Ground Zero knows exactly what it wants to evoke and wastes little time trying to convince you otherwise. From the opening moments, there is a deliberate throwback energy in how it presents its world, its pacing, and even the way it asks for patience. It leans into familiarity, sometimes a little too comfortably, but there is an undeniable charm in how committed it is to that vision. That isn’t to say there is little here for anyone who doesn’t want the standard PSX-style survival horror affair. It has tried to evolve certain aspects, but to varying effect.
Set in the remains of a still-burning South Korea after a mass of meteorites comes crashing down, bringing with it a virus. The game builds its atmosphere through its environmental storytelling more than anything. The streets are empty save for a littering of corpses, interiors feel abandoned in a hurry, and small environmental details do a lot of heavy lifting. There is a confidence in letting players sit in that silence. It... Read more