Conscript Review: On The Frontline Of Survival Horror

For the last six years, first-time solo developer Jordan Mochi has been working on Conscript. Last year, he got the excellent Team17 on board as a publisher, and just last week, the game was released. Has it been worth the wait? Yes, it has.

I first heard about the game in 2020 and played a demo a few months later. It’s changed quite a bit since then, but the fundamental menace remains: war. Set during the Battle of Verdun in 1916, you play as French soldier André fighting off German invaders while searching for your missing brother, Pierre, and your father’s lost watch.

Unlike other WWI-based games, this is a survival horror, but in a different guide to previous iterations of Conscript, the focus is more on man’s harsh, destructive existence.

Conscript Review: Survival Of The Thickest

Conscript is a throwback to 90s survival horrors like Resident Evil with scarce resources, difficulty, and backtracking. Though it’s easy to find your way around the trenches through excellent level design, the howls throughout don’t make it any more palatable. At times, it’s darn right scary as it’s based on reality. War isn’t about glory; it’s survival, and here you’ll most certainly be tested.

André will find himself restricted, to begin with, as paths are locked, opening in due course and when filling one’s inventory with essential items. Just remember to pack some ammo. Combat is methodical for obvious reasons, though it uses a reticle for ranged and melee combat. It adds to the tension in many scenarios, though it can be janky in places when you least want it. When in doubt, duck and roll.

Like another recent retro-inspired game, Crow Country, there are varying difficulties to prevent newcomers to the genre from getting deterred, though it’s far from a cosy experience. From that viewpoint, Conscript will appeal to those who want the challenge, think save points are for pussoirs, and put the ‘slay’ in S Rank. Besides the resource challenges and soldiers, there are a ton of rats in those trenches determined to make your life miserable. While gameplay isn’t that melodramatic, the rats are a nuisance and it would pay to take them out at the source immediately.

Clear As Mud

It’s not difficult for me to praise Conscript. It ticks every box of what makes a survival horror: terror, immersion, a lack of supplies, and minimal save points. Consider this: a first-time developer learns how to code and makes a game that is not only brilliant but also manages to snag a top publisher, all completed in six years. Success, I say.

Don’t misinterpret the comparisons to other titles from yesteryear. Though the game has roots in older games and is set in 1916, it’s current. Outside of my motivation for narrative-based games, and let us not dismiss the underlying tale of how an ordinary person’s life is turned upside down through war, I want a game that will make me forget everything around me. Playing this on the Steam Deck was compelling.

The gloomy, muddy palettes and visceral animations were fantastic, yet I can’t help but mention the sound production as in previous versions. Even from the first few minutes of barrages, shouts and screams were unsettling and immediately created an atmosphere. You mean I’m trapped here and will be spending my time in the dark, unsure if I’ll last until the next wave of German soldiers? I’m in. Thankfully, it’s just a game.

Conscript Review Summary

Conscript has been sitting in the top five of my Steam wishlist since 2020, and now it’s finally here. I had the pleasure of meeting Jordan at WASD, and he was very humble about the anticipation of his debut title. If you’ve skimmed through the above content and have no idea how this will end, it’s been well worth the wait.