Asian horror has a certain edge to it that makes it often appealing to Western audiences. Maybe it points to a certain mastery of the genre, or perhaps the attraction lies in the difference between cultures putting Western audiences out of their comfort zone. Whatever the truth is, there are many fantastic horror games and films to come out of the continent over the past 3 decades and before. The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication is a first-person horror game from Taiwan that is based on the film series of the same name, itself a reference to an urban legend surrounding a cursed bridge in Tunghai University. Can this sequel live up to the experience of the last game? Let’s find out.
If you want some other spooky thrills, check out our review of RetroRealms Arcade: Ash v.s. The Evil Dead & Halloween, a horror themed retro platformer double-pack. For something a bit more ‘full on’, how about our review of Dead Rising Deluxe Remastered instead?
What Is the Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication?
As mentioned above, The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication is a first-person horror game from Softstar Entertainment, a developer based out of Taiwan. You play as several people trapped inside Wen Hua University at night on the anniversary of a famous murder case that took place in the building in 1960. With various sightings of ghosts on campus, you and the others with you find yourselves trapped in a horrific nightmare of ghosts and demonic entities, which you must cleanse if you have any hope of escaping.
When you start out, you’re in control of a reporter from a local news station, but at various points throughout the story, you swap between the perspectives of the four main cast members. Each transition serves to break up the gameplay style somewhat, though in all cases, you’re running around claustrophobic areas in the dark trying to avoid being murdered by angry spirits.
It’s a G-g-g-g-ghost!!!
In terms of gameplay, The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication should be familiar to anyone who has played a first-person horror adventure game before. During regular gameplay segments, you’re mostly exploring to find items and solve puzzles, and occasionally you’ll end up in a ghost encounter. Each encounter is handled slightly differently; some of them have you sneaking around trying to make your way past hunting enemies, often while trying to solve a puzzle, while others are more active, forcing you to flee your enemy without letting them touch or get near you.
These segments are a blend of styles and difficulties, though not necessarily in a gentle curve like you would expect. The hardest encounter happens in Chapter 2, and almost none of what happened afterwards could approach it in terms of challenge rating. Mostly, you just have to avoid them seeing you and then run away as fast as possible if they do. If the enemies do see you, typically you can escape by hiding underneath a table or something, an action they repeatedly fail to deal with.
Dance, Magic, Dance
In truth, the interesting thing about the game is the different ghost encounters, as well as piecing together the mysterious storyline. There are a handful of different ghosts for you to encounter and (hopefully) defeat during your time in the game. There’s the little doll ghost who plays deadly games with you, the Mad Ballerina who has one of the hardest sections to beat, the Neckless Consort, who is constantly looking backwards due to…unfortunate circumstances, and The Dark One, an evil mastermind who seems to be in power in the university. There’s also an extra ‘ghost’ encounter not mentioned above, but that would be a spoiler.
It’s a decent mixture of different puzzles and encounter solutions. The Mad Ballerina sticks in the mind for having one of the toughest sections of the game. She kills you if you move while you’re looking at her, and while that’s not too bad during the more open areas, there’s one section where you’re trapped in a tight room with her but still have to avoid moving while she looks or letting her touch you. Genuinely terrifying, but honestly, a little over-the-top in terms of difficulty for a section that comes as early as it does.
Dealing with Your Demons
The other ghosts have more fun encounters, even if they rarely approach a similar level of tension or difficulty. The Neckless Consort is constantly roaming the area during her encounter, requiring the best use of stealth if you want to avoid her. Luckily, in most cases, you also have a spiritual lantern with you during her segments, but you always have to avoid her while either solving puzzles or asking your way to the exit of the area.
We’ve already talked about the dancer, but there’s also ‘The Dark One’, a dark, demonic figure wreathed in shadow. His sections are more active chase moments, but as you run away from the being, you’ll often find yourself having to avoid his dark hands that block pathways and try to grapple you as you’re escaping. Your encounter with the little doll ghost is mostly just about puzzle solving, while the final secret ghost is hyper-aggressive in chasing you down while removing any hiding spots and giving you temporary disabling spots to give you a fighting chance.
Enjoyable? Certainly. Terrifying? Occasionally
The different encounters combined with the puzzle-solving/information-gathering segments give The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication a good variety of gameplay styles. If you’re struggling with a ghost encounter, you can be pretty sure that it won’t last so long that you’ll get bored of it, with the possible exception of the ballerina’s dance recital. The entire game is a bit like that as well. It’s stuffed full of collectibles and interesting segments, and the entire thing is over in about 5 or 6 hours, which is the perfect length for this sort of story.
Again, a lot of the enjoyment here is down to the story and atmosphere. You’ve got a mystery surrounding the actual events back in 1960, and it’s not clear right up until the end who is on whose side and what exactly the main bad guy was/is trying to accomplish. There’s also the cloying atmosphere and sense of dread as you wander through the dark and deserted halls of a university building at night. It’s very liminal, and things only get creepier when light orbs and vengeful ghosts start showing up.
Graphics and Goodies
Considering I was playing the game on the Nintendo Switch, I was also pretty impressed with the graphics. Sure, it wasn’t exactly what you’d call next-gen, but it looks great for a game running in handheld mode, even if there are a few fuzzy edges on certain textures. The characters and enemies all look realistic enough while not being afraid of showing their goofier sides, at least with the human characters.
All in all, it’s a well-contained package. Graphically, it’s decent, and the audio is designed in such a way to retain the ‘creepy factor’ by dialing back music and sound effects when you’re exploring. It means that you can knock yourself into chairs or other obstacles and spook yourself solid with the resulting noise. As with any great work of horror, it allows you to be the one to scare yourself rather than relying too heavily on the design of the monsters themselves.
In Conclusion
The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication was an excellent horror experience, and it made me want to take another look at the first game in the series. Not only does it seem like the game has massively overshadowed the film series upon which it is based, but this is the sort of bite-sized horror experience that is the perfect game for the Halloween season, even if it has to wrestle Crow Country for that particular honour this year. With stunning atmosphere, a great story, and likeable characters, The Bridge Curse 2 is a game worth your time.
Developer: Softstar Entertainment
Publishers: PQube, Gamera Games
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Release Date: 9th October 2023
Gaming Respawn’s copy of The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication was provided by the publisher.
