Resident Evil 7 showing a monster coming down a corridor

The Other 99: Hunger Games Meets Survival Action-Horror

Burning Arrow sent us a preview of The Other 99.  The Steam Early Access page describes it as a British Battle Royal.  It turns out it’s pretty good.

The Other 99 is Burning Arrow’s debut project, a single-player first-person action-horror survival title.  How’s that for a hyphen-a-thon?

Ripped from an ordinary life, The Other 99 drops players onto a storm-stricken Hebridean Island with only one means of escape scribbled on a cryptic note: “though The Other 99.”  How or why you wound up in this mess remains unclear, but you’re not the only one on the island.  You’ll need to ascertain food and water supplies, then craft some makeshift weapons on the (likely) off-chance that the island’s other residents decide to take you down.

And, they will.  When you least expect it.

The Other 99 focuses on a gruesome fight for survival, allowing players to experience the feeling of being alone, with no help nor hope. Searching for clues, they’ll learn that there is something larger going on and uncovering it may be the key to survival.  To ramp up the stakes, The Other 99 implements a Permadeath System, wiping save games and generating a brand new set of 99 unique AI, giving players a different experience with each playthrough.

With murder seemingly being the only thing standing between you and freedom, the choice seems to be whether to run in with your machete swinging or to creep around in the shadows waiting for the right time to strike.

It has been increasingly difficult to keep up with the influx of survival games released over the last few years.  The Other 99’s premise isn’t unique – it’s basically the Hunger Games with jump scares – but it delivers enough to stand on its own two feet.  I lost track of the number of times I crouched beside a tree trunk, rain running down my face and heart pounding in my chest, scanning the moonlit forest floor for my next victim, hoping my prey hadn’t spotted me first.

The Other 99 went into Steam Early Access last August, and while it is one of the better looking Early Access titles, the animations aren’t perfect and I encountered more than a handful of bugs during my playthrough.  Despite those blemishes, I enjoyed my time with The Other 99, and Burning Arrow continues to substantially improve the experience with each successive update.

If survival jump scares are your thing, £14.99 is a fair price to pay for admission.