![]() At night, of course, you can’t appreciate the “Silent Hill fog”, but it is a tradeoff I think may have been worth it. Less is more, as the saying goes, and with the absent of light, Welcome to Hanwell, ironically, shines brightest. Horror has always been an independent creator’s best friend because the absence of something can actually be used as a tool. The setting will go through changes, be it from dark to light, from rainfalls, to even a light storm, and it is with the darker color palate I think the aesthetic works best. In other words, this was a passion project by all definitions of the phrase, and, with that in mind, there’s a lot of good stuff to check out. Obviously, this is not a Triple AAA title by any definition, according to their website, the founder and lead designer for Welcome to Hanwell originally started the game’s development while working at a bakery, using “a spotlight attached to a camera moving through a grey box”. The assessment I originally had of Welcome to Hanwell’s graphics were that they are very low-budgeted and minimalist, but, upon playing through it, I came to appreciate the attention to detail for some scenery, and the environments that were incorporated. The influences are apparent and, perhaps, even, at times, glaring, but it does have some unique things to say as well. In fact, it is a toss up between which of the two inspired it more, with the final act of Welcome to Hanwell having a setting that feels an awful-lot like the final act of Outlast. Likewise, as your flashlight goes dead, or you find yourself suspending in the air by a burly psychopath, you will no doubt reminisce your experience with the Outlast series. As you wander the open-world environment, filled to the brim with fog and the occasional monstrous creature, you will no doubt be thinking about Silent Hill. ![]() Welcome to Hanwell has a lot of influences. #WELCOME TO HANWELL GAME PLAY IN HOURS SERIES#However, I can tell they are fans of the horror videogame scene and pop-culture, from street addresses paying homage to the Clocktower series and an actual recreation of a certain British detective’s apartment on Baker street. All social media accounts for Welcome to Hanwell have since been discarded of, and, otherwise, they don’t appear to have a overt marketing presence all in all. I was not able to dig up a lot of information about Steel Arts Software. After a tutorial period, you are left to wander Hanwell and make strides toward your ultimate objective of leaving Hanwell. Those awaiting an asterisk or a “but” will be surprised – there isn’t one. You do see a fair few of first-person horror videogames on the indie market, however, it is not often you see one that’s open-world, allowing you to complete objectives at your own leisure. Still, buying a videogame is only half the battle in the modern era, and I couldn’t begin to tell you the amount of videogames I have bought and left to rot away in the dreaded queue of despair – that’s why I made it a point to play Welcome to Hanwell from start to finish shortly after I bought it. Couple that in with an unproven videogame developer on the indie market, and I don’t think you can blame anyone for having cold feet. As a devout connoisseur of the horror genre, I have been burned more times than Freddy Krueger. ![]() It was only after it went on sale for $2.99 on Nintendo Switch (and Steam, as of this writing), I decided to partake in the low-budget horror game.Īn 80% discount is harsh, but it is the nature of the beast. After all, the reviews and audience consensus were inconsistent, and generally speaking, when something is good, you hear about it. ![]() I will be honest – I was still leery about buying Welcome to Hanwell. There’re any number of reasons I may decide not to buy a videogame, whether it be a high price point or a general uncertainty about its contents – Welcome to Hanwell didn’t ask for a lot from the start, and currently can be bought on Xbox One or PlayStation 4 for only $14.99 digitally. ![]() Although, as you’ll soon discover, Welcome to Hanwell is not a perfect videogame by anyone’s definition, it’s about everything I could have asked for and something I definitely enjoy being able to write about.ĭeveloped by Steel Arts Software, I first stumbled upon Hanwell when it launched on the PlayStation 4 back in 2018. ![]()
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