Imagining a world without the deep shadows of Silent Hill to inspire us all is similar to wondering how humans could breathe underwater or how fish can survive on land; it is simply not possible. Hollowbody is one example of inspired playable media, inventing new ideas surrounding abandoned towns, otherworldly monsters and mind-boggling puzzles. Our protagonist, Mica, is searching for her friend, Sasha, just like how Henry from the original Silent Hill looks for his daughter, Cynthia. The unsettling foggy town within Konami’s masterpiece is replaced with a deeply unsettling and quiet village in Hollowbody, and after crashing her Back to the Future-styled flying car, Mica is stranded in a town completely forgotten by the rest of the world.
Something Lurks in the Dark
Exploring the dark streets and claustrophobic corridors, I’m reminded of how much I still love indie games more than anything. The true creative freedom I witness when playing Hollowbody is much more interesting than a video game industry that relies on sequels and remakes to make money. Scattered along the eerie world are the bodies of former housing residents, labelled on-screen once Mica comes into contact with each one, providing an insight into who they were and giving life to each of the deceased. The British housing estate that Hollowbody is set in is engulfed in mould, dilapidation and outright ruin. Everything you look at is either dark grey or light grey, providing a sense of hopelessness in a town abandoned by the rest of the world.
Trapped in a Nightmare
At its core, Hollowbody is heavily inspired by old-school horror titles like Silent Hill, utilising many aspects already seen in nostalgic survival horror games like tank controls, fixed camera angles and the occasional jump scare. Sometimes, the movement can feel clunky, and as the camera flips to a new perspective, I found the controls veering off course to where I wasn’t intending to go. However, this gripe is just a small fish in a large pond as the majority of my time with Hollowbody was extremely enjoyable. In certain ways, one might think that the bad controls add a sense of chaos to this land of the dead as one false move could net the player into serious danger.
Otherworldly Monstrosity
In terms of danger, the monsters of Hollowbody are basically shuffling, fleshy corpses that have clearly telegraphed attack patterns and are not too much of a threat to reduce to a puddle of black goo. Mica will mainly come across shambling, skinny zombie-like humanoids that barely put up a fight before meeting up with larger, more threatening monstrosities and, of course, dogs. Mica is armed with limited weaponry to begin with, including a low-powered pistol and a nailed wooden plank. Once the Temu version of Lucille has been acquired, Mica will run into her first enemy in a crumbling apartment complex, taking 4-5 hits to take down with a finishing stomp to finally seal the deal. Pretty much every enemy will be taken down this way as Mica is not some John Wick wannabe and doesn’t have a particular set of combat skills like Liam Neeson or Leon S. Kennedy.
COVID 2.0
Mica’s newfound helplessness is made apparent with her step-back approach to combat and the fact that she, like her companion, is also trapped within the confines of this gloomy hellscape. The story of Hollowbody starts when players actually control Mica’s partner(?), Sasha, during an investigation on a coastline in the British Isles. Dressed up looking like the lockdown of March 2020, Sasha goes searching for her missing colleague in a cave all by herself because, obviously, this is a very good idea to have without backup. Walking to the end of the cave, Sasha uncovers a conveniently placed, large hole and is approached by a figure that gives her a big stare before fading to black. This completely envelopes the player into a shroud of mystery with several questions on the plot: Who is this ugly, rotten character, and why is there a gaping hole in a random cave? Where is Mike, the deeply invested fan-favourite with absolutely no screen time? Only advancing the story will provide the answers…if any at all.
Final Thoughts
Hollowbody is a short 6-8 hour journey that attempts to pack in more quantity than quality. The game’s ambitious level design is unfortunately riddled with the same enemy types twenty times over, and there are plenty of areas where enemies do not exist and that feel like long, dormant corridors, particularly the city levels. These concerns can be slightly swept under the carpet, judging by the fact that the game was designed by one person, but I have played other single-developer games that didn’t seem to miss this mark. Alas, Hollowbody is still an enjoyable experience with an interesting plot, sound environmental storytelling and even a fun save system involving telephones. Can somebody please just open up the Yellow Pages?
Developer: Headware Games
Publisher: Headware
Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Windows PC (NOW)
Release Date: 5th June 2026
Gaming Respawn’s copy of Hollowbody was provided by the publisher.
