Prison of Husks Preview: Sweet, Sweet Nostalgia

I’ve only recently in the last few years started to play and enjoy games in the “souls-like” genre. My love started with Elden Ring, but I’ve nourished this love with other titles as well. And the souls-like genre is getting a wonderful new addition by the name of Prison of Husks. 

Prison of Husks from Glass Head Dolls, is a nostalgic souls-like where you awaken as a doll who is seeking their beloved. You are in the Lithos Plateau, a heavenly afterlife paintd by the hand of a pure heart. But all that is left is a desolate landscape that is crumbling beneath your feet. Your beloved depends on your and finding her is your only goal.

The game plays similarly to souls-like that you’d be familiar with so picking up the controls and understanding how things work doesn’t take long. At the start of the demo you’re locked in a prison cell and, after escaping, must explore a winding prison and try to find a way out. You don’t quite know what your goal is yet, but things begin to attack you and it becomes obvious that you’ve got to get out. 

In the game you can get hit three times before your shell (AP) breaks. When you run out of AP you’ll take more health damage and your attacks are susceptible to being interrupted. You have a main attack, heavy attack, block and parry as well as items that you can use to heal yourself. Combat is a little finicky at first as you get used to the moves of both your own character and the enemies that you encounter, but the characters' dodge and block abilities make quick work of the enemies at the start of the demo. 

You can also pick up rings and brooches to help with your playstyle and craft items as well. You’re only given a brief glimpse of this in the demo, but you’ll notice the usefulness of items as you pick them up and inspect them in your inventory. 

What’s possibly most impressive about Prison of Husks is its retro look which feels very much like an old PS1-era game. The PlayStation 1 was my very first console (unless you count the children’s learning console the SEGA Pico of course) so this one really hit that nostalgic vein for me. I continue to be impressed with the way that games are able to transport us to other times and Prison of Husks has definitely done that.

The Prison of Husks demo, while only allowing players to explore one area, managed to impress me in almost every way. The demo shows players exactly what to expect with the full game, but of course manages to keep some things secret. From the retro look to it’s classic souls-like gameplay, this is a game to keep an eye out for.

Prison of Husks is available to wishlist on Steam now where you can also check out the demo.