Recent reviews by Anonymous

What if Diablo 1 was a Vampire Survivors-like, instead of a dungeon-crawling Rogue-like? Then you'd probably get something really similar to this game.

A short but good horror game, using the aesthetics of the old Windows OS to tell a story about exploring somebody else's PC. Some neat little puzzles and good music along the way, as well.

If you like short indie horror, skip buying a coffee and buy this game. It will be worth the price

An absolute classic. The horror parts are great and the shooting parts are challenging and fun. While the graphics are dated, they're still pretty good and any shader effect (blurs, distortions, etc) have held up extremely well. The story is pretty engaging, especially if you have some tolerance for cheese. All the weapons are cool and fun to use. And there's some pretty awesome setpieces in there!

Here's the bad: the level design is extremely dated. Lots and lots of pointless corridors going into rooms that don't serve any purpose (except that there's bad guys in there and you need to kill them). Control scheme is dated as well. You'll have to do a lot of fiddling to get it up to modern standards and even then it's still awkward. Audio is okay but seems to have some directional issues and feels flat in places; I think because the game is expecting a dedicated audio card (which used to be common but modern onboard audio is powerful enough for average consumer use). It's also annoying that, storywise, your character doesn't actually end up doing anything. You don't prevent the deaths of anybody, you don't prevent the main baddy from being released, and you don't meaningfully stop her. You -- the player and the character -- are both just along for the ride.

The biggest issue, though, is that the horror and the action clash. A lot. If you can't deal with going from pulse-pounding action to outright horror, then this is not the game (or franchise!) for you. I sort of like the dissonance between horror and action (which is why I love the franchise) but I know it can be real off-putting for some people.

But if you're okay with that dissonance and you can overlook or deal with some of the dated features, this game is still a lot of fun and well-worth your time!

Buy it if the price is $20 or lower, or get it in a bundle with F.E.A.R. 2

Is F.E.A.R. 3 a good horror game? No.

But is it a good co-op shooter? Also no.

But does it at least tie up a venerable franchise with a coherent, satisfying story that respects the pre-existing lore while still bringing a fresh twist? Still no.

F.E.A.R. 3 is a mediocre and repetitive shooter. The different level locations are connected haphazardly; you go from an unnamed South American city, to the suburbs of the original game, to some airport somewhere with very little connecting them. The designers couldn't figure out a better way to start most levels than "the helicopter you're on explodes". Harlan Wade becomes some sort of psychological boogeyman to Alma, despite the fact that she melted him without hesitation in the first game. And Alma's pregnancy, while a vitally important part of the story, doesn't really go anywhere in the end.

There's some good things in the game. There's actually some decent horror with the cultists in the suburbs and the abandoned store levels (but, then again, I'm a sucker for any occultic horror stuff). I got a few good scares in those levels, though I doubt it would hold up during co-op.

I've played worse games before but it's a deeply disappointing finish to an otherwise classic franchise.

Pick it up if you can get it for $5, play the cult levels in the middle, and then uninstall it.