Whisper Mountain Outbreak Early Access Impressions

I played the original Resident Evil on an HP computer running Windows 95. I could not tell you the specs, but I do know I used the MS Sidewinder gamepad. I went on to play Resident Evil 2 on PlayStation and Code: Veronica on the Dreamcast. While not the biggest fan (I have only played the remake of 2 since), I did enjoy those titles. As someone who loves top-down and isometric viewpoint games, a survival horror game in the vein of Resident Evil would get me excited.

That’s not horrifying at all…

Developed by Toge Productions, Whisper Mountain Outbreak is an “Escape room meets co-op survival horror (Steam).” Inspired by Resident Evil, you and up to 3 others must find a way to escape Mount Bisik, where an ancient curse has been released. Currently available in early access, players can tackle the first area containing 8 randomized missions and choose from several classes.

Upon starting up the game, you are given a choice of 3 classes; there are 6 in total right now, and the choice of 3 is random each time you start a game. Unlike Resident Evil, these are not trained law enforcement or individuals with military experience. For example, the firefighter starts the game with the axe (better than the bat that other classes have) but has terrible aim with firearms, while the security guard can handle themselves in a fight, but is much slower, so you had better hope you are not in a chase. Pick a mission and off you go, with or without a team.

These can described characters from every horror movie ever.

All missions have you retrieving a classified item and then escaping the horde of undead before you are caught and killed. Some of these missions include a timer, adding a bit of urgency, but most let you explore as long as you dare. It would not be survival horror if the missions were as simple as going to X room, getting Y item, and getting back to the truck. If you have played any of the Resident Evil games, you know exactly what I am talking about. If a hallway has 4 doors, how many are unlocked? Probably none other than the one you entered. Some doors require bolt cutters, but said bolt cutters are in a room that requires the power to be turned off first. Other doors may require a key that is in a safe locked with a password that is only found on a particular dead body, and that dead body is probably behind the door that requires bolt cutters. If you are playing solo, I highly recommend a notebook (or the Steam notes shortcut) to keep track of codes, cyphers, clues, and anything else that may help you. Sometimes, though, you just need to pick a lock, and Whisper Mountain Outbreak has one of the cooler lockpicking mechanics in games.

You may want to get in the habit of closing doors behind you though, as the undead are not going to wait while you try to enter a password. The game can be paused, but it adds to the atmosphere that you can still be hunted as you try to solve puzzles to unlock areas.

Now, in your quest to get the item and leave, you should probably have a way to defend yourself. Scattered throughout the levels are various firearms, melee weapons, and even grenades and Molotov cocktails. Ammo can also be found, but 9 times out of 10 it is not for the weapon you are currently carrying. As far as healing goes, green herbs can be eaten or you can combine up to three green herbs for a bigger heal (wait a minute…). Similar to the Resident Evil games, the inventory is very limited. At the beginning of the game, you have slots for a melee weapon and firearm, plus four additional slots for ammo, other weapons, healing items, and quest items. In a pinch, items can be dropped and picked up at a later point. Not only do items not despawn, but their icon appears on the map, so you could return later and fill up your inventory before leaving. Additionally, items used in the crafting system do not take up inventory space, so make sure to scavenge everything you can.

If you do manage to make it back to the base, there are a few things to check out before departing on your next mission. Successful missions reward skill points, which can be spent in three areas: Military Book (firearms and explosives), Martial Arts Guide (melee), and Fitness and Health Magazine (health and stamina). It will cost you one skill point the first time you choose each area, and then two and three points. Selecting any of them prompts you to pick an upgrade. Upgrades can directly affect the character, like increased melee damage and reduced stamina consumption, or they can provide new options in the crafting menu. If you play in co-op, anything in your inventory can be dropped for others to pick up. You can use this to your advantage and have different players choose different upgrades. Granted, crafting materials are not shared, but it is more beneficial to have someone who can craft gun parts and someone who can craft extra healing items.

Speaking of co-op, up to 4 players can play together at once. The host does have to choose co-op mode from the beginning as solo is offline only and cannot be changed. Bonus: Only one person actually needs to own Whisper Mountain Outbreak. Players can download the friend’s pass, which allows full access to the game, provided they join someone’s lobby. As mentioned before, inventory items can be freely shared, so this helps as not everyone needs to pick up quest items to proceed. The game does include in-game voice chat and having a radio in your inventory affects the distance you can communicate. Alternatively, you can use Discord, freeing up inventory space and removing any restrictions. Co-op also frees up the need for the aforementioned note-taking. For example, you need the number off of a dead hospital worker’s badge ID. In solo mode, you would find the specific badge, write down the number, and open the safe/door/etc. In co-op mode, I had a friend stand by the locked cabinet, I found the body, called out the code, and success! Personally, I like games that require me to break out my notebook, but to each their own.

We have now arrived to the suggestions/things we hope to see implemented in the game to enhance the experience section of the review. For this game, there is one and only one because it is so glaring, it makes or breaks (in this case, breaks) the game. Whisper Mountain Outbreak does not have a save function. You cannot save the game. Yes, that reads, YOU CANNOT SAVE THE GAME. Let me preface this with the fact that I know this is launching into early access. That said, this is not a game that lends itself to no saves. It is not a roguelike. It is a mission-based, approximately 2-3 hour game (in the current build - there is one area consisting of 8 missions that take anywhere from 10ish minutes to 30+ minutes.

We did reach out to the team for clarification and were told, “Unfortunately, we don't have a save feature available at this time. But it is indeed one of the features we would like to apply in the future.” I have been gaming for 30+ years and I will not deny that I have played into the wee hours of the night/morning. There is a clear distinction between I am going to play all night long and I HAVE to set aside this chunk of time to complete the game. The mere fact that you go on missions and return to the base after just lends itself to being able to save so you can have those bite-sized gaming sessions.

I did find a temporary workaround, but it still ended in disaster. If you play a solo game on the Steam Deck, you can put the game in rest mode. It does not work in an online game, as it will disconnect the game upon returning. In my last run before this review, I had a solo game running on the deck. In the second-to-last mission, I went to pick up an item, and my game soft reset to the main menu. Crashes happen, especially with early access titles, but in this case, my only option was to start a new run. I am just a gamer that reviews games, and not a developer, but a save function seems like such a basic feature. Have we been taking the ability to save for granted all these years?

Whisper Mountain Outbreak is another game that I first stumbled upon at PAX East two years ago and had been eagerly awaiting the launch. The gameplay loop, coupled with co-op mode, is incredible. Unfortunately, any praise I have is severely marred by the lack of a save feature. I am not sure if I am even conveying how frustrating this experience is, but I have to recommend everyone to only wishlist the game for now. I do hope they fix this sooner rather than later, as there is a great game to be played.