In the same way you would combine a red and green herb in Resident Evil, Giovanni (Agar3s) and Mateo (Carenalga) from Team Vultures are combining tactical turn-based gameplay with survival horror themes.
“In fact I came to the realisation that the tactical elements are perfect for a survival horror game.”
Before I played the Vultures – Scavengers of Death demo I was worried the turn based elements would overpower the survival horror but that isn’t the case. In fact I came to the realisation that the tactical elements are perfect for a survival horror game.
Turn-based games share several similarities with survival horror games in terms of strategic depth and gameplay mechanics. In turn-based games, players must weigh the risks of each move, while in survival horror games players must think about their actions at a more deliberate pace rather than relying on fast reflexes. Survival horror games typically feature real-time combat, the need to choose when to fight, flee, or hide mirrors the tactical combat decisions in turn-based games.
I decided to test Vultures against my “golden rules of survival horror” and I was surprised to find it almost perfectly fits my criteria for the essential gameplay elements of a survival horror game. For more information on my golden rules for visit here: www.survivalhorrors.com/survival-horror-golden-rules
Golden Rule 1: Scarce Resources
There is barely enough ammo to kill all of the zombies in the police station where the demo takes place, I found myself entering rooms with 5 or 6 zombies and I simply did not have enough ammo to kill them all. Just like classic survival horror games I had to back track where I found a shotgun which let me progress through the rooms with large numbers of enemies.
Saving in Vultures is also a scarce resource, just like the ink ribbons in Resident Evil to save in Vultures you have a limited number of discs, this requires players to be strategic about when and where they save their progress to avoid losing significant progress.
Golden Rule 2: No Control Over How Successful Your Attack Will Be
In fixed camera angle games, you aim roughly in the direction of the enemy without any real control or precision aiming. This lack of control is present in Vultures, I found myself with a 70% chance of getting a head shot regularly missing. This lack of control when fighting enemies is what separates survival horror games from action games that do have precision aiming.
Golden Rule 3: Unexpected Attack
In classic fixed camera survival horror games there would often be enemies just outside of the cameras view which made it unsettling to turn a corner. In the footage below you can see this same scenario plays out in Vultures, you don’t know what is a few movement squares in front of you until after you commit to moving. In the footage I try and sneak past a zombie but a second zombie is revealed around a hidden corner triggering the combat. Running in the game wouldn’t be advised and the sneaking feature doesn’t guarantee safety either.
Golden Rule 4: Puzzle Solving
The demo features a few code base puzzles which require you to read notes you find in the police station and then back track to a lock. Puzzles in the final game will be expanded to more than just code based puzzles but they are still being developed.
Golden Rule 5: Having to Evade Enemies
I found myself underequipped to fight the enemies in a room or the room had more zombies than I first thought, when this happened it was best to just run to the nearest door and evade the enemies.
There is also a stealth movement mode (Sneak) which is slower but a much safer way to move around the police station. I found this worked great when there is 1 zombie in the room but you can’t easily sneak between multiple zombies.
Golden Rule 6: Playing as a Vulnerable Character
You play as a bad ass from the Vultures organisation so you aren’t exactly vulnerable however if enough zombies surround you it is hard to live.
In the final version of Vultures you will have the choice of two characters, Leopoldo or Amber. This is a nice tribute to Alone in the Dark and Resident Evil that also give you a choice of a male or female character.
Golden Rule 7: Maze-like Environments
The police station in Vultures is very similar to the labyrinthine Resident Evil 2 police station it was inspired by. Even the demo has a nice variety of locations to explore within the police station including a Garden, Press Room, Offices, Firing Range etc. I am really looking forward to exploring and unlock new paths in the police station further when the final game is released.
