If you are a fan of Resident Evil and Silent Hill, or planning to jump into them, look no further than Vincent Adinolfi’s Heartworm. This inspired horror classic is designed as a late ‘90s PS1 game. Step into the world of Sam Mastelna as she treads through a pocket dimension containing old memories. Grab your camera and face your fears into this nostalgia terror.
The Story of Sam Mastelna
In the year 1999, Sam travels to Devil’s Glenn, Connecticut, after a paranormal forum discussion caught her interest. According to the forum, there is an abandoned house that has been left untouched for the past decade. No one who has entered the house has returned, as a forum member named Rei hasn’t responded in over a year. Doing so made her leave her partner as she said in her letter, “You don’t have to worry about me anymore.”
Sam’s curiosity led her to a rose door in the attic. After entering, a cloaked figure chased her down what appears to be a pocket dimension. They then cornered the woman in a room with a static TV. Hands extended from the screen and pulled her into the Archive, a strange library that speaks of one’s past, present, and future. In its center is a tome with three missing pages that Sam must recover to escape this bizarre plane.
Soon, Sam finds herself traveling within a haunted version of her memories. She stumbles upon static souls and monsters trying to block her path. The only way to survive is to flash them with her camera.
Fatal Frame x Resident Evil Survival
Heartworm’s combat is something I haven’t seen since Fatal Frame, which Adinolfi took inspiration from. Fatal Frame allows players to use the Camera Obscura to fight against vengeful spirits in a haunted estate. They enter first-person shooter mode when aiming.
While the overhead camera projects at a fixed angle, Sam can wield her camera Resident Evil style. Adinolfi’s programming team added an additional aim button to shoot scenes with a third-person perspective. This is useful for finding items in hidden corners and fighting enemies in closed spaces. It’s very satisfying once you master where and when to use it.
Enemies will do anything to stop Sam from reaching the pages she needs. Static souls for example can send pixels to grapple and slow down her movement. By flashing your camera at them, you buy time to wiggle free. Other creatures will use their methods of attacking like tackling and surrounding you with rocks. Pay attention to their attacks before evading.
Heartworm will also remind you that you have limited resources. Using Resident Evil’s inventory logic, Sam must manage her camera film, key items, and healing supplies. She can’t carry too much for she only has six slots on her person. Luckily, she can find chests in the Archive’s Study. The inventory is also great to check Sam’s status. Avoid the Danger zone with bandages, first aid kits, and antiseptics.
Silent Hill-Inspired Storytelling
Silent Hill became a leading inspiration for Heartworm’s story. The design and writing team did a fantastic job of capturing the original series’ narrative style for Sam. Throughout the game, players learn that the curious woman has been grief-stricken since the death of her grandfather. Journals and environmental observations provide insight into her obsession with mortality.
She travels through her most cherished memories to traumatic events. Due to the Archive, its power alters certain area appearances, such as Sam’s best friend, Sally’s house. She associates drowning at that location with her mother’s method of suicide. The house is flooded in the Archive’s dimension for this reason. There are many moments when Sam reminisces aloud, whether encountering a new area or examining its surroundings.
Mixing Retro Visuals with Modern Gameplay
One of the coolest features Heartworm has is mixing modern control schemes in a PS1 horror game. When starting a new game, the screen will ask for your control scheme and graphics style. I chose to play in retro graphics with modern movement and tank aiming.
Retro graphics will simulate the processing power of the PS1, giving the game assets a pixel fuzz, while modern graphics lead to smoother controls. Tank movement is playing the game by rotating your characters in different directions before moving forward. If you are someone who wants smoother controls with a 360 spin, go for modern. And finally, modern aiming will allow you to immediately aim in the third person.
I unfortunately came across a few graphics bugs when using retro mode. I found the first one when walking onto the porch of Sam’s grandparents house. I later learned the source is from a fissure in the garden. My screen went black but I managed to unlock the door. The second issue retro mode has is with cinematics. The Deer intro cutscene suffered the most from frame drops. This is because my graphic settings could not keep pace.
The Game Includes Bonuses and Replayability
Heartworm offers a nice bonus to increase player replayability. There are multiple endings to see Sam’s fate within the Archive. I beat the game with the “Leaves” ending, where she returns to her reality. Two Steam achievements promote speed runners to try and beat the game in two hours or less. Considering the puzzle difficulty rising in mid-game, they may consider having a couple of practice runs to find quick solutions to save time.
There’s also an Easter hunt for possums. This was added as a thank-you to Heartworm’s publisher, DreadXP. The same game company has supported Maw Games for Amanda the Adventurer. In Amanda the Adventurer 2, there’s a possum that causes mischief in the cartoon’s VHS tapes. Doing these fun challenges will unlock costumes for Sam to wear in a new game. And finally, for those who can’t stand spiders, fear not! The settings have an arachnophobia mode to replace the 8-legged critters with another asset.
Heartworm is A Horror Love Letter
Adinolfi’s five-year horror project has finally become a reality. Heartworm almost did not see the light of day and was about to be preserved on the 2020 PS1 Haunted Demo Disc. The survival horror love letter had production halted after the original publisher stumbled into financial issues in 2023. Adinolfi posted a call for help on X (then Twitter) on October 20th.
It was thanks to DreadXP that his development team managed to complete the project. Everyone’s efforts were not in vain for this PS1 Horror, as they produced a beautiful psychological horror. While far from perfect, Heartworm has something for those who are going through rough times. Whether it’s the loss of a loved one or losing a job, the game’s message to keep moving forward left a smile on my face. Give this Steam title a try if you plan to experience Silent Hill!
