World War One was one of the darkest wars in human history. Millions of soldiers were stuck fighting in muddy trenches while artillery explosions, disease, and constant fear destroyed entire generations. Even over 100 years later, it is still used as inspiration for films, books, and games because of how brutal and hopeless it was. One of the newest games to use that setting is Conscript.
Released in 2024, Conscript mixes World War One with classic survival horror gameplay inspired by games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Instead of fighting zombies or monsters, you are trying to survive the horrors of war itself.
At first, the idea of combining trench warfare with survival horror sounds strange, but honestly, it works way better than I expected. The game is stressful, tense, and genuinely creepy at times. It turns the trenches of World War One into something that feels almost like a nightmare.
Development
Conscript was developed by Jordan Mochi, an Australian indie developer who spent years working on the game by himself, under the company name Catchweight Studio. You can tell a huge amount of passion went into it because the atmosphere and attention to detail are honestly impressive for an indie game.
The game started getting attention because people were interested in the idea of a survival horror game set during World War One. Most war games focus on action and massive battles, but Conscript goes in the opposite direction. Instead of making you feel powerful, it makes you feel weak, trapped, and desperate to survive.
The developers clearly took inspiration from old-school survival horror games. The inventory system, slower movement, puzzles, and resource management all feel very similar to classic survival horror titles from the late 1990s and early 2000s. At the same time though, the war setting helps the game stand out from everything else in the genre.
What makes it even more impressive is how the game manages to feel historically inspired without becoming boring or overly realistic. It still feels like a proper horror game while keeping the brutality of World War One at the centre of everything.
Gameplay
Conscript takes place during the Battle of Verdun, one of the deadliest battles of World War One. You play as a French soldier searching for his missing brother while trying to survive endless chaos around you.
Most of the gameplay focuses on exploration, survival, puzzle solving, and combat. You move through trenches, bunkers, tunnels, and destroyed buildings while managing limited supplies.
Core Survival Mechanics
Like classic survival horror games, resources are extremely limited. Ammunition is scarce, healing items are hard to find, and every fight feels dangerous.
That is one of the best things about the game. You cannot just run into enemies shooting everything in sight because you will quickly run out of supplies. Every bullet matters, and that creates tension during almost every encounter.
The inventory system also adds pressure because you can only carry a limited amount of items. Sometimes you have to decide whether to carry extra ammo, healing supplies, or important puzzle items.
Combat
The combat is slow and heavy, but I actually think that helps the game. Guns feel unreliable at times, melee combat is risky, and enemies can overwhelm you if you panic.
Some people might dislike how stiff the combat feels, but personally I think it fits the atmosphere. You are not supposed to feel like an action hero. You are supposed to feel like a scared soldier trying to survive.
Conscript also does a good job making enemies threatening without needing huge numbers of them. Even a small fight can feel stressful because you know every mistake costs resources.
Exploration and Puzzles
Exploration is another major part of the game. Many areas connect together through trenches and underground tunnels, which makes the map feel confusing in a good way. There is always this feeling that danger could be around the next corner.
The puzzles are simple but enjoyable. They are never too difficult, but they help break up the combat and stop the game from becoming repetitive.
Backtracking can become annoying sometimes though. There were moments where I spent too long trying to figure out where to go next, especially when supplies were running low. That can get frustrating after a while.
Aesthetics and Atmosphere
This is easily the strongest part of the game.
The pixel-art graphics look fantastic and fit the setting perfectly. Everything feels muddy, dirty, and destroyed. The trenches look miserable, the bunkers feel claustrophobic, and the environments constantly make you feel uncomfortable.
Even though the graphics are simple, the game still manages to create some genuinely creepy moments. Dark tunnels and abandoned trenches become terrifying because you never know what is waiting ahead.
Sound Design
The sound design does a massive amount of work for the atmosphere. Explosions constantly shake the background while distant screams, gunfire, and artillery blasts make the war feel alive around you.
There is not much music during gameplay, which actually helps the tension. Most of the time you are just listening to the sounds of war and waiting for something bad to happen.
Sometimes the game feels more stressful than scary, but honestly that works perfectly for a World War One survival horror game.
Tone
The tone of the game is hopeless almost the entire time. Nobody feels safe, and the world around you constantly looks like it is collapsing.
Unlike most war games, there is no glory here. There are no massive heroic speeches or moments where you feel unstoppable. The game focuses entirely on survival and fear, which makes it stand out from other World War One games.
Story and Characters
The story is fairly simple, but it works because of the atmosphere around it.
Your main goal is to search for your missing brother while surviving the horrors of Verdun. The game focuses more on tension and survival than huge plot twists, but that actually helps it feel grounded.
The Main Character
The main character is not some super soldier. He feels like an ordinary man trapped in an impossible situation, and that makes him more believable.
As the game goes on, you can feel how exhausted and desperate everything becomes. The war slowly destroys everyone around him, and the game does a great job showing that without needing loads of dialogue.
Side Characters
The side characters are small parts of the story, but they help make the world feel alive. Some soldiers are terrified, others are exhausted, and many seem like they have already lost hope completely.
The game does not spend loads of time developing every character, but honestly it does not need to. The atmosphere already tells you most of what you need to know about how awful the situation is.
Critique
Even though I really enjoyed the game, it definitely has a few problems.
The biggest issue is probably the pacing. Sometimes the game slows down too much because of backtracking or inventory management. There were moments where I got lost and ended up wandering around trying to remember where important items were.
The combat can also feel clunky occasionally. I understand why it was designed that way, but some players will probably find it frustrating instead of tense.
Another small problem is that the game can become exhausting to play for long periods. The atmosphere is brilliant, but it is also constantly stressful. There are not many moments where the game lets you relax.
Still, none of these issues ruined the experience for me because the atmosphere and setting are so strong.
Final Verdict
Conscript is one of the most unique survival horror games I have played in years. Instead of relying on monsters or jump scares all the time, it turns World War One itself into the horror.
The atmosphere is incredible, the sound design is brilliant, and the survival mechanics constantly keep you under pressure. It feels heavily inspired by classic survival horror games, but the trench warfare setting gives it its own identity.
It is not a perfect game. The pacing can drag, the combat feels stiff sometimes, and the backtracking may annoy some players. Even with those problems though, the game still manages to be tense, memorable, and genuinely immersive.
If you enjoy survival horror games and want something different from the usual zombie stuff, Conscript is absolutely worth playing.
Rating: 9/10
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