Alright, so picture this. FMV games—yeah, those full motion video things—are kinda sneaking back onto the stage in indie games. They’ve got this vibe like those old choose-your-own-adventure books, just with a screen instead of pages. Take “The Shapeshifting Detective,” for instance. It’s all about solving a mystery, and honestly, it reminds me of playing detective dress-up with my cat when I was a kid—not that my cat was particularly good at keeping secrets.
Anyway, there’s something meaty coming up from Dark Rift Horror. It’s called Dead Reset, and the scoop is it’s a mix of horror and mystery. We got a sneak peek, and let’s just say it’s got potential.
Our main dude, Cole Mason—he’s a surgeon with possibly the worst hangover ever. Poor guy wakes up flat on the floor of a space station straight out of an Aliens movie. Next thing you know, an armed goon yanks him up and drags him to a surgery table. There’s this whole tense scene where a patient needs some freaky surgery. At gunpoint, Cole’s told, “Hey, cut her open or else!” But instead of being the brave hero, I had him agree to perform the surgery. Spoiler: an alien jumps out. Chaos ensues. It’s like if Alien and Groundhog Day had a twisted baby. Every time Cole dies, he rewinds like an old VHS tape. Ah, nostalgia.
We only got chapter one out of eight. It’s loop after loop, and kinda like trying to fix a leaky faucet; you screw it up until you accidentally get it right. I think once I made Cole try to grab a gun—big mistake—he lost an arm because, well, no ID on the gun. Who thought that was a good idea? But eventually, it clicks, and you contain the alien, leaving you with more questions than answers. Typical Thursday, right?
Now, the actors, bless ’em. Most do a solid job—even if a tense scene feels more “awkward family dinner” than “alien horror flick” sometimes. There are quick jumps when Cole suddenly knows these people intimately, but hey, save me from awkward small talk too, right? Horror does wonders for instant camaraderie. And the gore? Oh man, it’s delightfully gruesome. Entrails flying, gunshots—the works. The little alien? It’s almost cute, though thank goodness they keep it mostly hidden. Keeps it from becoming a joke.
Sum up my feels? This preview was a wild ride, leaving me itchy to see what happens next with this Cole guy in his weird time-loop, alien drama. Catch it when it drops on the Nintendo Switch eShop come September 11th, if you’re into that kind of thing.
