Upcoming horror darling Holstin has had a few demos since it was first announced at the tail end of 2022, which its Steam Next Fest demo handily collates into a single download for you, splitting them into puzzle and combat sequences. Admittedly, I got stuck halfway through the puzzle one, so I booted up its Steam forums to lose a bit of Guides Writer cred in search of the solution – but I was surprised to see so much negativity on show. Some harsh words were thrown at its combat demo in particular, and a little wave of disappointment hit me at the prospect of yet another survival horror game with lacklustre combat. Then, I played the combat demo for myself, and came to a major realisation. Namely, that Holstin’s enjoyment will almost certainly depend on how much you still like classic survival horror design, as opposed to how much you you still like classic survival horror design.
HolstinDeveloper: SonkaPublisher: SonkaRelease: TBADownload the demo on: Steam
That’s not supposed to be a “You just don’t understand it” haughty statement, but a general guideline as to whether or not Holstin is the right flavour of survival horror for you. I completely understand why some might not gel with its finicky combat, but after a brief learning curve (mostly spent dying), it clicked for me in spectacular fashion. Holstin isn’t looking to add modern conveniences for an easy win homage to 90s PS1-era survival horror. Instead, it’s chucked a bunch of inconveniences your way to remind you of just how stressful combat felt during the dawn of the genre – whether you like it or not.
Holstin – Combat Gameplay Reveal Trailer Watch on YouTube
Admittedly, this is a bit jarring compared to the first demo, whose puzzles were pretty standard affairs that you might find in any game with the survival horror tag on Steam. Moustache-toting protagonist Tomasz is at the Janowski house during a rainy night in an eerie, isolated Polish town in search of his missing friend, Bartek. Tomasz is looking for hidden blueprints for his new ally, Anita, so she can reluctantly assist Tomasz in his search. This is made all the more difficult by some pesky tentacle-like pseudopods infesting the dilapidated house, blocking important pathways. So you need to find light sources and manipulate where and when they shine on the pseudopods to forge a path towards the blueprints.
Holstin’s splash of creativity here comes from its gorgeous pixel art style, creepy character portraits, and rotatable isometric view. If you want to complete the puzzle, rotating the camera is a must, as there are hidden items dotted all about the house. It’s easy enough to make you slightly annoyed at how many hints there are, but tough enough to make you even more annoyed if you’re still stumped after a hint. It all comes together to feel like yet another love letter to survival horror, with a few nice stylistic touches. The rest of Holstin might have been a perfectly fine game if it had followed suit… but its combat demo is here to tear up that love letter and remind us that survival horror never really loved us anyway.