“Unexpected Fusion: Experiencing Survival Horror Soccer at Steam Next Fest”

I find myself in a scenario akin to someone who seems heavily inspired by Hannibal Lecter. I’m standing on a soccer pitch with a pentagram at its center. A statue fountain is discharging blood. There’s an enormous creature sporting a crucifix on its head. I can hear a sinister voice urging me to “go screw” myself. I just kicked a severed head into the net. Despite the bizarre nature of this experience, oddly enough, I am not in a melatonin-induced fever dream; I might have one after this. I’m participating in a Steam Next Fest demo I downloaded at work, and I’m pondering aloud, “what the heck is happening?”

The game is titled FEAR FA 98, a nod to FIFA 98, and developer Celery Brand describes it as “Silent Hill mixed with FIFA 98.” Given the entire eerie theme, I would argue it leans more towards Evil Dead meets FIFA 98, but there is a considerable amount of rain and fog, so I’ll let that minor discrepancy slide.

FEAR FA 98 is undoubtedly the strangest game I’ve ever experienced, and I’ve tried Nothing, the game where you do nothing. Yet, it’s somehow not entirely alien either. At its essence, it is essentially a functional PS1-style soccer game, and technically speaking, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with it, at least from my brief experience with the demo.

You choose a character; the demo only allows you to select a hooded oddball or a version of Hannibal, but I’m sure there’s a character resembling a nurse and a variant of Pinhead from Hellraiser. Each character possesses their own unique weapon and attacks, with Hannibal wielding what appears to be a pickaxe for some reason, while the hooded figure employs a torch.

Then you battle for control of the soccer ball, navigate obstacles while dribbling towards your opponents’ goal, and attempt to score. However, instead of a soccer ball, you’re using a severed head, and instead of rival players, you’re facing demons and other creatures. Overall, disregarding everything else, it’s essentially a typical soccer game, and a fairly entertaining one at that! I particularly enjoy small details like the trail of blood from the head that helps distinguish it from the rest of the field for easier visibility.

It’s worth noting that the version of the demo I played featured some rather odd AI-generated music during the matches, but Celery Brand recently posted a Steam update stating that the AI music has been removed due to negative feedback.

There is a lengthy disclaimer at the beginning of the demo that assures players there will be much more content available in the full game that is not present in the demo, including new “mechanics, attacks, power-ups, and other features.” Still, I had a macabre, surreal, yet ultimately enjoyable time with what little is offered. You are probably not going to…