PAPERHEAD EP.0

очень интересная игра, заставляет понервничать, но не без багов конечно)

BUENISIMO EL JUEGO, ME HE VICIADO

PAPERHEAD EP.0 is a strange little horror shooter that caught me off guard because the whole thing looks cute until I actually start seeing what is happening. I wake up in a prison cell inside a cardboard world that is full of dark corridors, strange symbols and blood, then I am handed a shotgun and told to figure out why the cardboard is bleeding. That setup alone is enough to make me curious. It has a very silly idea at its core, but the game plays it straight enough that the creepy parts actually work. The shooting is fast and aggressive, which is what I want from this sort of game. I can blast enemies with the shotgun, kick them around, throw them into the air and even use exploding barrels against them. The movement is also important because I am expected to keep moving instead of standing still and trading shots. When a group of enemies comes at me, I have to use the space around me and keep the fight moving. I like that because the combat feels much more active than the simple cardboard setting makes me expect. The pencil is probably the most interesting idea in the game. It is not just there for decoration. I can use it to draw things that actually affect the world, including bombs that I can kick towards enemies and doors that I can create or interact with. I really like the idea because it gives me something to think about outside of just shooting everything. It also fits the strange paper world perfectly. The game clearly wants me to experiment with the idea of drawing objects into a world that is already behaving like a messy piece of artwork. The horror side is also done better than I expected. The cardboard characters and rough handmade look could have made everything feel like a joke, but the blood, dark corridors and strange creatures give the game a much darker atmosphere. I like that contrast because it makes some of the disturbing moments stand out more. The industrial soundtrack also fits the action really well. When the shooting starts, the music gives everything a much more aggressive feeling and helps the game feel like a proper old school shooter rather than a small joke project. The biggest weakness for me is that this is only Episode 0, so I finish it wanting a lot more. The game introduces some really good ideas, but it obviously feels like a starting point rather than a complete adventure. I get the combat, the drawing system and the strange cardboard world, but I do not get enough time to see how far those ideas could really go. I also think some of the rougher parts of the movement and interactions could use more polish. They work, but there are moments where the game feels like an ambitious project still finding its final shape. I also like that the game does not take its weird setting too seriously while still committing to the action. The enemies are ridiculous, the world looks handmade and the idea of cardboard bleeding is completely absurd, but the actual combat has enough speed and aggression to stop it from becoming a simple novelty. I can run around, jump on enemies, kick objects at them and use the pencil to change parts of the environment. There is enough going on that I am not just walking through the same hallway shooting the same target over and over. Overall, PAPERHEAD EP.0 is a very promising start to something that I think could become much more interesting with more content. I really like the fast combat, unusual pencil mechanic, strange horror setting and the way the cardboard art style clashes with the darker material. The biggest issue is simply that there is not enough of it yet, and some of the mechanics still feel a little rough. Even so, I had a much better time with it than I expected, and for a free episode it gives me enough to see why the concept works. I would definitely want to see what happens when the ideas are given a much bigger space to develop. Rating: 7.6/10