Skautfold: Into the Fray is a weird game it has to be said, it feels like a game that really doesn’t know what it wants to be whilst trying to push forward a narrative about the occult, eldritch horror and a colonial conflict.
The story is set in 1899, based on an alternate history of the island of Portland, off the south coast of England. You take control of Hito, one of the Knights of the Empire, and head to the Island to investigate reports of a missing royal, and the presence of a rebellious faction called the Sons of Washington. Soon, the Fog descends, leaving you and the islanders to fend off the would-be rebels who have made a pact with entities from the Cosmos.
Into the Fray is framed around an overview map of the island; where you can pick from a range of missions to undertake as the story progresses. These missions will have you visit the streets of the island, dank cave systems, and even secret underground tunnel networks. But all is not as it might appear; the streets are filled with corpses and infested with eldritch entities, whilst the tunnel networks are home to a series of horrific rituals that are aimed at growing the Fogs’ influence… and as you search for a way to stop the ongoing destruction, you’re sure to stumble upon some of the deepest darkest secrets of the island.
This game is hard and unforgiving Into the fray comes with two difficulty modes the pure mode which consists of pure action, no levelling no stats no builds and no grind not necessarily an easy mode more of a quick mode that allows you to feel the full power of Hito the knight from the start and the mode that I played for this review RPG Mode where you can build your Character using 6 Different stats including but not limited to heath, critical attack and stamina
The tools of your trade will include an arsenal of devastating firearms; from hand-cannons, to triple-barrel shotguns, the cleaver as well as prototype weaponry from the great Nikola Tesla himself. These weapons will be your best friends and only hope of survival if you want to put an end to both the bloodthirsty rebels, and eldritch abominations alike. I only wish the controllers were as tight as the weapons themselves. Aiming needs to be precise with opposition readily moving around the screen and firing shots. There are visual cues from the enemies when they are about to make their move but they always seem to have the upper hand in encounters.
You constantly feel fragile and at a disadvantage while playing into the fray as there are no heath packs or any potions for you to consume to regain health the only way to regain any sort of health back When enemies take enough damage, they enter a vulnerable state. Kick them when they’re down and you’ll steal their life essence. And thank God because going up against anything more than two enemies feel like the fight of your life and with no save points anywhere in the levels when you die you begin again which can feel really frustrating when you feel you have played at your upmost peak only to enter the final fight and get absolute destroyed by a room full of enemies reminding you just how fragile and bad the movement really are.
Skautfold: Into the Fray continues the series genre-swapping adventure but, as a twin stick shooter it’s not great not terrible just not great. A lack of enemy variety a small arsenal and a control scheme with twin stick precision that just seems to be lacking and when that is 90% of the game it can be a problem it that seems to hinder things to a point of the game not being fun. That’s not to say that everything is bad the story three games in is very intriguing and has me wanting to go back and play the first two entries and continue my journey and finish all five games in the series. I quite enjoyed the characters and the art style making the game feel very much a blend of bloodborne and castlevania which i feel is no secret just look at the key art for the games it has castlevania influences all over it some of them may be to close.
So can I recommend this game…. maybe if you’re looking for a game to whittle away the hours to that will kick your butt and frustrate the hell out of you no judgment here, I’m sure there are people out there who dig that vibe then yes I can see you getting some enjoyment out of this if your someone looking for the next game to sink hours into and only get to play a game every so often then no your money will probably be better spent elsewhere the ideas in the game are great and for a one man team this is an amazing effort i just feel to take this series to the next level it may just need a little more
Skautfold: Into the Fray 5/10
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X and Series S
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