Heartworm

The game relies heavily on nostalgia, and my God, it works really well. If you play it which I highly recommend you’ll be reminded of old PS1 games. The music is sublime; kudos to the composer. I put 25+ hours into this game and enjoyed every second. Hopefully, we’ll see more 8.5/10 games like this one from the developers. Thanks for the game :)

Lo-fi survival horror that stretches across several excellent ideas without ever overstaying its welcome in any particular area, centring a quickfire camera flash mechanic. There’s plenty of homage — play really feels like a combination of classic Silent Hill and Resident Evil in the best of ways — but each area brings new ideas to the table.

game looks good but unplayable due to a bug game will make you walk in a circle and there does not seem to be a fix for it out there even though many people have had the same issue

Heartworm is a good game, despite a number of shortcomings. Its story starts very strong, very intriguing and personal, but unfortunately starts to lose some momentum halfway through. Narratively, Heartworm is ambiguous by design, evidently... but even with its auteur-flavored style, it doesn't end up being memorable. Visuals are nice. Landscapes are imaginative and even awe inspiring a couple of times, although some of them are too in-your-face tributes to older games. Something I found amazing is how places in Heartworm look like pre-rendered backgrounds, BUT are actually 3D! It's genuinely impressive the first time you notice it when aiming over the shoulder or when the game decides to move the camera to follow you. I also loved all the real-time cutscenes... but absolutely disliked the pre-rendered ones, which obliterate the game's looks. :-S The ending videos, I.E. And talking about art direction: it's kind of all over the place. Suffice to say that Sam (MC) has very different looks and faces wherever she appears: artwork, in-game, status screen, the aforementioned ending videos, etc... The user interface could've used more work, too. And the in-game map is "functional", but an icon showing where Sam is and where she's facing was truly missing, for me. PC optimization is decent, but I think it could've been better, especially in scenes with many light sources, heavy effects and/or vegetation. In terms of sound and music, Heartworm is solid. Not a lot to say about that. Maybe voice acting leans towards the weaker side sometimes, but nothing too distracting. Gameplay wise, Heartworm is just fine. It DOES feel like a survival horror game, on the "gentler" side of the spectrum. There's almost no enemy variety, but this is understandable, as this is not a combat-focused game. There are a number of bosses that feel challenging and fun to beat, though. Controls are OK, but there's a problem after aiming over the shoulder: the camera will have a slow animation to go back to its default position and this can be really annoying in combat, where every second matters. This issue alone made me go back to the retro aiming mode more times than desired. Replay value is kind of there, if you're interested in getting all the endings and unlocking some costumes for Sam. For me, though, I didn't care a lot and felt I was done with the experience after my first playthrough. So, all that said, I think this game is worth a try, especially for survival horror and retro fans. Just keep your expectations in place and maybe get it on sale. From 1 to 10, I'd give Heartworm a 7.

I think if you like the original Resident Evil and Silent Hill from the 90s you will enjoy this game.

This game at every turn ruined any enjoyment I could of had here. Far too many enemies stun you and the dogs are so frustrating to fight or escape and for some reason you included them within a boss fight which simply did not need it. And in that boss fight after it does the stunning roar sometimes it just ran me over as it escape and ALSO the leap it does at you WHAT I AM SUPPOSED TO EVEN DO???? The dogs slow you down, ambush you, constantly stun you so that is then punished by the deer leaping. Also stop putting healing items in places were you risk losing health to get them, entirely defeats the purpose

Very good game! The story, the atmosphere, the level design, the music are all phenomenal. The actual gameplay and combat are the weakest points of Heartworm, and I won't say that it's *bad* -- just weaker. None of the puzzles are too impossible to figure out on your own, although a couple are presented a little vague and you'll need to stretch your imagination a bit farther to come up with the answers. They do provide the satisfying "aha" feeling of solving puzzles, though, and as a retro throwback to the games of the PSX-era, it even feels appropriate. The combat is, I'll just say it, kind of lame. I love the idea of using the camera as your weapon, and having film as the ammo. Super cool idea! But the enemies just aren't hard to fight, and partway through the game I nearly stopped registering them any more than minor environmental hazards to avoid. So it isn't a hard game, and there isn't a lot of enemy variety. That disappointed me. Regardless, I would recommend this game. Heartworm isn't the kind of game that will make you afraid to play with the lights off, or leave you with existential dread when you're trying to fall asleep that night, but you will have fun playing it!