ULTRA-INDIE Daily Dose: I See a Promising Future in this Horror Shooter: 25 Things

Rosy Joan |

Jan 21, 2022

25 Things is a working title for the game under development by CoroCom, it’s a classic survival horror shooter with waves of zombie students that swarm the arena.

When I saw the thumbnail for this game scrolling through Itch.io it scratched my urge for a fun little action shooter that’s a blend of fun and suspense. I suppose it was zombies in the form of Japanese students that tipped me off, even though the gameplay is tense the zombies just look cute and charming in such prim uniforms. I suppose I’m too used to the gore and exposed viscera from all the other big zombie games. While being an in-development there are technical hiccups like when I was trying to correct my screen resolution but the inclusion of important settings at all is a welcomed one.

Running on Unity Engine the visuals of 25 Things’ are beautiful and it works well using the darkness and fog along with beautiful photoreal effects for a look similar to modern Resident Evil titles. It’s incredibly dark approaching pitch black without torturing the player with blinding shadows. The specular lighting and reflections glance off details so that even zombies in the dark have an eerie glow that makes them spooky but readable. The sound design though basic pairs well, just having a standard moan when they approach the player raises hairs as zombies will quickly grab the player from behind if they ignore them. At one point in my session, a zombie passed behind a fogged window, their white eyes and teeth glowed from its dark blurred silhouette, it was wonderfully stimulating.

Combat is basic with players having to dash between zombie groups to find enough space to spin around and fire off some shots from their handgun. Similar to Resident Evil 2 Remake by waiting on the targeting reticle it will shrink providing for a much more accurate shot. Hitting headshots can reward players with a pop as blood gushes to where the zombie’s head once was for a guaranteed kill. Body shots on the other hand will wear down zombies. While the rapid-fire is inaccurate body hits can stun zombies allowing for easier crowd control although they will get back up in some time. There is a minimum distance the character needs in order to properly aim and fire the weapon otherwise bullets will fly past where the reticle is aimed, I do feel that it is a bit too far as arms-length feels like it should be adequate.

Unfortunately, it’s a bit difficult for me to speak more praise for 25 Things as per its description it is a work in progress. While the arena horde mode is entertaining enough I feel that the visual fidelity and combat aren’t fully utilized in such limited gameplay, fortunately, this is supposed to be a minigame to give players a taste of what CoroCom has planned out for the full release. I will eagerly wait and stay up to date, I can’t see the future but I do believe 25 Things has the potential to be a wonderful little Indie Title.