More is less

I know I've already titled a review this way before (and I forget which one), but it just applies to so many games for some reason.

Trepang2's claim to fame is the revival of the F.E.A.R. formula, which at its core it does decently enough to be a fun game. But in every way that it deviates from F.E.A.R., it's comparatively worse. The focus is on eliminating friction, making the player close distances and blast enemies upclose or knock them off their feet with incredibly overpowered slides. No tension of its inspiration. No zooming-in, no leaning over the corners. Obviously the elimination of horror plays its part in damaging the atmosphere too. I mean, Trepang2 utilizes a lot of horror concepts, but is the game ever actually scary? The lighting lacks all the subtlety, and the pacing leans much more towards non-stop balls-to-the-wall action. Not that that's a bad thing in theory, since F.E.A.R. had the greatest combat you'd ever see in a game, but Trepang2 can't even really compete with F.E.A.R. The restriction to two weapon slots makes absolutely no sense for a game like this, where one is supposed to think strategically and pick different weapons for different situations. The cloak mode is also pretty nonsensical in a game almost devoid of stealth. All it does is make you overpowered. The lack of manual saving is another indicator of the game's shifted priorities compared to its inspiration.

In practice, Trepang2 is a different experience. Where F.E.A.R. was a suspensful traversal of oppressive environments with evenly distributed John Woo gunfights and J-horror segments tied together by a harrowing story, Trepang2 is a near non-stop superhero action with some zombies and monsters thrown in.

Is Trepang2 better than F.E.A.R. 2? I would say yes. But is it a better sequel to F.E.A.R.? I don't think so. It feels exactly like what it is: an indie game imitating a great masterpiece of the past. When the imitation works, it succeeds, but it lacks the coherence of F.E.A.R. and profoundly misunderstands what actually made it a masterpiece and not just a great shooter.

From what I've heard, people that dislike F.E.A.R.'s "drab environments" and the horror aspect thought this was a great game. I've only played slightly over an hour of this, but to me the environments here look more boring and generic, and, from what I've heard, the nuanced J-Horror homage of F.E.A.R. has been traded here for SCP and Backrooms. Call me an old fart, but I don't think literal internet memes have anything on the works of cinematic art that adapted rich ancient traditions to reflect modern anxieties and societal problems, created an entire subgenre and became ingrained in collective conscious. But what do I know?