Developer Stormind Games is hard at work putting the finishing touches on its highly-anticipated horror title, Remothered: Broken Porcelain. The sequel to 2018's surprise hit, Remothered: Tormented Fathers, takes the "hide-and-seek horror" formula of games like Amnesia: The Dark Descent or Alien Isolation and infuses it with the esoteric storytelling of classic Italian giallo films. Screen Rant was sent a preview build of the game for PC and came away impressed by the storytelling and production values, but we have our doubts over whether the core gameplay can sustain the experience for its duration.

At a glance, the graphics of Remothered are a huge improvement over the 2018 original, with more evocative facial animations and an overall higher level of polish. Broken Porcelain won't be mistaken for The Last of Us Part II or anything, but it definitely aspires to punch above its weight class in terms of production values. This extends to the voice acting, which straddles the line between feeling like corny B-movie dialogue and sincerely compelling interactions. This appears to be a deliberate choice, as it evokes the Italian horror aesthetics of its obvious inspirations.

Related: Remothered: Broken Porcelain Preview - Devoted to Giallo Horror

The demo is set entirely within the Ashmann Inn in 1973, a location that should look familiar to fans of the original game. Players take on the role of "Jennifer," a name that holds infamous prominence to the over-arching story of the Remothered series, and they are immediately tasked with solving puzzles across a wing of the building while avoiding a moth-possessed groundskeeper. The hotel employee cannot be killed, but she can be knocked out momentarily.

Remothered Broken Porcelain

The puzzles in this early segment of the game involve a mix of exploration and logic, and the basic structure should feel familiar to fans of 1990s survival titles like the original Resident Evil. Jennifer has to open a safe but she doesn't have the code. Also, the safe is inside a locked room. Also, the safe is electric and the power is out. Also, she needs to find a length of electrical cord to repair the generator. It can seem a bit overwhelming, but completing each step usually points Jennifer in the general direction of the next task.

Twice in the demo, players have to use a telephone. Unfortunately, the phone is located in the same room where the enemy rests, so Jennifer has to use crafted items like alarm clocks and talking baby dolls to lure her away long enough for Jennifer to make the necessary phone calls. The tension is heightened even further by the 1970s setting: this isn't a modern phone, but an old-timey rotary model, and the extra time it takes to use the archaic rotating dial adds a lot of personality to an otherwise fairly simple task.

When it comes to the action, Remothered: Broken Porcelain doesn't feel regressive, but it doesn't add anything new to the tried-and-true horror formula that has been done to death over the past several years in both the indie and AAA scene. Fans of hiding in lockers and running away from invincible enemies will enjoy the core gameplay loop, which feels reasonably polished and intense, but players who have grown tired of this routine may be put off by the apparent lack of innovation, at least in this early portion of the game. It remains to be seen if the game has enough new tricks up its sleeve to avoid a feeling of "been there, done that" from hardened genre fans, even if the mysterious and compelling story might just be enough to keep players engaged.

remothered gameplay

Based on our hands-on time with this unfinished demo build, Remothered: Broken Porcelain features familiar gameplay that's bolstered by an intriguing story with characters who keep secrets and agendas to themselves. Fans of the first game will surely appreciate the major graphical upgrade of the sequel, while connoisseurs of cinematic horror may find themselves hooked by the premise and thematic 1970s-inspired aesthetic and storytelling.

Next: Giallo Explained: A History Of The Italian Horror Movies

Remothered: Broken Porcelain releases on October 20 for Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.