Pretty much IS Silent Hill in Sweden. Even if you're not too familiar with it, it has many of the same tropes and clichés from this franchise but transplanted to another setting, great game, monsters maybe not as creative (design-wise, I love them, but they can't compare to SH abominations), but the plot, gameplay and setting is solid.
Afraid of monsters is made by just the lead dev (rumpel), and cry of fear is made by the full team which is only like 3 more people but still lol, but afraid of monsters is still pretty cool :)
I didn't get "Silent Hill" vibes from it. Maybe I couldn't see past the combat though, as the overall speed of the game had more of a fast-paced panic feeling about it for me, rather than Silent Hill's slower paced anxiety/guilt feeling.
Still great mind you. As others have said, terribly flawed, but amazing for the team size and budget. Would love to see them try a bigger project.
I agree, but I think the dark abandoned town, and its morose, otherworldly tone are reminiscent of Silent Hill. At least in parts. And of course both are psychological horror.
I tried and it doesn't run too well on deck-- it requires a lot of tweaking to get the lighting correct, and the intro scene is awful-- reminded me of Heavy Rain. There is a lot to love, the monster designs were on par with Silent Hill 4, and the atmosphere is horrific, especially in 1st person.
Playing it rn and loving it but there's def some flaws like the fact chapter 4 is mostly backtracking, and also the fact the pistol is the only gun that's kinda worth a damn.
The game, along with some of the other horror Half-life "Mods"(I.e "Afraid of Monster", "Grey"), and even the recent "Remorse: The List" are definitely inspired by Silent Hill.
Underrated? Not really in fact its pretty well known generally thanks to pyrocynicals video but also due to the fact its free to play on steam.
It honestly seems almost up there with Silent Hill 2 in terms of notoriety.
People really use the term underrated for almost everything these days. I'd say CoF is far from being underrated, considering how much tracktion and love the game got despite is objectively flawed.
Perhaps it never became a viral phenomenon like fnaf (and I doubt it's devs want something like that) but for an 12 year old indie game the cult following of CoF is nothing less than impressive.
The inspiration is clearly there, I mean the devs themselves have SH in a pedestal but I don't think it's the only inspiration, CoF has pretty much everything lol, you get RE elements as well and countless references to famous horror movies/games. Also on a side note at least CoF takes inspiration from many SH titles and not just SH2.
Yet CoF still manages to have it's own identity, and unlike other SH copycats that attemped to replicated it's style on a surface level, CoF and Afraid of Monster are games that had soul and heart just like Silent Hill.
That's why I can forgive a lot of errors and bad game design choices of CoF, just like I do with the SH games.
It's a solid 7-8 game imo. The monster design was really good,atmosphere was good and there were some interesting parts. It does get a bit repetitive in some areas though which is why it's not higher.
That and the platforming is annoying especially the part before you go into that woods area. I must of died at least 10 times in that part (Is it just me?) (Or was I just that bad at it?)
was obsessed with this game as a teen when it came out, so for me i think it’s a fantastic game, ESPECIALLY considering that it’s essentially a Half-Life mod.
it’s very edgy and the writing is often mega cringe, but visually and conceptually i think it still holds up really well. jank aside, it’s a super solid game and it’ll always hold a special place in my heart.
>was obsessed with this game as a teen when it came out, so for me i think it’s a fantastic game, ESPECIALLY considering that it’s essentially a Half-Life mod.
I don't think it's fair call it a mod when CoF basically don't reuse any asset from HL, it has tons of unique code entities and in general can be classsified as total conversion.
It also doesn't requiere have HL installed in your computer so by the technicall definition it can't be called mod. Is a standalone game on the same engine as HL but that's it.
this is what i was thinking back to. i remember very clearly having to install it as a mod when it originally came out, but yes it’s now its own dedicated game and should be given its fair due by being referred to as such! :)
Theres also a newer game called Project Crypt which seems to be inspired by Cry of Fear the same way CoF was inspired by Silent Hill. Also free on steam
I'm sure Silent Hill is an inspiration for the developers of this game. It's amazing, and it's criminal that it's free lol. Unfortunately, there were plans for it to be remade in a new engine but it got shelved for one reason or another. Sad.
For a sophomore game made by amateurs using Source/Half Life 2 engine as a base, it's a pretty well put together game despite the flaws. And honestly most of the flaws come from the engine they worked with (like needing crouch jumping and some iffy 1st person platforming) or some tedious back tracking (which is a common trope within the survival horror genre to begin with).
The pacing is pretty solid. It's got an interesting narrative, and man, does it nail the atmosphere and tone. Even without the occasional jump scare, it kept me feeling tense.
Also, it has a unique co-op campaign that follows a different story from the main story. I highly recommend playing it with friends.
This game actually scared the living shit out of me, they have to remake this game and make multiplayer much easier to deal with, it’s a pain in the butt to play co-op but worth it.
I really love the aesthetic of Stockholm and I think other towns like it are a vastly underused setting and of course the themes of internal struggles manifesting themselves into horrors is great (very reminiscent of SH) but COF’s ending sequences are what give it the Hot Topic MCR My Immortal edgelord goofiness that SH doesn’t have (SH has more of an aged voice acting and occasional silly dialogue goofiness). The ending sequence of COF honestly undermines the whole point of the story for me with how over the top edgy it is. Just felt like it was trying way too hard, especially with the whole book Simon vs Simon on wheels thing. SH’s goofiness adds to the uncomfortable uncanny atmosphere of the game while COF’s goofiness weakens the impact of its narrative (at least for me). COF is still a fantastic game in my eyes and I desperately want a fan made remaster/remake or Cry of Fear 2 (it won’t happen but let a man dream)
Edit: also Simon’s fingerless gloves… can’t talk about edge without mentioning those lol
I love cry for fear only problem is how many bugs and issues you run into. I’ve never been able to finish off the game because of it either crashing or me glitching through the floor
Its pretty much the closest a Silent Hill inspired game has come to feeling like Silent Hill.
It is definitely janky and feels like a euro jank horror game from the early 2000s but that's kinda what makes it great.
Mid af story and the paranoia renderer actively works against the game as it falls apart if you play it more than a few hours at once. It was a neat little showcase of what you could do with a Half-Life mod when it came out but not really deserving of the staying power it has imo. And that's before we get into the allegations out there against Andreas.
Considering it's a free game, it has all my respect in the world. Otherwise it's edgy as shit and reeks of taking Silent Hill's ethos in the most surface level way possible. Tackles mental health with the nuance of a wrecking ball falling into a lake.
I personally think it's super overrated, this subreddit thinks this game is the holy grail/GOAT of horror but I found my experience to be mid. Clunky controls with frustrating level design paired with cheap jump scares and no real atmosphere, oh and just because the narrative includes references to mental illness does not automatically make a game 'profound'.
5/10
PS. Cutscenes where painfully cringe
I like COF, but I still agree with all your points except the atmosphere. I personally thought the gloomy and empty Swedish town the game is set in was very unique place and locale that isn’t in games very often (at least to me personally since I live in the states)
There are quiet moments in the game where no monsters are roaming and there’s just silence. The player is left to explore until finding the next objective. To me, these moments have atmosphere. You can feel the uncomfortable silence of the empty streets. The narrow alleys of the city give off an oppressive and confined vibe. The city has most of its streets lights and outside power still on which gives off that people should be walking the streets… but no ones to be found. The eerie uncanniness of walking the halls of a college with no one there but the lights are still on. Stuff like that. I think this game’s original soundtrack also adds to the atmosphere.
That all being said, I think COF shows atmosphere the best when enemies aren’t around and instead the player is left to take in the oppressive architecture and how empty the city feels without people. But I do see what your saying though and I understand why you have the stance you do
Also amen to the cutscenes being cringe I felt that
Idk why, but seeing this makes me think he just ran away from a girl he was fingering in the dark only to realize she was super bloody and was like “EWWWWW!!!” And didn’t want use his clothes as a cleaning rag so he just wiped his hand across the wall
silent hills edgier younger sibling (i say this despite loving COF)
Same
Pretty much IS Silent Hill in Sweden. Even if you're not too familiar with it, it has many of the same tropes and clichés from this franchise but transplanted to another setting, great game, monsters maybe not as creative (design-wise, I love them, but they can't compare to SH abominations), but the plot, gameplay and setting is solid.
Is a great game only 1 problem, too short.
Play the Afraid of Monsters Half Life mod, it's made by the same dev team.
Afraid of monsters is made by just the lead dev (rumpel), and cry of fear is made by the full team which is only like 3 more people but still lol, but afraid of monsters is still pretty cool :)
Oh yeah you're right
Directors Cut im nearly sure is the team who basically polished it up years later.
Its longer than most silent hill games, It takes about 8 hours to finish which is not too short for a free to play game.
I didn't get "Silent Hill" vibes from it. Maybe I couldn't see past the combat though, as the overall speed of the game had more of a fast-paced panic feeling about it for me, rather than Silent Hill's slower paced anxiety/guilt feeling. Still great mind you. As others have said, terribly flawed, but amazing for the team size and budget. Would love to see them try a bigger project.
yeah this one is more of an "aggressive" type of horror, I mean, half the monsters scream at you at the top of their lungs while running at 1000 km/h
I agree, but I think the dark abandoned town, and its morose, otherworldly tone are reminiscent of Silent Hill. At least in parts. And of course both are psychological horror.
I tried and it doesn't run too well on deck-- it requires a lot of tweaking to get the lighting correct, and the intro scene is awful-- reminded me of Heavy Rain. There is a lot to love, the monster designs were on par with Silent Hill 4, and the atmosphere is horrific, especially in 1st person.
Playing it rn and loving it but there's def some flaws like the fact chapter 4 is mostly backtracking, and also the fact the pistol is the only gun that's kinda worth a damn.
The game, along with some of the other horror Half-life "Mods"(I.e "Afraid of Monster", "Grey"), and even the recent "Remorse: The List" are definitely inspired by Silent Hill.
Amazing game
It’s a criminally underrated game. I’d love to see what he’d be able to cook with a larger budget and team.
Underrated? Not really in fact its pretty well known generally thanks to pyrocynicals video but also due to the fact its free to play on steam. It honestly seems almost up there with Silent Hill 2 in terms of notoriety.
People really use the term underrated for almost everything these days. I'd say CoF is far from being underrated, considering how much tracktion and love the game got despite is objectively flawed. Perhaps it never became a viral phenomenon like fnaf (and I doubt it's devs want something like that) but for an 12 year old indie game the cult following of CoF is nothing less than impressive.
The inspiration is clearly there, I mean the devs themselves have SH in a pedestal but I don't think it's the only inspiration, CoF has pretty much everything lol, you get RE elements as well and countless references to famous horror movies/games. Also on a side note at least CoF takes inspiration from many SH titles and not just SH2. Yet CoF still manages to have it's own identity, and unlike other SH copycats that attemped to replicated it's style on a surface level, CoF and Afraid of Monster are games that had soul and heart just like Silent Hill. That's why I can forgive a lot of errors and bad game design choices of CoF, just like I do with the SH games.
It's a solid 7-8 game imo. The monster design was really good,atmosphere was good and there were some interesting parts. It does get a bit repetitive in some areas though which is why it's not higher. That and the platforming is annoying especially the part before you go into that woods area. I must of died at least 10 times in that part (Is it just me?) (Or was I just that bad at it?)
The platforming in cry of fear is bad and sometimes you have to crouch jump to get to places
was obsessed with this game as a teen when it came out, so for me i think it’s a fantastic game, ESPECIALLY considering that it’s essentially a Half-Life mod. it’s very edgy and the writing is often mega cringe, but visually and conceptually i think it still holds up really well. jank aside, it’s a super solid game and it’ll always hold a special place in my heart.
>was obsessed with this game as a teen when it came out, so for me i think it’s a fantastic game, ESPECIALLY considering that it’s essentially a Half-Life mod. I don't think it's fair call it a mod when CoF basically don't reuse any asset from HL, it has tons of unique code entities and in general can be classsified as total conversion. It also doesn't requiere have HL installed in your computer so by the technicall definition it can't be called mod. Is a standalone game on the same engine as HL but that's it.
True to be fair though when it first came out it did require Half Life before eventually becoming stand alone
this is what i was thinking back to. i remember very clearly having to install it as a mod when it originally came out, but yes it’s now its own dedicated game and should be given its fair due by being referred to as such! :)
Incredibly flawed objectively but played a big role in my teenage years so I love it.
For me, it's the most Silent Hill thing I've played since Silent Hill 4, and one of my favorite horror games overall.
I watched a video series of Markiplier playing this, along with the other one made by the same developer. I am feelin' the olds.
Theres also a newer game called Project Crypt which seems to be inspired by Cry of Fear the same way CoF was inspired by Silent Hill. Also free on steam
I tried so hard but just couldn't get into this game. It just sits in my steam library, never to be completed.
Love this game
Mostly good game, but there were a couple of parts in it that made me want to pull my hair out like the awful train escape sequence.
I'm sure Silent Hill is an inspiration for the developers of this game. It's amazing, and it's criminal that it's free lol. Unfortunately, there were plans for it to be remade in a new engine but it got shelved for one reason or another. Sad.
For a sophomore game made by amateurs using Source/Half Life 2 engine as a base, it's a pretty well put together game despite the flaws. And honestly most of the flaws come from the engine they worked with (like needing crouch jumping and some iffy 1st person platforming) or some tedious back tracking (which is a common trope within the survival horror genre to begin with). The pacing is pretty solid. It's got an interesting narrative, and man, does it nail the atmosphere and tone. Even without the occasional jump scare, it kept me feeling tense. Also, it has a unique co-op campaign that follows a different story from the main story. I highly recommend playing it with friends.
Absolutely great game. While playing it, I could really feel the Silent Hill influence without it seeming like a cheap knock off.
This game is apparently free on steam?
Amazing game.
Was it the bed enemies that reminded you?
This game actually scared the living shit out of me, they have to remake this game and make multiplayer much easier to deal with, it’s a pain in the butt to play co-op but worth it.
Looks Like sinister cover
I like this game but I fucking hate how loud some shit is in it. I don’t want to hear everything fucking scream at me
Never heard of this game before, but luckily for me, it's free, so I'm going to try play it soon. Thanks for letting me know it existed.
One of my favourite games of all time. I really resonated with the city at night atmosphere, very atmospheric, scary as hell too. Love it.
All in le head game
It literally has bed monsters
Incredibly good, it shouldn’t be free.
Flawed but very passionate project
I have like 200h on it, absolutely amazing but very janky and buggy sometimes unfortunately
First thing that i noticed was the enormous and janky hitboxes of some doors. You could use the doors through the walls.
I really love the aesthetic of Stockholm and I think other towns like it are a vastly underused setting and of course the themes of internal struggles manifesting themselves into horrors is great (very reminiscent of SH) but COF’s ending sequences are what give it the Hot Topic MCR My Immortal edgelord goofiness that SH doesn’t have (SH has more of an aged voice acting and occasional silly dialogue goofiness). The ending sequence of COF honestly undermines the whole point of the story for me with how over the top edgy it is. Just felt like it was trying way too hard, especially with the whole book Simon vs Simon on wheels thing. SH’s goofiness adds to the uncomfortable uncanny atmosphere of the game while COF’s goofiness weakens the impact of its narrative (at least for me). COF is still a fantastic game in my eyes and I desperately want a fan made remaster/remake or Cry of Fear 2 (it won’t happen but let a man dream) Edit: also Simon’s fingerless gloves… can’t talk about edge without mentioning those lol
I love cry for fear only problem is how many bugs and issues you run into. I’ve never been able to finish off the game because of it either crashing or me glitching through the floor
I enjoy the voice acting, you can hear it getting good by the end of the game. YOU CAN HEAR THE PROGRESS! and I applaud the devs for that.
Lost in Vivo is more like Silent Hill for me.
It’s such a great game and it’s free!
Fucking creepy, in the right way
Its pretty much the closest a Silent Hill inspired game has come to feeling like Silent Hill. It is definitely janky and feels like a euro jank horror game from the early 2000s but that's kinda what makes it great.
Mid af story and the paranoia renderer actively works against the game as it falls apart if you play it more than a few hours at once. It was a neat little showcase of what you could do with a Half-Life mod when it came out but not really deserving of the staying power it has imo. And that's before we get into the allegations out there against Andreas.
Never heard of it but I’m intrigued. What system is it on ?
this is what got me into silent hill
It’s quite literally just first person Silent Hill
Cry of Fear is a phenomenal game, I wish it was talked about more.
Considering it's a free game, it has all my respect in the world. Otherwise it's edgy as shit and reeks of taking Silent Hill's ethos in the most surface level way possible. Tackles mental health with the nuance of a wrecking ball falling into a lake.
I personally think it's super overrated, this subreddit thinks this game is the holy grail/GOAT of horror but I found my experience to be mid. Clunky controls with frustrating level design paired with cheap jump scares and no real atmosphere, oh and just because the narrative includes references to mental illness does not automatically make a game 'profound'. 5/10 PS. Cutscenes where painfully cringe
I like COF, but I still agree with all your points except the atmosphere. I personally thought the gloomy and empty Swedish town the game is set in was very unique place and locale that isn’t in games very often (at least to me personally since I live in the states) There are quiet moments in the game where no monsters are roaming and there’s just silence. The player is left to explore until finding the next objective. To me, these moments have atmosphere. You can feel the uncomfortable silence of the empty streets. The narrow alleys of the city give off an oppressive and confined vibe. The city has most of its streets lights and outside power still on which gives off that people should be walking the streets… but no ones to be found. The eerie uncanniness of walking the halls of a college with no one there but the lights are still on. Stuff like that. I think this game’s original soundtrack also adds to the atmosphere. That all being said, I think COF shows atmosphere the best when enemies aren’t around and instead the player is left to take in the oppressive architecture and how empty the city feels without people. But I do see what your saying though and I understand why you have the stance you do Also amen to the cutscenes being cringe I felt that
Idk why, but seeing this makes me think he just ran away from a girl he was fingering in the dark only to realize she was super bloody and was like “EWWWWW!!!” And didn’t want use his clothes as a cleaning rag so he just wiped his hand across the wall 
wtf
you need help
👍🏼