You play as a depressed, self-harming boy named Simon, who goes through a variety of locations where both his physical stamina and mental stability are put to the test as he tries to return home. As you progress through the game, you begin to realize how the sheer insanity of the enemies actually reflect on Simon's very thoughts and emotions.

You have to go through this game assuming that something is going to pop out at you from where you are trying to go, or break down the door that you're directly in front of. This means that to progress, you will either need quick reflexes from the start, or you will have to employ trial and error very frequently.

There are a few issues in this game, one being that if you open a note that you stored, or even sometimes when you are reading the map in the park, the game will get stuck on it, and you will be forced to reload the most recent game save to escape the screen. Additionally, the collision experienced here is almost game-breaking; there were several instances where it took 20+ minutes in one location because of awkward placement of objects and/or enemies. The absolute darkness and apparently broken gamma/brightness adjustment controls also had me navigating through moving along walls for most of the game, especially underwater.

I recommend playing this game on "Easy" difficulty on your first playthrough if you don't want to get incredibly ♥♥♥♥♥♥ off, as I played it on "Normal" and I'm genuinely surprised that I beat this game. There are little provisions for ammo and health, but when there are, they will either easily be overlooked because of their placement in seemingly insignificant locations, or they will be placed in plain sight, but only because you are about to REALLY need them.

The horror of the game itself was initially frightening, but only because it was unfamiliar. The jump-scares of the game quickly changed from shocking to annoying, as the same scares repeated themselves over and over and over again. The appearance of the enemies along with the general atmosphere of the game was more creepy than it was scary, but it did have a nice effect on the tensions in the game.

Why do I recommend this game?: Only because the storyline and the existence of the enemies have a very intriguing and surprising correlation, which you slowly find out as you progress through the game. Cry of Fear is full of jump-scares, but it is also full of cheap, unfair, and broken mechanics that make higher difficulties mind-numbingly frustrating.
Playability: 3/10
Story Quality: 8/10
Difficulty: 10/10
Intensity of Horror: 5/10