A Fresh Cut Of A Standout World War 1 Horror Game
Conscript made a name for itself as one of the most memorable indie horror releases of last year. Set during the brutal battle of Verdun in World War 1, it puts you in the worn boots of a French soldier trying to survive the chaos of the trenches. Critics praised it for its bleak atmosphere and tightly designed survival horror gameplay.
But for solo developer Jordan Mochi, the launch version was only the beginning. Over the past year he has been quietly building a massive update that revisits almost every part of the experience. The result is Conscript: Director's Cut, a reworked and expanded edition that aims to be the definitive version of the game.
If you enjoy classic survival horror, tough combat, and smart level design that rewards careful exploration, this update makes Conscript well worth a look, especially with its current discount on Steam.
New Shellshock Mode And Hardcore Options
The headline feature of the Director's Cut is a brand new top tier difficulty setting called Shellshock. Previously, Veteran mode was the hardest way to play Conscript. Shellshock replaces it with a more extreme challenge designed for players who already know the trenches like the back of their hand.
Shellshock turns up the tension by making enemies faster, more lethal, and harder to bring down. On top of that, some enemies can regenerate health, forcing you to commit to your attacks instead of playing too cautiously. You need to manage ammo, positioning, and timing even more carefully or risk getting overwhelmed.
If that is still not intense enough, there is also a hardcore option that you can toggle on any difficulty, including Shellshock. Hardcore mode wipes your save file when you die. One mistake, one bad reload, and your entire run is gone. Combined with the grim setting and tight resource management, this can turn Conscript into an almost roguelike style experience for players who want the absolute maximum stakes.
For anyone who bounced off the original game because it felt a bit punishing or awkward, it is worth noting that the Director's Cut is not just about cranking up the difficulty. It also focuses heavily on improving the core feel of combat and exploration so that every death feels fairer and every victory feels earned.
Improved Combat, Smarter Level Design, And New Gear
One of the biggest changes in the Director's Cut is how it handles moment to moment gameplay. Combat in Conscript has always leaned into the clunky, deliberate style of old school survival horror. Every shot counts and every mistake hurts. With the update, Mochi has tried to keep that tension while sanding down some of the frustrations.
Several changes make fights feel more responsive and readable:
- You can now move while aiming, giving you more flexibility to reposition while lining up a shot. This helps you kite enemies around tight trench corners without feeling completely locked in place.
- Shotgun blasts now apply a stagger effect, which makes them feel much more powerful and satisfying. A well timed blast can create breathing room when enemies are closing in.
- Melee attacks now have improved knockback, so smacking enemies with close range weapons is a more viable tool instead of a last resort.
These tweaks do not turn Conscript into an action game, but they make the combat flow better and cut down on cheap feeling deaths.
The Director's Cut also adds and rebalances a selection of items that you can find while exploring the trenches. These give you more ways to shape your playstyle:
- A craftsman's kit increases the amount of ammo you receive from crafting, which is huge for players who like to loot every corner and squeeze maximum value out of every resource.
- A dog collar prevents rats from spawning when it is in your inventory. This might seem almost mystical at first but it actually ties back to real history, where dogs were used as rat catchers in World War 1. It is a neat example of gameplay design connecting with authentic details from the period.
On the exploration side, Mochi has reworked parts of the level design to make progression feel smoother. The update introduces new shortcuts around the map, so backtracking is less tedious and routes between key areas become more interesting. Survival horror often lives and dies on how satisfying it is to loop back through familiar spaces, and these changes aim to make that loop stronger.
There are also a bunch of smaller quality of life improvements:
- A late game economy tweak to make resource balance feel better towards the end of the story.
- Placeable map markers so you can remember where important items or locked routes are located.
- An improved records screen that makes progress tracking clearer.
Individually these may seem minor, but together they make the entire campaign more approachable without sacrificing what made it tense and memorable.
The Definitive Version And A Big Discount
The developer has described Conscript: Director's Cut as the version he would have shipped originally if he had more time for playtesting without launch pressure. That is a familiar story in modern game development but it is encouraging to see a solo dev put in the work to refine and expand a project after release instead of just moving on.
To mark the launch of the Director's Cut, publisher Team 17 is offering a major discount on Steam. At the time of writing there is a 66 percent price cut, bringing Conscript down to a very low entry point for anyone curious about trying it.
If you are into survival horror, historical settings, or just appreciate tightly designed indie games that respect your time, this is a great moment to jump in. The Director's Cut makes Conscript more flexible for different types of players, more readable in combat, and more rewarding to explore, all while keeping its core identity: a grim, carefully crafted look at the horrors of World War 1 through the lens of a tense, old school horror experience.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/horror/world-war-1-survival-horror-conscript-gets-a-huge-update-that-adds-a-hardcore-mode-redesigned-levels-new-items-and-gear-and-much-more/
