If you go into this surreal survival horror without knowing it comes from a solo developer, you’d easily believe it was created by a modestly sized studio. Solo developed games tend to be personal small-scale projects, or relatively simple pixel art adventures and platformers, making this a rare exception. Andrei Chernyshov has spent the last several years creating an ambitious and polished experience that never settles into a routine, continuously feeling fresh. It’s a heck of an accomplishment, excelling in several areas – all while featuring a spot of silliness, making it comparable to the works of Suda51 and Swery65. Silly by name…
We’re introduced to Polly, a mute blonde-haired teen who has just fled from an orphanage with questionable practises. The plan was to escape after creating a diversion and regroup with fellow orphan Alice, only upon arriving at the meeting spot, Alice fails to show. Retracing her steps, Polly finds herself stumbling into a well and landing in a twisted yet familiar underworld that partly mirrors our own. To save Alice, three demons must be slain – all of which take the form of colossal insects. Polly soon learns however that this deal isn’t quite what it seems.
Not only that, but the ghostly beings populating the underworld have their own struggle, with a squad of rebels holed up in an underground station taking Polly under their wing. As a mortal, Polly possesses the skills to help the rebels fight back against The Fog – which exists as both an organisation and literal fog, often blocking the path forward. If that wasn’t enough, Polly’s past also manages to catch up with her, with one of the five chapters – each taking a couple of hours to beat, culminating in a respectable 8-10 hour runtime – taking place in the orphanage, filling in the blanks of what occurred during that eventful day.
Ambitious is the best way to describe Silly Polly Beast as it dabbles with a few different ideas and mechanics while putting a fresh spin on many. It also knows how to keep players on the right path, using 2D side-scrolling to establish locations and for slower paced sections with character interactions, before switching to a top-down view for either melee combat or stealth while giving free reign. Polly gets to spend downtime at a randomly relocating bar too, providing a reprise and a chance to recuperate.
Polly – dressed in ripped tights and an orange jacket that contrasts well with the filth-encrusted environments – is armed with a skateboard to bludgeon enemies with, along with a pistol carrying six bullets by default. Melee attacks are governed by a stamina bar, preventing from button bashing as she can only dole 3-4 heavy hits before needing to ‘dodge roll’ away from enemies. The pistol can take out an enemy or two effortlessly, and ingeniously, ammo isn’t replenished in a typical fashion but rather by walking past burning barrels. Explosive larvae fill the role of grenades, exchangeable for the ability to kill a random enemy outright, helping to make stealth sections easier. On that subject, Polly can don a hood and sneak past enemies, who will duly go about their patrols until breaking their line of sight.
As Polly can only withstand a few hits, battles are often tense. This makes it essential to dodge, use ammo wisely, and take out the biggest threats first. Fallen enemies drop animal masks, required not just for performing rituals to progress, but also to unlock new skateboard skins and other extras back at the bar. Later, a shotgun, spike launcher and machine gun are introduced, only one of which can be carried. It’s likely this will come down to preference, as they all pack a similar punch. The spike launcher has double the ammo of the shotgun but lacks the spread. All three make Polly feel temporarily overpowered, which was clearly the aim.
Boss battles are another highlight, each having a creative element or two. One involves a swinging sawblade that can be used to harm minions, while another involves destroying a tower before taking on the boss itself, having more of a puzzle solving slant. One boss fight did frustrate however, using an overhead view and featuring narrow walkways that are extremely easy to fall from while aiming, shooting and dodging.
Generally though, the difficulty level is well judged. Silly Polly Beast isn’t a cakewalk; most enemy encounters require a few retries, especially those where Polly is greatly outnumbered and must use every resource available. The difficulty always feels fair though as enemies will drop health (chocolate and chicken shawarmas) when stocks are depleted, along with frequent special ammo drops. At one point I had to grind for health, entering and exiting a room while fighting off a wave of minions each time. From knowing that enemies will provide whatever you’re low on does come comfort. It also auto-saves upon entering a new location, and so progress is rarely lost upon defeat. While the ending screen doesn’t provide a typical survival horror style ranking, I’d imagine my death count was close to a hundred.
It’s also a very well-paced experience, with each of the five chapters set in a new location and having a unique focus. Portals transport Polly from one warped realm to another, with the only location reused being the rebel’s base. Also, let’s just say her skateboard isn’t just used for bludgeoning enemies, leading to a fun diversion. There’s even the occasional chance to take in the sights. This world may be twisted, but it isn’t without moments of serenity either, with one chapter featuring a forest with a lakeview.
The brakes are slapped on tempoarily when visiting the orphanage, as this is one of the more puzzle focused chapters. As it features survival horror tropes too, with a trap-laying entity making themselves known early on, there’s rarely a dull moment. The lack of a quest log did result in some backtracking here though, and although there is a map present, you’ll need to backtrack to that as well – because it’s hung on a wall.
At a few points Polly will need to make decisions, some of which impact the storyline, helping to carve your own path. It doesn’t have the largest cast of NPCs, but all characters are memorable, especially those who are of Polly’s age. Multiple endings feature, only two of which I was able to see by replaying the final moments.
When I first went into Silly Polly Beast, I thought it may be a brief experience with a throwback feel, only to be proven wrong on both accounts – this is a fully fledged adventure with a great deal of variety, helping it to feel considerably modern. While it is a little angular in places visually, it doesn’t look dated either, featuring a fresh style and modern UI based around Polly’s cell phone. I was also surprised by how fluid character animation is, especially the way enemies react to being struck in the face with a skateboard. From start to finish, it’s very difficult to believe this is the work of one individual, exceeding expectations at almost every turn.
Classically trained horror fans weaned on the likes of Silent Hill and Resident Evil may find it lacking in scares, with this offering a more action-oriented experience that isn’t tied to inventory management and limited resources. Those who enjoy tight melee combat and a bit of quirkiness while under demonic oppression will relish every moment. As tempting as it is to say that it raises the bar for solo developed projects, it would be foolish to expect Silly Polly Beast’s standard to be met overnight. Indies ambitious as they are imaginative only come around a few times per generation. It’s the exception to the rule. It’s exceptional.
Andrei Chernyshov’s Silly Polly Beast is out now on PS5, Xbox Series and PC. Pubished by Top Hat Studios.