Roman’s world is crumbling, not just physically, but emotionally. In Post Trauma, guilt twists reality into a prison of fleshy tendrils and sorrow. And Roman needs to find a way to escape or else lose himself to “The Gloom.” That’s the premise behind Post Trauma, the debut title from Spanish indie team Red Soul Games, published by Raw Fury. Built in Unreal Engine 5, Post Trauma blends cinematic fixed-camera exploration, grim psychological horror, and satisfying environmental puzzles.
While it doesn’t redefine the genre, Post Trauma offers an atmospheric, thoughtful experience with some frustrating flaws along the way.
Strong Puzzles, Weak Combat
At its core, Post Trauma is more of a horror-themed puzzle adventure than a true survival horror game. You explore eerie environments through fixed cinematic camera angles, solve challenging puzzles, fight horrifying creatures, and progress by piecing together environmental clues. I had to rely on my phone plenty to take photos of my TV to remember clues for later puzzles. The game does not provide any sort of journal to review previously discovered information or notes.
The puzzles shine; they’re challenging yet fair, often delivering a satisfying “aha!” moment when solved. Only one number-based sports puzzle left me disinterested enough that I went straight to a guide, but everything else rewarded careful observation and thought.
Combat is Post Trauma’s major weak link. It feels clunky, inconsistent, and, in my opinion, unnecessary to the game. Weapon swapping is unreliable with little variety in the available weapons. Evade timing never feels precise, and there aren’t enough enemy encounters to truly master it. Enemy AI is poor, often getting stuck on level geometry, and the scarcity of ammo makes guns feel almost pointless.
Most fights devolve into me mashing dodge and swinging like a madman with little strategy or tension. Boss fights are no better as only one boss features actual mechanics, and even those felt arbitrary rather than thematically tied to the encounter.
Post Trauma would have been stronger without combat at all, allowing its puzzles and atmosphere to fully take center stage.
Trauma, Guilt, and Redemption
Post Trauma centers on Roman, a subway conductor trapped in a horrific world called “The Gloom,” a purgatorial dimension shaped by the character’s personal guilt and trauma.
Other characters weave into Roman’s story, each shouldering their own burdens. Jill is a mysterious and angry woman who intrudes on Roman’s story at times to add conflict. Freya is a schoolgirl who speaks only through an AI voice on her phone and is haunted by a past she can’t change. Carlos, a sadistic police officer, takes a twisted pleasure in experimenting with the limits of The Gloom, using others as his playthings.
The narrative is built upon heavy and dark themes, such as loss and regret, but it often struggles with clarity. Key relationships (like between Roman and Jill) are left ambiguous. The story leaves many gaps in the storytelling, leaving room for player interpretation. I personally don’t mind this, but I can see why it might frustrate others.
The player will actually take control of Freya and Carlos for sections of the game, which I personally felt watered down the experience, especially considering that their connections to Roman were not as clearly defined as I would have liked. The transitions from playing as Roman to Carlos or Freya were narratively and visually jarring, and they always left me wishing I was just sticking with one character and learning more about their story. Also, for some reason, the game switches to first person when playing as Carlos, which felt out of place with the rest of the game.
Despite these rough edges, Post Trauma successfully captures the inner torment of its characters through fantastic environmental design. The Gloom is a haunting reflection of the harm they’ve done to others and themselves, with characters literally rotting into monsters the longer they linger in the twisted world. Seeing what the world does to those trapped in it for too long, Roman is determined to find a way to escape.
Thematically, Post Trauma emphasizes that to escape one’s own inner demons we must practice empathy, forgiveness, and seek human connection. It’s a haunting and powerful message, even if the storytelling stumbles at times.
Worldbuilding and Performance
Visually, Post Trauma is rough but charming for a small indie project. Some environments are stunningly atmospheric, with tendril-covered structures reminiscent of H.R. Giger, while other areas, especially the opening sequence, suffer from muddy textures, graphical clipping, and jerky animations. Character and enemy animations are rigid and awkward to watch and could benefit from a bit more polish.
The cinematic fixed camera work is a real strength, employing Dutch angles, fixed perspectives, and well-timed camera pushes to smartly build tension throughout the game. Sound design and music are excellent, creating an oppressive, unnerving mood that fits the world perfectly. Voice acting, however, is uneven at best. Roman’s voice didn’t quite fit the character, in my opinion, and the performance was disconnected from what was happening in the scene. At one point, I considered turning the dialogue volume down as it became distracting.
The technical performance is generally stable with no major crashes or bugs. I didn’t encounter any crashes or bugs that I could tell. There was one instance where I experienced an unusually long load time near the end of the game, which scared me as it had been quite a while since I saved, and I was certain the game was going to crash. But, thankfully, I stuck it out and waited. Eventually, it did load the next scene, and I was very thankful that I didn’t jump the gun and force the game to quit.
Is Post Trauma Worth It?
At $15 for 5–7 hours of gameplay (it took me 6 hours), Post Trauma delivers strong value, especially for players nostalgic for PS1/PS2-era horror. While it teases survival horror mechanics, like limited inventory space and safe rooms to save, it’s really a horror puzzle game with light survival aspects sprinkled in and not a full survival horror experience. Also, combat feels like an afterthought and could use a bit more work to be on par with other aspects of the game that shine.
If you’re a fan of classic horror games like Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and Fatal Frame, you’ll find comfort in Post Trauma’s atmosphere and structure. It is a familiar format and one that I have a soft spot for. However, the weak combat, vague storytelling, and inconsistent polish means it likely won’t linger in your mind the way true genre classics do.
Post Trauma is a heartfelt love letter to classic horror, capturing the spirit even if it falls short of mastery. And while it doesn’t achieve greatness, it lays a promising foundation for what Red Soul Games will create next.
Post Trauma succeeds in crafting a world that feels oppressive, broken, and painfully human. It stumbles with its combat and some narrative clarity, but its emotional core, the exploration of guilt, forgiveness, and the fight for redemption, is solid. It excels at the puzzles and world building, and that was enough for me to thoroughly enjoy my entire time with Post Trauma.
If you’re willing to overlook some rough patches, Post Trauma is a flawed but entertaining journey I feel is worth taking.
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