Cursed Mountain is a survival horror game developed exclusively for the Wii by the now-defunct studio, Deep Silver Vienna. The fact that the developer behind this title has since been shuttered is, perhaps, a bit telling as to the quality of the game. Cursed Mountain suffers from a lack of polish but does have some redeeming qualities including a unique setting, chilling atmosphere, and clever mythology.

The story follows Eric Simmons, a renowned mountaineer, trekking across the Himalayas searching for his younger brother, Frank, who went missing while ascending Chomolonzo. It’s refreshing to see a game take place in the Himalayas. Along with the old American west, these mountains are one of the most criminally under-used settings in video games. Eric journeys higher up the mountain, his goal always far off in the distance while the world below slowly fades away. The mountains serve as more than just scenery, the game weaves a layer of Tibetan and Buddhist mythology throughout making it a wholly unique experience. In some survival horror games, there’s a disconnect between the setting and the creatures you encounter. In Cursed Mountain, the religion and mysticism work well to reenforce the believability of what is occurring.

During his journey, Eric will run afoul of ill-mannered spirits, monks, and angry demons- personifying the mountain above. His only means of defending himself come by way of an enchanted climbing axe, equipped with the power to ward off these ghosts. The combat can feel incredibly clunky as melee animations are very stiff and the game sees fit to introduce inane waggling. Occasionally, Eric will be prompted to mimic a series of motions to seal away spirits. This is done via motions on the Wii remote and nunchuck. For the most part, these motions register, but some can be difficult to duplicate. Given the game’s slow pace, this isn’t always a huge problem. Often, players are tasked with fighting off only a handful of enemies at a time. However, there were times, particularly during boss battles, where some of the nunchuck-related motions were problematic and would usually result in frustration and death. Adding in motion is fine so long as it enhances the experience. As it stands, the motion controls are only a small part of the problem in Cursed Mountain.

Overall, Cursed Mountain suffers from a total lack of polish. Everything from the character animations, the backgrounds, the hackneyed cut-scenes, the level design, right down to the font used in the logo has a low-budget sensibility. Make no mistake, I don’t believe the developers of this game did anything but their best work. The game feels like a labor of love, marred by poor funding and technical know-how. In fact, despite these issues I could not help but find the game enjoyable in many places. This is mostly because the developers clearly enjoyed making it and it shows when players realize Cursed Mountain, flawed though it may be, is a fully realized world. The Tibetan influences, the unique setting, the slow but deliberate pace, all of these factors add up to make a game that isn’t perfect but still worth checking out. For the die-hard horror fans absolutely eager for a fright fix, there’s lots of fun to be had. Others might want to pass in lieu of other, more polished horror experiences on Wii.

Cursed Mountain feels like a game from a by-gone era. Not only does it look like an early PS2 game, it falls into some last-gen trappings. Eric Simmons moves like he’s been dipped in molasses, exploration and combat are fairly shallow, and overall the game feels almost too reminiscent of survival-horror games of yesteryear. It’s a shame that the Vienna studio of Deep Silver has been closed. With a little more experience under their belts who knows what they could have done if given the chance to make another game. As it stands, the studio’s swan-song is not without its share of problems.

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