Back in 1995: Nostalgia Isn't Always Fun

What if someone made a brand-new survival-horror game in 1995… in 2016? That’s essentially Back in 1995, an indie love letter to the early days of 3D gaming that wears its PS1-era influences proudly. As a die-hard fan of old school survival horror games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, I'm always on the look out for those types of experiences, especially if they call back to the late 90's. Low-poly models, pixelated textures, limited environments, inventory management, clunky controls... I'm all about it. So when I came across Back in 1995, which 110% committed to this premise, it seemed right up my alley. After playing though the game, I decided that I like the things this game is trying to recreate, but recreating them didn't automatically recreate the magic for me.

NEW GAME

In Back in 1995, you play as Kent, a man who awakens in a deserted, post-apocalyptic city with no memory of how he got there. It's your classic amnesia tale, one that I think does well in a game like this. With no idea where you are and how you got there, you’ll explore abandoned buildings, search for clues, solve a couple puzzles, manage resources, and fight the occasional enemy while trying to uncover what happened.

Now, if you’re looking for modern conveniences, forget it. Tank controls, low-poly characters, crunchy textures, sparse environments and deliberately dated presentation are all part of the package here. This game was intentionally designed to emulate that late 90's original Playstation experience and I think the game is better off for it. Just know that things are going to be a little sluggish as you waddle your way through this polygonal world.

SYSTEM ERROR

The commitment to authenticity is impressive, but it can also be really frustrating. Movement is painfully slow, combat is clunky, and navigating the world can feel more like wrestling with the controls than surviving a nightmare. And while I know I just got done saying all of these things appeal to me personally, somehow these things weren't implemented too well. There's a difference between recreating the limitations of the late 90's and making those limitations fun to interact with today.

The voice acting doesn’t exactly help, either. It's pretty bad. But not bad like the campy voice acting of the time, the voice work didn't land for me. And despite looking like a survival-horror game, Back in 1995 isn’t particularly scary. There’s an intriguing mystery and an eerie emptiness to its world, but genuine tension is in short supply. It has the appearance of survival horror, but there isn't much genuine tension or fear, which was unfortunate.

COMBAT DATA

How about the combat? Back in 1995 will occasionally put monsters in your path and it's up to you to decide if you want to fight them with your limited resources or try and get by them. Really though, the controls were most awkward here and combat in general just wasn't satisfying. Any time a creature would appear in the area I was in, I was more annoyed than anything because combating them was just a chore. Movement was sluggish, sometimes hits didn't register... It was exhausting. It certainly captures the awkwardness of early survival horror, but unfortunately, it doesn’t capture much of the tension or excitement that made those encounters memorable.

LOST MEMORY

Still, there’s something admirable about what the developer accomplished here. Back in 1995 isn’t simply a modern indie game with a retro filter slapped over it. Almost every aspect of the experience is designed to recreate the feeling of playing an obscure PS1-era game you might have stumbled across at a rental store. The low-poly visuals, muddy textures, sparse environments, awkward controls and cryptic storytelling all feel intentionally authentic.

And this is where my feelings about the game become complicated. I want to love what Back in 1995 is doing. I grew up with games like this. I have genuine nostalgia for the visuals, the tank controls, the strange voice acting and even the limitations that modern games have long since left behind. Seeing all of that recreated should have been a trip down memory lane. Instead, I often found myself remembering the games I loved rather than enjoying the game I was actually playing.

That realization might be the most interesting thing about Back in 1995. It reminded me that nostalgia isn't necessarily for the mechanics themselves, but for how those games made me feel at the time. I can appreciate the painstaking effort that went into recreating that era, and Back in 1995 successfully brought me back to 1995... I'm just not sure I wanted to stay there.

THE FINAL SAVE

Ultimately, Back in 1995 is a game I appreciate more than I enjoyed playing. And I think that's an important distinction. What the developer set out to accomplish here is genuinely impressive. This feels like a game made by someone who didn't just remember what PS1-era survival horror looked like, but remembered what it felt like to discover those games as a kid. There’s a real passion behind that, and I have a lot of respect for it. I grew up with games like this, and I genuinely love that era of gaming. Back in 1995 reminded me why. It just also reminded me that nostalgia doesn't always mean I always want to experience those limitations.

Back in 1995 is an interesting curiosity, especially if you have a soft spot for obscure PS1-era games and indie projects made with genuine passion. Just don't expect the next great survival-horror classic. What you will find is a developer's heartfelt attempt to recreate a piece of gaming history. And that's something I can appreciate, even if I didn't particularly enjoy playing it.