Description: Psychological survival horror set in 1960s Punkt Height City following WWII veteran Thomas Gustav confronting trauma through seven atmospheric environments. Think Silent Hill 2’s psychological depth meets The Evil Within’s tension.
Features:
Linear survival horror with Silent Hill 4-inspired hub structure
Strategic combat and environmental storytelling
No cutscenes - story revealed through gameplay and exploration
Hi @juliocacko, 1962 looks like a cool Horror Game. I’m seeing a lot silent hill
I'm curious how the story can be revealed in gameplay without cutscenes?
Audio / Visual Dialog? Inspecting and viewing Items? Some of these methods can be immersion breaking (transitioning from 3D game to Text-based game). Quicktime events (interactive Cutscenes) and non-interactive Cutscenes keep it 3D, but they are the most challenging in my opinion and require a lot of work. I’m trying to pull it off without using a bunch of text.
Hi @TechLord , so thought a eviroment storytelling , similar to what is done Dark Souls, for some very important stuff we going to have some flashback sequence. Due the way the game organize and present any change on the everioment force the player to question what is happening, also every enemy is made to represent the protagonist failures and other very important stuff on the plot
I’m not familiar with Dark Souls, but I would presume these are pre-recorded videos. If these are made within the engine or other, these will be a form of cutscenes. But i need to see an example.
Hello! I’m a 3D artist focused on creatures and atmospheric environments with experience supporting survival horror tone and storytelling. I work comfortably with UE5 ready assets keeping performance scale and mood in mind. I enjoy long term collaboration and aligning closely with concept art and level design needs. Are you currently looking for support more on enemy/creature assets or environment props and set pieces for the forest and monastery areas?
Thanks for your insight on Dark Souls Narrative. I can visualize this working well in 1962 as Psychological Horror. I'm thinking your going to need a *Mirror Portals* System to transition between Memories and Reality...
Per Gemini, “Flashbacks” in Dark Souls are generally not traditional, cutscene-driven narrative devices, but rather environmental, lore-based, or mechanical interactions with the game’s broken, “stagnant” timeline.
Lore & Narrative (Environmental Storytelling): Because the world is in a state of ruin, flashbacks are rarely direct cutscenes. Instead, the story of the past is told through item descriptions, environmental design, and cryptic dialogue with NPCs.
Time Distortion (“Stagnant Time”): The lore explains that time in Lordran is “stagnant” rather than strictly linear, allowing different eras and timelines to intersect. This allows the player to interact with past events, such as when traveling to Oolacile in the Dark Souls 1 DLC, where they directly experience events from the past.
Memory-Delving (Specifically Dark Souls II): In Dark Souls II, flashbacks are more explicit, involving a “memory-delving” mechanic where the player enters the memories of dead giants or figures to witness or fight in past battles.
Symbolic/Emotional Impact: Many “flashbacks” are actually player experiences of “trauma”—intense, memorable boss fights or areas (like the Great Hollow or specific, challenging bosses) that players recall through the game’s challenging, often frustrating, gameplay loop.
In short, Dark Souls handles flashbacks through a mix of environmental lore-hunting, direct participation in fragmented time-periods, and the emotional, often painful memories of overcoming difficult challenges.
