Greek Tragedy: Review

Greek Tragedy is another Halloween release: a fixed-camera PSX horror game that kind of slipped under the radar. Amidst the release of absolute classics this month – Tormented Souls 2, Flesh Made Fear, and Echoes of the Living – it didn’t really get much notice. Well, now that I have finished it (with 3 of the endings), I can’t really say it is competitive with these other titles – especially not as a survival horror game.  It certainly shares some of the hallmark traits of the genre; there are fixed cameras, puzzles, and a sense of vulnerability. But it also subverts so many others, to a point where I don’t even know how to classify it. No map, no inventory management, shoddy combat, linear level design, and an absolutely bizarre plot.  The combat is somewhat similar to the developer selewi’s games – which DO feel like survival horror despite only having a singular unbeatable stalker enemy. Here, you only have a taser gun that merely momentarily pauses the hooded enemies that relentlessly chase you. This flimsy combat system makes the enemies feel more like a nuisance than intimidating.  The real gameplay here is the puzzles, but unfortunately they are a pretty mixed bag. There are a few that were interesting and clever, but there are many others that are either too simple, bizarrely constructed (in a bad way), or just slightly glorified keys. The overall atmosphere is also a mixed bag; while the art style itself is quite charming, the actual content of the college campus, the characters, the vague fraternity/cult story – I just don’t really understand what the atmosphere is supposed to be.  The game took about 2 hours to finish, and it left me feeling a bit… empty. I don’t really understand what the vision was for the developer, on both a mechanical gameplay level or the content and story. Some puzzle fans may enjoy moments of the game, but I really cannot recommend it for classic survival horror fans. Greek Tragedy is available for Steam, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch