Hollow

Hollow is an incredibly ugly game with the kind of plentiful technical issues that make it actively difficult to play. Those with a masochistic streak might derive some pleasure from its abrasiveness and its downbeat tone, but most Switch-owning horror fans would be much better served playing through Resident Evil Revelations and its sequel for the umpteenth time.

30%Game Brain Score

graphics, story

gameplay, music

30% User Score Based on 164 reviews

Critic Score 30%Based on 3 reviews

Platforms

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About

Hollow is a single player shooter game with horror, mystery, violence, science fiction and others themes. It was developed by MMEU and was released on November 16, 2017. It received negative reviews from both critics and players.

"Hollow is a single-player Horror Shooter game with spectacular graphics, offering around 5 hours of playtime. As you navigate Shakhter-One, a mining ship in Jupiter's atmosphere, you'll experience a gripping, unsettling narrative about a protagonist searching for their identity amidst a creeping sense of horror and existential dread. The ship promises a new beginning, but something much more sinister lies in wait."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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30%

Audience ScoreBased on 164 reviews

graphics20 positive mentions

gameplay6 negative mentions

The game has an interesting concept and some unique ideas that could appeal to fans of horror games.
The graphics and level design are visually appealing, creating a decent atmosphere.
There are moments of gore and violence that align well with the horror genre.

The gameplay is plagued by numerous bugs, crashes, and poor mechanics, making it frustrating to play.
The story is predictable and poorly executed, lacking depth and coherence.
Combat is clunky and unresponsive, with a limited variety of enemies and ineffective melee options.

graphics
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
40%
10%
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the visuals as nice and futuristic, while others criticize them for being unremarkable or plagued by glitches and poor performance. Despite the aesthetic appeal noted by some, issues like dropped frame rates and excessive effects that cannot be disabled detract from the overall experience. Overall, while the graphics are highlighted as a positive aspect by many, they do not significantly enhance the game's atmosphere or gameplay quality.
- “Just completed Home Sweet Home with no issues and great graphics, and now just started playing The Light Keeps Us Safe and it looks good too with no tech issues.”
- “The graphics, in my opinion, are some of the best graphics I have ever seen.”
- “Game is a little bit short but has an interesting atmosphere and nice graphics.”
- “While the story is okay and the graphics are decent, there are so many glitches, textures bugging out, dropped frame rates, and random loads during gameplay.”
- “- Medium graphics for 2017 even at maximum settings and poor lighting even with maximum gamma, but you are in space after all.”
- “Hurts my eyes graphics.”
story
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
56%
19%
The story has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the plot twist involving self-communication and the realization of a character's tragic past, while others criticize it for being predictable and lacking depth. Many found the narrative uninteresting and difficult to follow, particularly in the early stages, leading to a sense of frustration. Overall, while some players enjoyed the atmospheric elements and connections to other horror titles, the story's execution left much to be desired for a significant portion of the audience.
- “The game itself is pretty good in story, basic controls, and especially sounds.”
- “Lovers of Dead Space and Event Horizon will easily enjoy this indie take, and since EA has Dead Space DOA at the moment (if not forever), this game is a great fix for that style of storyline.”
- “Great story and atmosphere :)”
- “The story has been told a hundred times; it couldn't be more predictable.”
- “The story is pretty boring, because you and your girlfriend are on a space station/ship with insanity problems and you try to activate every reactor only to flee with a shuttle and wait for the next game.”
- “The story, as far as I can tell from playing 60 minutes, is not very interesting. You land on a space station while your character is talking to himself, seemingly explaining that he remembers doing something like this before. Throughout the first couple of minutes on the ship, it becomes kind of clear that almost everybody is dead and it is most likely your fault.”
atmosphere
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
47%
9%
The game's atmosphere receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the sci-fi and claustrophobic elements reminiscent of titles like "Dead Space," while others criticize the lack of genuine horror and richness in the environment, feeling it is overshadowed by gratuitous content. Overall, while there are moments of cool and interesting atmosphere, many feel it falls short of delivering a truly immersive horror experience.
- “A decent horror FPS with a great sci-fi spaceship atmosphere.”
- “Game is a little bit short but with an interesting atmosphere and nice graphics.”
- “Great story and atmosphere :)”
- “Graphics may be good, but it does not make the overall horror atmosphere, which I just don't feel.”
- “Atmosphere: the game should be a 'horror' game, but it has only gore and boobs on ugly girl pirates and giants, but not really an atmosphere.”
- “And as if it wasn't enough running away from a group of topless cyborg ladies like Justin Bieber from his concert after-shows, the other thing that takes away from the more or less carefully crafted atmosphere is the porn.”
gameplay
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
62%
23%
The gameplay has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many users citing poor controls, slow movement, and a lack of polish, suggesting the game feels unfinished or in an alpha state. While some appreciate the sound and lighting elements, the overall mechanics are described as broken and unplayable, leading to a frustrating experience.
- “Processing doors, steam hissing, mechanical whirring and water dripping, played with my 7.1 sound system, boy I had a great time.”
- “Super gameplay!”
- “This is a solid little horror game that makes very good use of its sound and lighting mechanics.”
- “The gameplay is not perfect; some design issues are clearly there.”
- “The bad part of the gameplay is the movement, because you are really slow, your sprint is like normal walking, and your jumps are really bad (maybe because of the spacesuit?).”
- “This game is not even finished (like it's in alpha version or even worse); the gameplay is just not there, and the creatures (ragdolls, those noises and scripts) are just awful.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
61%
22%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it repetitive and overwhelming, often leading to frustration due to its inability to adjust volume settings. While some appreciate the atmospheric sound effects that enhance the game's environment, the action music is frequently described as strident and headache-inducing. Overall, the music contributes to the game's mood but can detract from the experience due to its intrusive nature.
- “The music and sound effects made the ship feel alive.”
- “It is a good game, fantastic mood and music.”
- “The in-game music creates a fantastic atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.”
- “The action music is very strident, repetitive, and made my head hurt; just this makes me not recommend the game.”
- “- actually, you cannot lower any volume (it says 0 but yet you hear sounds and sometimes you get assaulted by background noises and music which suddenly rises to 150% of set volume).”
- “- music is a 5-second loop (after 30 minutes I played with no headphones, the same sounds over and over again drove me nuts).”
optimization
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
62%
25%
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with players reporting frustrating performance issues, including severe FPS drops even on high-end systems. Many reviewers noted that while the game has interesting ideas, it remains poorly optimized and in need of bug fixes and performance improvements, making it difficult to recommend unless at a very low price. Overall, the lack of optimization options and inconsistent performance detracts from the gaming experience.
- “Next to the music, I don't know if they just trigger some slo-mo, but sometimes the performance gets very low when action happens, and I have a PC that is well above the requirements.”
- “- still needs some optimization work”
- “But not in a poorly optimized game, that is my main concern with this game; even trying to aim at low FPS can be frustrating.”
- “Next to the music, I don't know if they just trigger some slow-motion, but sometimes the performance gets very low when action happens, and I have a PC that is well above the requirements.”
- “Sometimes I had some performance issues (FPS drops from 100 to 15).”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent glitches, texture bugs, dropped frame rates, and random loading times, leading many players to feel it resembles an early access title. While the story and graphics have potential, the overall experience is marred by these technical problems, making gameplay frustrating and in need of substantial fixes.
- “While the story is okay and the graphics are decent, there are so many glitches, textures bugging out, dropped frame rates, and random loads during gameplay.”
- “Stutters and glitches; it plays like it should be in early access. It could be fun if it were fixed - it has a good tone, almost like a walking simulator meets Dead Space.”
- “Pretty buggy and needs some work.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews highlight strong character design and graphics, suggesting that the visual aspects of character development are well-executed. However, there is no mention of narrative depth or growth in character arcs, indicating a potential lack of substantial character development beyond aesthetics.
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is largely perceived as lacking, with users expressing disappointment that its flaws overshadow any comedic elements. The comparison to "Dead Space" highlights a missed opportunity for effective humor, as the game's shortcomings render it unfunny.