The infamous first-person shooter survival horror game, Cry of Fear is a mod for half life that runs on the Goldsrc engine. The game is available for Windows on PC through steam. Creators, Team Psyskallar, published and made Cry of Fear available in february, 2012.
To understand the point of the game, necessary insight is needed, though also, it’s fairly easy to understand if you have an open mind. You play as the main protagonist, Simon Henriksson, who of which is dealing with some serious mental health issues at an increased rate due to his accident. Simon’s psychiatrist, Doctor Purnell, assigns SSRI Citalopram to help Simon deal with his depression and anxiety, even though he seems treatment resistant. He also suggests he write in a book as a form of cognitive behavioral therapy, because the “Medication by itself won’t work”. The game has an insanely good plot which takes place in Simon’s writing, making the player work throughout his mind. Reality seems twisted – and to say the very least – it indeed is. The story explores themes in between mental illness and trauma.
Eventually in one of the first few chapters of the game, you are led to a rooftop of a building where you meet Simon’s best friends and love interest, Sophie. Simon goes on about how everything around him is messed up, mentioning the ‘monsters’ that he’s trying to get away from. Sophie, however, can’t make any sense of what he’s saying. After the initial shock of finding her, the both of them have a deep conversation with each other before Sophie walks off the roof. – This event would represent the unreciprocated feelings between her and Simon, further supporting his decent into madness. While playing through the game, you are given short cutscenes of what is actually happening, the reality of the situation. Simon is wheelchair bound, nothing like how you play as him throughout the story, through his perception. It is clear that Simon doesn’t exactly trust the doctor as you play through his writing, his perspective of Purnell is much more twisted than what it actually is. The ‘monsters’ are represented Simon’s trauma. Each of them having their own design and meaning, though all very, very similar.
Cry of Fear has an overwhelmingly accurate depiction of depression. The entire game revolves around Simon’s decent as he writes in his book, allowing us to understand how he thinks, and what he thinks of others. The point of the game is to either open up to Dr. Purnell, or to stay closed off. There are four endings, only one being better than the others. Simon moves on from Sophie’s rejection, and opens up to the Doctor in order to continue living his life. Depending on your choices, the ending will be decided. The three others result in Simon’s death.
In addition, Cry of Fear also has a beautiful soundtrack, created by Andreas Rönnberg. The music plays a huge role in the game, setting the necessary mood to make the experience feel even more involved.
This game would be good for people who may also struggle with the same things, enjoy shooter games, people who’re looking for a good story, the opportunity to make choices that effect the result, or simply for entertainment. Even upon completing the game, you can continue playing it to earn all the unlockables and potentially even participate in speedrunning.
