Fear & Hunger
Fear & Hunger is a horror dungeon crawler set in the dark and hopeless dungeons of fear and hunger. Four misfortuned adventurers dwell deeper and deeper to the darkness and uncover the secrets this ancient fortress holds inside. The fortress works as an ancient nexus for different planes of existence. The depths are in an eternal turmoil as both old and new gods struggle for power, it’s up to the players to choose their position and stance in all of this.
The game is a hybrid of survival horror and dungeon crawler genres with its influences ranging from Silent Hill to Nethack. There are roguelike elements to the game as well as a heavy foundation of a j-RPG. Fear & Hunger is heavy on atmosphere and ruthless in its difficulty.
- Oppressive and relentless atmosphere
- 4 different character classes and many additional characters to recruit
- Unforgiving and unique gameplay
- Randomized elements to keep the game fresh with subsequent playthroughs
- Turn-based Strategic Dismember Combat System
- Graphical art style mixing pixel art with digital painting
- Original ambient soundtrack creating the dreary mood
The world of Fear & Hunger is VERY dark. THE GAME IS MEANT ONLY FOR MATURE AUDIENCES! Extreme violence and gore are everyday sights in the dungeons and death is one of the easier ways to go in the game. The game has drug and substance abuse, heavy themes ranging from self-mutilation to sexual violence. None of the themes are taken lightly however. They are all part of the world building and there to create the unique atmosphere where the game measures just how far the player is willing to go in order to survive.
Parts of the dungeon layout, events, loot and enemy placements are randomized with few different variations to keep things fresh with subsequent playthroughs. The game is designed with the classic trial and error formula, so you can expect to start the game over and over again. But as long as you learn from your mistakes, you can quickly find yourself at the deeper levels of the dungeon.
The combat in Fear & Hunger is turn-based akin to classic role-playing games, but with a twist of it’s own. You can target individual limbs of your enemies to dismember them strategically and thus maximize your chances for survival. However, just the same, enemies can also cut off the arms and the legs of your playable characters if you are not careful. You need to prepare well for every encounter if you wish to stay alive. But don’t forget that running away from threats is often the best solution as well. There are many ways for survival in Fear & Hunger – You can find better equipment, learn different blood and love magic, fuse characters into each other, pray different gods, talk your way out of battles, meet new party members, snipe enemies from distance, use traps to disable them… and so on. The Idea is to use what you got at your disposal and be creative with it.
Game Discussion
Steam User 425
Berserk but you are a side character, the game
Steam User 225
Do not read a guide, do not ask for help. Push your face into the hornet's nest over and over until you achieve enlightenment.
Steam User 184
To anyone that is thinking of picking up this game ask yourself. Would you like to play as an extra from the Berserk universe?
Steam User 149
Oopsies! I just stepped on a nail! Te-hee~!
Little girl, bring me my rusty bonesaw.
It's time to cut off my leg.
Steam User 118
Fear and Hunger is a criminally underrated work of art, the passion and dedication that have gone into this game show through every pore. Fear and Hunger is a blend of genres, roguelike, survival horror, and JRPG. I've never seen anything like it, and I've played a lot of the more esoteric stuff out there. The world is bleak, everything wants to murder you violently, and every single moral convention has broken down.
The game is exceptionally brutal, and goes out of its way to shock and horrify you. Your first encounters with enemies entail scenes that are best described as memorable, and horrible. There's loving attention paid to lore, the world building is immense, but not overbearing. Like a Souls game, you're free to engage with it as you'd please. The characters are intense, and your action (or lack thereof) can change their fates for the better, or the worse.
Combat is standard JRPG fare with a twist - there's a targeting system, and the game rewards knowledge. You can trial and error it, or you can go by the wiki, but this is one of those rare games where you're best served going in blind as can be. In the era of walkthroughs for everything, you ought to just experience this one, and not worry about optimal. You can reduce the RNG elements through accumulating knowledge the game's systems, and familiarity.
When you pick your class, you're given a few options to flesh out your backstory, which leads to getting your starting skills. There are a whole bunch of characters to recruit, and you have several different ways to interact with your new comrades. Some are positive, and some are uhh... not so nice? You get your skills by finding rare soulstones, and you use them to buy your skills on the talent tree. This rewards exploration, as you can use these soulstones on fallen enemies to acquire new traits, or use them on your own personal tree.
Fighting optional bosses is particularly rewarding in this aspect.
The enemies are some breed of Lovecraftian horror stories, and the dev has mastered the duality of interesting and disturbing. I'm always excited when I run into something new, just to get to see more.
A good run feels rewarding, dangerous, and interesting. When you get on a roll, it feels like a real accomplishment, and finding good loot is immensely satisfying. There's a ton of replayability and map randomization keeps alternate save files fresh. There are several different endings, with options for personal character endings.
I wish there was a way to showcase my admiration for what the dev has created here, because clicking YES to recommend just isn't good enough. This one isn't for everybody, if you have a sensitive system, or you are easily disturbed, I would encourage you to give this one a pass. There is a great deal of graphic violence, some of which is sexual in nature. If this is something that would hurt you, I would highly recommend skipping this one. It isn't played off like the guy who wrote it was writing it with one hand for fetishists, but it's still very brutal and graphic.
The game pulls no punches, but it doesn't feel cheap like an Amazon self-published splatterpunk title. A lot of people compare Fear and Hunger to Berserk, and I'm willing to agree. If you loved Silent Hill 2 with a horrible, passionate intensity, this is for you. If you love roguelikes and you can't wait to bash your head in on a difficult title, this one is for you. If you love cosmic horror and you lament the utter lack of good cosmic horror, this is especially for you.
There are some downsides, of course. RNG can be brutal, but if you're familiar with roguelikes, you'll be at home. The RNG can be minimized through skill and game knowledge, but at times it can still be frustrating. The coin flip events in some areas feel like you're playing a homebrew tabletop rpg, and in other ways, the coin flips are immensely frustrating. The save system is a bit weird, with limited places (beds) to save, and a coin flip to see if you save. On the upside, there are safe beds with guaranteed saves. There are methods to save anywhere with a certain in game item that you can craft. If this would be a dealbreaker, I implore you to not pass it up, as it is possible to mod in very easily a conventional save system.
I don't generally write novels for reviews, and I hope that speaks to just how much I love Fear and Hunger. If the combinations of these genres, or the unique and horrible niche it occupies speaks to you, please give this one a shot.
tl;dr final hill 2: the call of soulsthulhu
And finally, just in case you missed it, it bears repeating: please take care if you have a less than sturdy constitution, or have an existing sensitivity to sexual violence. For all the others who check this out, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
Steam User 152
cute game about being an adventurer.
Steam User 114
You know that feeling when you walk into a new area and your first instinct is "Oh I should NOT be here right now"? Yeah that's the entire game.