Publisher Raw Fury has released a new trailer for a game called Post Trauma in conjunction with The Game Awards 2022. The 57-second video is brief, but dripping with horror and promise.
Raw Fury is best known for publishing visually stunning indie titles such as Backbone, Gonner 2, and more recently the critical hit Sable. The publisher’s website states that they don’t care about genres or mechanics but rather that they care about experiences and emotions. This motto has lead the publisher to having that previously mentioned stellar portfolio, and Post Trauma looks like it will be another huge hit. The game is developed by a studio named Red Soul Games, which doesn’t seem to have much of an online presence beyond the Twitter page for Post Trauma.
The short trailer itself follows an older man in what looks to be a janitor’s or mechanics jumpsuit, as he navigates through a creepy set of corridors and subway tracks. Judging by the vending machines, general layout of the subway system, and the character’s facial appearance, it seems as though the title is due to be set in Japan, or at least a nightmare of Japan. The trailer also shows off some classic survival horror puzzles, and a save system akin to the Resident Evil typewriters. There’s also scenes of murky shadows of what could be monsters, static laden CCTV footage, creepy tendrils extruding from a glowing hole, a wall made of mannequin-like bodies, and the old man wading through a deep pool of blood. Needless to say, these images are bold and already set this title as a memorable horror experience.
The Twitter page for Post Trauma is rather modest, in a way that is entirely reassuring for indie game fans as it suggests a subdued approach. The page has posts written in first-person, which gives the project a personal feel, like this is a title being worked on by a passionate creator. They also often bolster other creators in the indie horror genre by retweeting the work of others. Until recently, Red Soul Games had also pinned a Tweet stating that a new demo will soon be available on Steam, while an older version of the demo is available on Itch.Io, and that exciting news was “coming soon!” That pinned tweet has now been replaced by the Game Awards reveal trailer.
With news of new Silent Hill games, a remaster of Silent Hill 2, and the amazing output from the Resident Evil franchise recently, it’s fair to say that survival horror is experiencing a revival. Though some people are not happy about Bloober Team making the Silent Hill 2 remaster, and some people have been decrying the amount of remakes and remasters in recent years. No matter one's stance on reviving old franchises, it’s good to see new IPs take inspiration from these older experiences, and hopefully bring forward new ideas and stories. Judging by the Post Trauma reveal trailer’s atmosphere alone, it seems like a very promising release.
Post Trauma is set to release on consoles and PC at an undisclosed time.