Blackpowder Games, composed of a group of veteran developers from Monolith Productions, and who brought you No One Lives and the F.E.A.R. series, delivers a one of a kind horror FPS called Betrayer.
The year is 1604, the turn of the 17th century. You have sailed from England, thinking you would be joining a struggling colony on the coast of Virginia. Instead however, you find yourself only seeing ghosts and solving mysteries. What chaos has engulfed the land and drained it of color and life? What happened to all the settlers and tribes who lived here? And who is that strange and silent woman in red who aids you from afar?
Little by little, you must figure out and piece together the story of what happened to this doomed settlement and figure out a way to set things right. You will be hunted and possibly killed by corrupted Spaniards and deadly shadows as you explore the vast yet corrupted wilderness in order to trace the brief but very tragic history of the colony and search for any survivors of the corruption.
As I played the game, I remembered something I learned from my history classes. One of those lessons involved the Roanoke Colony, AKA the Lost Colony. According to the game developers, Betrayer is actually based on some of the really horrible things that happened during the colonial era, which is exactly where this game takes place, giving me that creepy vibe.
When I began to play, even as I looked at the title screen, the whole game had that eerie feel to it. It actually validates the developers of this game, as they are known for the survivor horror series we love and hate, F.E.A.R., and the game really brings it out.
At the start of the game, you are on an island, with ships in the background. All you have to start out with is a dagger, which can be used to kill enemies and smash objects. As you continue to walk down the path, you see a totem pole glowing with an eerie red aura. Suddenly, an arrow hits the totem, and you look up and see a mysterious woman in red. She kind of reminded me of Little Red Riding Hood, but she had a bow and arrow and looked bad ass. Attached to the arrow is a letter written by this mysterious woman, who agrees to aid you and give you hints and warnings about the area as you progress through the game.
Betrayer features something that I have not seen in any indie game, a monochrome theme with some dashes of red at certain parts. This gives the game an eerie feeling. At other times, the whole world goes to just black and white with a faint red. It all just depends on the area as well as what you are doing. 
In the game, you will also be able to chart your own course as you wander through the vast and untamed wilderness, which is teeming with danger and discovery. As you walk through the wilderness, you will unravel the colony’s many mysteries by gathering key clues as well as awakening the memories of the dead who dream in darkness.
The game also features weaponry from the 17th century, giving you the ability to create an arsenal of muskets, crossbows, throwing axes and more. Another feature of the game is the option of fast travel. This seems to be a necessity for that lazy gamer who doesn’t want to waste time walking and running to destinations. Once you discover an area, you will have the ability to fast travel to that location, saving you time and effort. I myself am guilty of using fast travel in certain games when I feel lazy.
As a fan of horror based video games, Betrayer is such an instant classic in my eyes. I can never find many good indie FPS that perk my curiosity, but Blackpowder Games certainly grabbed my attention with Betrayer. I was literally at the edge of my seat and even using my brain, which I don’t normally like to do when playing games. Betrayer, without a doubt, is such an amazing indie game and the developers did an amazing job!
Score: 8.5/10
PC review copy provided by Blackpowder Games. Betrayer is currently available on STEAM via PC.
The post Betrayer Review (PC) was originally written by Kimberly Schmierer for ZoKnowsGaming.
SOURCE: ZoKnowsGaming – Read entire story here.
