Wow this game blew way past my expectations! This has been a great year for survival horror, but it seemed like Silent Hill has largely been the raison d’etre for indie devs in 2025. But like a bat out of hell, Flesh Made Fear delivers a true classic Resident Evil style game, and does so with so much grace.

It is soaking wet in 80’s slasher horror film kitsch, and makes no apologies for it. The soundtrack is incredible, with pulsing synths that John Carpenter would absolutely approve of. The voice acting is pretty much a perfect replica of the classic Resident Evil style, with its over the top caricatures-as-characters (the main antagonist being the most over the top example). The enemies are completely absurd body horror creations by Ripper, the mad scientist who has turned the town of Rotwood into an amusement park of horror.

Everything is just… perfect. Perfect goofy tone, perfect puzzles, satisfying combat, fun exploration. If I could think of one tiny complaint - the map is borderline useless. It is very zoomed out and only gives a broad city-wide overview, so no tracking locked doors or puzzles. But to be honest, the level design didn’t really need it, so I won’t knock off any points there.

This is definitely in my top 3 for the year so far, alongside Heartworm and Tormented Souls 2. If you enjoyed Nightmare of Decay, The Lacerator, Classic Resident Evil, or even just cult classic horror films like Evil Dead - this is the easiest recommendation in the world. I had a blast from the beginning to the end, and I can’t wait to jump back in for the second character campaign.

9.8/10, amazing work.