Post Trauma's strange world is a throwback to PSX survival horrors
Described as "both a tribute and a modern take on classic horror games."
Last night at The Game Awards, Raw Fury and developers Red Soul Games released a new look at the indie horror Post Trauma. The paranormal game leans heavily into the PSX generation of survival horrors, with its fixed camera angles and even optional tank controls. The developers describe it as "both a tribute and a modern take on classic horror games."
Post Trauma follows Roman, a middle-aged train conductor, as he becomes trapped in the terrifying and claustrophobic world we see in the trailer. Everything looks surreal, whether it’s the endless computer monitors stacked on top of each other or the weird, fleshy tentacles coming out of the concrete. While the trailer has some third-person shots, these are likely used for dramatic effect since the devs have confirmed that Post Trauma has fixed camera angles.
We get glimpses of the exploration and puzzle solving too, as Roman can be seen changing the dials on a wall of clocks and running away from a shadowy hallway. Post Trauma’s Steam page recommends playing the game with a notepad, so I’m excited to see how deep these puzzles go if I need to scribble down notes like a madman. If you squint extra hard, you might spot haunting silhouettes in the background, hinting at some of the in-game threats you'll face. The trailer also shows the briefest look at a dingy safe room, complete with a tape that saves your progress. Proper classic stuff.
This isn’t our first look at Post Trauma, as the game has quietly been in development for a while before Raw Fury’s involvement. In fact, the game previously had a demo on Steam which is now unavailable - though if you want an extended look at Post Trauma, footage from that demo is available online. Minimal combat, a morphing environment and - my favourite thing in survival horror - third-person commentary for items are all on display. There’s currently no launch window for Post Trauma, but you can wishlist the game on Steam right now.
For more of the latest news and trailers, check out our Game Awards 2022 hub. We also live-blogged the show as it happened right here.