken out but you have to carefully plan ahead or you won’t make it out alive. Shooting a zombie six times in the head will kill him, but if you miss one he will live and eat your brain! You also have less ammo compared with most first-person shooter games. In Skyland the world is really dark and scary, you can use your flashlight to light your way but don’t use the flashlight to long or your batteries will run out. Luckily, once you have infiltrated the base you are able to find batteries for your flashlight. There are some other mechanics like eating food or going insane which we will talk about in the gameplay section. The story is really important and can be quite a rollercoaster when I found completed Skyland I was literally in shock and awe. It was an amazing feeling, I did expect this ending at all. I had to think for a few minutes if that was really the ending of the game.
I will keep the story section small and I will mention only a few details if you play this game you don’t want to know the story beforehand and especially not the ending.
This game had me really hooked and excited as I got closer and closer to the end of the game hoping to solve the mystery of this military base where the H virus is spreading.
What did I think of Skyland before playing?
I did not know much about the game before going in, Zach has requested this game since the game the Sword was broken.
I bought the game after Zach confirmed it was okay that this was his second choice and I just jumped in thinking it was a first-person shooter, Zach really likes first-person shooters.
I was thinking, let’s go pop some zombies, but the game started slow and I needed to puzzle and the story seemed important.
The sound effects are spot-on, I also got jump scared a few times right after starting, thus I got hooked and really wanted to know how the story would end.
Story
as I have mentioned I will not share too much of the story.
You start in a forest next to the mountain base, your sister disappeared here a long time ago. You decide to pick some mushrooms for your cabin in the woods.
You see a shadowy figure that looks like your sister that runs into the building! You decide to go back to your cabin and get supplies to break in and find out what is going on inside the top-secret base.
Did they take your sister?
You will have to find out the secrets of the Skyland base and save your sister.
Gameplay
Skyland has amazing graphics and the world is very dark and scary, I was on my toes every second to see what was lurking around the next corner. Making a single mistake can cost your life if you are lucky you might escape.
There are sneak missions where you need to sneak around to avoid getting killed by the zombies. After you have unlocked some of the weapons in the game you still have to sneak around sometimes. Some of the zombies are immortal!
Running is very important in this game but if you don’t eat enough you will run slower and the screen will go blurry. Talking about blurry screens, this will happen a lot! To avoid getting blurry screens and having a Baywatch running animation you will need to keep your food bar high. You can do this by eating food or by drinking water. Food can be found scattered all around the Skyland base but running out of food will mean your demise. You will also need to find pills to stop the H virus from letting you go insane, if you start going insane you will hear whispers. When you start to hear whispers it is a sign to pop some pills. In the very likely event that you will get attacked by a zombie, you will need to heal up, this can be done by finding bandages and healing kits. It is important for the game to keep all your stats as high as possible and ration your items, failing to do so will lead to your demise or going insane. If you go insane you will quickly find a game over screen.
You progress in chapters in Skyland and there are 16 chapters to complete. What will happen in the end? You can save your progress at tape recorders that you find hidden in the Skyland base. The base exists out of puzzle segments that you will need to solve. You can use certain items on puzzle marked spots. These items can be found throughout the levels. You will find hints on what to do in the Skyland base, your character will make notes and you can view them in the inventory at any given time.
There are puzzles where you will need to craft items like acid to melt away a lock or sneak past a zombie to open the gates. Some of the hardest parts can be running away from the zombie, in these segments, you will need to find the way in the dark hallway while being chased by a zombie that kills you in one hit! When you progress far enough in the story you will lose the flashlight and have to continue without the flashlight. You won’t get the flashlight back but you do get some new equipment like a gas mask and an AK47.
I really loved the gameplay in Skyland, the puzzles were good in difficulty range but I was thinking to complex. There were easier solutions than my brain came up with.
Sound and Graphics
I really loved the sound and the graphics in Skyland, the graphics are really amazing. I really loved it and it blew my mind. The creator of this game has really done a great job in making this a beautiful creepy game.
The sound effects like the whispering are amazing, don’t forget the amazing zombie sounds!
This game lacks a bit in gameplay but in the graphics and sound, this game is really amazing.
What did I think after playing Skyland?
The ending was really amazing and it shocked me, I would recommend this to everyone who loves a good story in a game.
The gameplay lacked a bit here and there but it is worth the story. If you don’t like the effects of the battery running out or needing to eat food you can change this in the options menu.
I was really glad that Zach requested this as a backup, this was a really great game. It had some difficult parts but the game was wonderful.
The hardest part for me was chapter 10, I ran out of food and had to be very careful about what to do in the next steps. It took me a few tries but I was feeling awesome when I finally made it past all the zombies!
My personal rating is a 9.3
I give this game a higher rating because of the ending, I totally did not see that coming. The story is written perfectly!
the pros and cons
Pro’s
– The story is written very well.
– The graphics look very stunning!
– The puzzles in the game are very well thought out, some can be complicated but they are worth it.
– Running away from the zombies and escaping with your life feels good.
– The game has good jump scares, I got jumped a few times which made me flinch but it was not used to excessive.
– The world literally warps around you. ( you know what I mean when you have completed the story).
– Getting chased by a zombie into a dark hallway.
Cons
– The gameplay mechanics are not for everyone, the draining of your stats can be cut down in the options menu if you want to play for the story.
– The route can be hard to find but it is part of the game, I would put it between the pro and con section if there was one.
I really liked this game and it got me really hooked within the first hour, I recommend this to everyone who is looking for a horror game or a story-driven game. Thank you Zach for requesting this game!
I give this game a …drumroll…
9!
I really enjoyed this game and the story is great, the gameplay lacks a bit here and there but it is easily overlooked by the amazing graphics and sound effects.
You can purchase the game here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1185870/Skyland_1976/
I hope you liked reading this review, I hope to see you in the next review.
