Exophobia review

With its pixelated textures and undistinctive stage architecture, Exophobia undoubtedly resembles a first-gen first-person shooter. Much like Wolfenstein 3D or the original DOOM, the game’s modest visuals make it fairly easy to get disoriented. As such, you’ll rely on the presence of defeated enemies to make your way through Exophobia’s crashed spaceship.

Sure, developer Zarc Attack provides an in-game map to help navigate the multi-storied vessel’s labyrinthine network of rooms and hallways. But just looking at the map requires batteries, so you’ll periodically need to replenish power at one of the game’s save rooms.

Undoubtedly, the design decision is intended to produce a feeling of apprehension, much like the meager amount of ammunition in the early Resident Evil games. But mostly, limiting the amount of time you can peer at the map feels punitive, given the abundance of one-way doors and little indication when it’s time to change floors.

Charge ‘n’ Blast

But that’s hardly Exophobia’s only surprising quirk. Your weapon is a piece of upgradable alien technology. At first, you are forced to fight the game’s mutant lobsters and shield-toting robots by firing a single shot at a time. Since the game’s vertical axis is fixed, and you can’t look up and down, firefights are less about aiming and popping out of cover for a quick blast.

Largely, precise timing is crucial for success. You can knee-slide into foes to temporarily stun them, or enjoy a few i-frames as you slip past environmental dangers. But firefights, especially with the game’s five bosses offer little room for error, so expect to replay these showdowns multiple times.

Lost Among the Walls and Halls

Undoubtedly, Exophobia’s most notable quirk is a metroidvania-style approach. The game expects you to backtrack frequently, whether its to revisit a locked door with a newly acquired keycard or by using your charged shot to break down barriers. Most first-person shooters feel like linear or at least arena-based affairs. But the game’s mapping reveals just how dense and complicated the environment can be.

It will probably take most players between seven and ten hours to make their way through the game. And while it’s somewhat hidden in the game’s menu, there are five difficulty settings as well as the ability to disable the need for batteries when viewing the map. Call me soft, but I enjoyed Exophobia more when the game was more lenient. But if you’re seeking adversity, Zarc Attack is exceedingly willing to indulge.

Exophobia was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.