Nostalgia is a helluva thing sometimes.
Ground Zero, from developer Malformation Games, is a game that is built on the frustrating, yet nostalgic gameplay structure of the original survival horror series Resident Evil. The game is so well-versed in the first 90s RE that Ground Zero even features frustrating camera angles, large polygon graphics, and some interesting choices of map construction that constantly throws a hefty amount of unease at the player. In other words, it’s surgically precise with what it’s trying to replicate, even down to the story.
The story of Ground Zero follows two soldiers sent to South Korea to investigate a meteor impact zone where an amusement park once stood. Two months removed from the impact, the pair find out that not only has the amusement park been obliterated (in a way) and left inaccessible in some areas, but the folks who were in the area were either killed or affected by what came with the meteor. The pair of soldiers must find out what is going on, what happened to the people, and when it is safe for the rest of the area to return to their homes. Spoiler alert, it’s going to be a bit.
The story is hokey, but it sets up the rest of the adventure swimmingly. It delivers a good backdrop with the right amount of uncertainty and never-ending potential horror. It plays well with the Alfred Hitchcock theory that the worst things you can see in a horror film are those that you don’t. In short, this is a fun setup and payoff when it comes to creating a tip-of-the-hat replica of old-school Resident Evil scenarios.
On the gameplay side of the tracks, Ground Zero does exactly what made RE a challenge back in the day. The first item of nostalgic interest is how it treats the player’s viewpoint as they walk from scene to scene. While the controller’s quality of life has been improved in the old RE mechanics by allowing the player to move a certain way with the controller as camera angles change from scene to scene, it’s still a frustrating control venture, especially when running from an enemy. But, hey! Ground Zero doesn’t beat around the bush when it comes to expectations, as it clearly says what it is and what it is trying to replicate. Respectfully, if anyone complains about the camera movement, which can be jarring, then they didn’t read enough about the game to understand what the devs were trying to deliver. Anyway, the movement can be frustrating in comparison to modern control schemes that typically include freely moving a camera around with the right thumbstick, but it’s meant to be frustrating and accurate with its design. It nails that old-school movement and creates that well-placed frustration to make the game challenging, and it pulls it off wonderfully.
Not to be outdone by the camera movement, and sporadic and sudden scene changes, the game also features every RE fan’s nightmare…limited ammo and backpack space. If you have ever experienced RE in its golden age, then you understand what it means to pick up an item, hoping that you will keep it because maybe you don’t know what it does, and then having to jettison it for health or ammo items because you run out of both quickly. Ground Zero replicates this strategic juggling act perfectly from the RE world and forces the player to make decisions that might affect them sometime down the road. It’s a brilliant way to up the horror and survival in the game, while forcing the player to rely on their instincts on what might be more vital should they run into situations A-Z. I love that the devs included this frustrating aspect of the game, as it makes the adventure challenging and makes it far more of a survival scenario in the midst of horror.
Speaking of challenges, the game does present more than a few along the way. The levels built for the game, especially most of the amusement park, are hand-drawn, stale masterpieces that are sometimes tough to navigate because of their rigid nature, especially when being chased. The levels are horrifying most of the time and hide secrets, and sometimes enemies, if every inch isn’t explored. For example, I must have passed by a shop in the middle of the park several times before realizing that the car crashed in front of it contained items, and going up to the shop meant seeing an important piece of the storyline. While the game does its best to tip-off players to locales on maps, it’s not always clear because of the pixelated visuals. The game overwhelms with visuals, but does so on purpose, which allows them to force the player to explore, or they may regret it (or may not progress). Everything that the player navigates is built on good intentions to create a big world, while also making the world not show all its cards unless the player actually tries to explore it. The maps are fun, big, and full of secrets and items. They also fit perfectly with the nostalgia that the devs were trying to accomplish.
On the enemy side of the tracks, they’re pixelated terrors that won’t be as sudden or as violent, or vicious, as the original RE enemies were at the time. The graphical downgrade prevents too much horror being consumed by the player’s imagination. It’s tough to be scared by things that require some thought to identify. I am not saying that every enemy is like this, but they aren’t as scary because of their lack of details. But they are dangerous and can take down the player if given the chance. The bosses are even worse.
The bosses will take a licking, sure, but for the most part, the enemies come at the player at an easily reactionary pace, which means the scares aren’t as bad. For example, the first time I met one of the mutated dogs in the game, it was just casually strolling around. I knew that I had plenty of time to take it out before it activated whatever its attack was, so there was less panic in the process. While pointing and shooting is still tricky due to how this game was made, it still provided enough time to react and dispose of said pooch.
The only hitch to that comment is that the limited amount of ammo can make for a tough situation that is somewhat intense, but as players progress through the game, there are options for ammo and arms acquisition, which makes life easier. That does take a bit of RE spirit out of the fight, but I can dig it, especially if it means progressing easily and finding out more about the story.
Staying with the story, that story is worth enjoying. This wasn’t a haphazardly thrown-together game that was counting on pure nostalgia to capture the player’s money and under-deliver with a stale representation of old survival horror games. This is a good story that unfolds its many moments of survival horror and delivers upon its promise of throwing the player back to a more complicated and tough survival horror time.
I thoroughly enjoyed the hell out of my time with Ground Zero and felt like it did the RE brand some justice with its return to earlier survival horror design and execution, and with creating its own notch in the survival horror genre belt. If the game didn’t contain a fascinating and fun story, or it didn’t contain all the above gameplay elements, then it probably would have under-delivered on its promise. In the end, it’s a fun survival horror that captures the essence of the late 90s survival horror genre and does it justice with its own creative goods.
Now, having said that, I realize that some players will go into this not expecting this type of nostalgic or remedial gameplay design. I get it, and I know that it isn’t for everyone. It will be a hard sell for someone who entered the survival horror foray around the time that Resident Evil 4+ was getting its gameplay groove. But, if you get this and you accept what it is trying to accomplish, then you’ll find a fun RE replica waiting for you with a good story, decent acting, nostalgic gameplay elements, and something that is worth taking the time to play.
On that note, let’s wrap up this review.
Conclusion
Ground Zero, from developer Malformation Games, is a tip-of-the-hat to classic survival horror times, and well-executed with story and gameplay.
