STEVE MILES·FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2019
A brutal little fairytale of when Little Red Riding Hood crossed John Rambo!
FOBIA starts off a little slowly at first. You play a red cloaked character stuck in an hostile wooded environment, with the task of making it alive through the many challenges and traps that await you on your journey.
Controls are limited to left thumbstick to move and B to jump, and that is it! Life and Death is down to trial and error here, as you move through each screen from left to right, and usually any short fall and slip means instant death and a restart from a passed checkpoint. There’s no time to admire the scenery, as it soon becomes apparent, that every little way ahead, there is some devious little obstacle to cross or trap to steer clear of, and work your way around.
Everything from rope bridges, swings, seesaws are included here. Sometimes there is a movable obstacle, such as crates, that need to be positioned in certain ways in order to cross onto ledges or indeed used to block traps. These traps can involve spikes from the ground or spring loaded levers, and fans of the movies will recognize the return or unwelcome return of the tree trunk swings from films such as First Blood and Predator.
Graphically, everything is very crisp and clear and nicely rendered. Sound is limited to bird song, running water and the odd bone crack, and all challenges and puzzles abide by the laws of science and physics reasonably well. Story is a mystery and for each player to work out, and with 2 different endings, it adds some replay value in this game.
Overall, this is the first game from a new team and it’s an impressive start that bodes well for the future. The Another World type look, carries an air of character, ambience and atmosphere that can be sadly lacking in bigger games from bigger companies.
A tricky short but sweet puzzle platformer.
Thanks to Tapteek for the code.
