The Bridge Curse is a Taiwanese horror film released in 2020. The movie revolves around a group of college students who accidentally disturb an evil spirit while investigating a haunted bridge. As they encounter terrifying experiences, they find themselves on a road to salvation. The characters in the film play a crucial role in this journey. One of the main characters is Fei, a college student who is determined to solve the mystery of the haunted bridge. Fei is portrayed as independent and fearless, unafraid to face supernatural forces.
is a first-person atmospheric horror game with stealth-based gameplay. Out of 10 college horror tales from Taiwan, The Bridge Curse is one of the well-known supernatural incidents based in Tunghu University. Players will immersively wander on campus and experience the terrifying campus horror.
There s a time where my party shifted their focus from the fact a ghost was literally trying to kill them to being upset that two of them were dating behind someone else s back. I was giddy when I noticed that my most hated feature, the dreaded floating object, wasn t present as you can usually look down and at a minimum see your hands.
Fei is portrayed as independent and fearless, unafraid to face supernatural forces. As the story progresses, she becomes increasingly determined to save herself and her friends from the curse. Fei's courage and resilience make her a compelling character in the film's road to salvation.
The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation Review – Run and Seek
As someone who grew up in the golden era of survival horror games, cutting my teeth on the likes of the Resident Evil, Parasite Eve, Dino Crisis, and Silent Hill franchises, it is equal parts interesting and disheartening to see what has become of the horror genre in games. Fixed camera angles have morphed into the use of the Unreal Engine, resource management has devolved into a repetitive chore of hiding and seeking from your enemies, and horrific monsters have become a dime-a-dozen affair, where they all blur together into a case of where if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. It’s been a road full of a few decent highs, mostly lows, and a fair amount of mid-tier experiences. The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation is a culmination of years of trial and error from other developers, apparently taking notes of the low points and resulting in something that mostly misses those pitfalls. Mostly.
The title is based on a Taiwanese urban legend of a ghost that haunts Tunghu University, where you play as a rotating cast of friends who are either having some party, in a cult, or part of a club that researches it. I am not entirely sure which since there are thematic elements that point to each as being a possibility, and the Taiwanese-to-English translation is a bit lacking, with loads of grammatical errors as well as the lip-syncing being off for most of the game (it’s possible this was just a straight dub and there wasn’t an attempt to sync the voice-overs, so I am going to let it go). After completing a ritual of sorts, the group finds themselves at the mercy of a violent spirit who wants nothing more than to eat their faces. It was a rather cookie-cutter narrative that didn’t do anything special but was enough to keep me engaged, even if I’m not the biggest fan of how the game transitions from character to character. I really struggled with determining who I was playing as at any given time because all of the characters feature traditional Taiwanese names and kind of look the same (not making a racist joke here; the females and males almost all look identical aside from their clothing), and outside of a brief text bit during the loading screens, there’s no inkling as to whom you’ve taken over. I feel a cinematic in the vein of The Dark Pictures games would’ve helped clear this up.
The gameplay could be placed within one of three buckets, with the largest being talking with your friends in a pseudo-visual novel that features stiff conversations that often feel awkward, shifting from formal to absurdly casual at frantic paces. It was so bad at times that I burst out in uncontrollable laughter. There’s a time where my party shifted their focus from the fact a ghost was literally trying to kill them to being upset that two of them were dating behind someone else’s back. It was like being trapped in a room with my ex who had ADD and bipolar disorder. When the game isn’t talking your ear off, which is by far the largest part of the game, you’ll have to complete a small number (and by a small number, I mean four) of puzzles, with almost all of them tasking you with finding key items and putting them in their respective places. Finally, we have that hide-and-seek mechanic that is a mix of frustration and anxiety that naturally comes with the territory. These segments repeat in almost a beat-by-beat replay for four to five hours, largely through the same few areas, almost to the point you can guess where you’re heading before you even start the journey.
The hide-and-seek bits are by far the strongest – they’re almost on par with what you’d expect from the next Outlast game. Throughout the game, you’ll be stalked by a few different versions of nasty, all of which move in their own creepy way, with my personal favorite being the first iteration that walks in an unsettling Orphan Annie prance like my wife does when she feels like her hair, outfit, and makeup look outstanding. If you have a natural dislike for mannequins, you’ll also find a group of those that spin their limbs around in an unnatural way and make noises that I cannot describe but actually gave me chills the first time I heard them. It took me back to one of the best segments from the recent Resident Evil: Village expansion. There are also a few on the other end of the spooky spectrum that I couldn’t help but laugh at, such as the fellow who walks around like the titular zombie from Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse, or the final form that looks like every other creepy lady in a mediocre horror game from the last decade. The one thing that really held this back from being a perfect example of the mechanic was how bad the AI is at times. Early in, it’s simple – the ghost chases you, you run, if you get blocked in, you can hide and wait for a few, and then proceed. But around the midway point you will have to start focusing more on being stealthy as opposed to quick, and then in many cases follow a very specific path that causes an otherworldly force to move something right in your way, requiring you to backtrack while avoiding what is chasing you. Your stalker also has a nasty habit of pulling you out of your hiding spot when they reasonably shouldn’t have been able to. Oh, and they have shortcuts by way of tall patches of grass that you can’t go through because… reasons I guess. I really wish I would’ve had some of those during my time with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
This is easily one of the best-looking horror games using Unreal Engine 4, and while it does have hints of assets we’ve seen before, the world was lifelike enough to keep my attention. I was giddy when I noticed that my most hated feature, the dreaded floating object, wasn’t present as you can usually look down and at a minimum see your hands. There were occasional blips that would ruin the immersion, like some of the characters’ clothing stuttering or shift in a weird way, a strange pile of shit (literally. I would tell the dude to see a doctor if he didn’t turn into hamburger), and a lack of proper English localization, but otherwise, it was a beautiful world to explore. The only thing I could really complain about consistently was the fog, which just makes everything look washed out opposed to transporting me to a world like Silent Hill. I just wish there was more to do. You can search for some collectibles, but outside of those and the required bits and pieces you need to progress the story, the world isn’t very interactive. You can’t even control your flashlight, which the enemies completely ignore, as it is always on unless the story deems it unnecessary. It really left me wanting more. Not just here, but with the horror as well.
The horror elements are present, mostly by way of tension in the empty campus as you explore it with occasional freaky flashes of ghosts, moving objects, and the like. There is almost a complete absence of jump scares, unless you happen to wander around the wrong corner while being stalked. There are also quite a few moments that really shined through here, but they were few and far between. Since there really are so few, I don’t want to focus on them too much in an effort to avoid spoilers, but they exist. Eventually. I promise. I just wish there was a heavier focus on this instead of the banter between the students, but that’s just me. Softstar Entertaining put great care into mimicking Bloober Team’s best feature in terms of the world shifting around you in real-time, but it was only for one all too brief chase scene.
It’s no Silent Hill, but The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation is easily one of the better indie horror games of the past decade. It doesn’t overstay its welcome, has a decent narrative, and has some genuine horror bits if you’re willing to put in the work. I would even argue that Softstar Entertainment would’ve been a better choice to remake Silent Hill 2 after jumping into my first entry from them.
8 out of 10
- Exceptional Visuals
- Creepy Atmosphere
- Unique Antagonist Movements
- Fog Doesn’t Work
- Lack of Interactive Bits
- Some Wonky AI
The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation was developed by Softstar Entertainment and published by Softstar Entertainment, Gamera Games, and eastasiasoft. It launched on NS, PC, PS4, PS5, X1 and XSX/S. The game was provided to us for review on PS5. If you’d like to see more of The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation, check out the publisher’s site.
Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.
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The rules can fit on a single page as evidenced by the handy Into the Odd cheat sheet made by garkia19. As a note, this cheat sheet has some minor typos. For example, characters don’t have a Charisma score. However, I found it incredibly helpful to use as a reference while I played Into the Odd. Another great resource was Søren Nøhr Ryborg’s The Odd Generator, which auto generates characters for Into the Odd. Since we were just trying out the system, both these resources made it really easy to jump in without my players needing to read the whole rule book. A screenshot from the Into the Odd character generator by Søren Nøhr Ryborg (LINK).
Another important character is Su-yun, Fei's best friend. Su-yun initially dismisses the existence of supernatural forces and is more skeptical than Fei. However, as she witnesses paranormal activities firsthand, she begins to question her beliefs. Su-yun's character represents the internal struggle between skepticism and acceptance, showcasing the transformation she undergoes during their journey. Zhou, a Taoist master, is introduced as a key character who possesses knowledge about the curse. He advises the group on how to break the curse and aids them in their journey to salvation. Zhou's wisdom and expertise in spiritual matters serve as a guiding force for the characters. Aside from the main characters, there are also minor characters who contribute to the road to salvation. These characters include Ke, a timid student who initially doubts the existence of the curse but becomes a crucial part of the group's plan. There is also Xia-se, an outcast who has a tragic connection to the bridge curse. Her presence adds depth and an emotional element to the story. Overall, the characters in The Bridge Curse are instrumental in the road to salvation storyline. Their courage, skepticism, wisdom, and emotional journeys contribute to the narrative and create a dynamic portrayal of the fight against the evil spirit. As each character grapples with their own beliefs, they ultimately come together to overcome the curse and find salvation..
Reviews for "The Bridge Curse Characters: Breaking Free from the Chains of Fate"
1. John Doe - 1 star
I was really disappointed with "The Bridge Curse Road to Salvation". The characters were incredibly one-dimensional and lacked any depth or development. It felt like I was watching cardboard cutouts on the screen. The actors did their best with what they were given, but the writing and character development were so poor that it didn't matter. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and found myself not caring about their fates. Overall, I found the characters to be a major drawback to an already lackluster film.
2. Jane Smith - 2 stars
While "The Bridge Curse Road to Salvation" had potential, the characters ultimately ruined the movie for me. They were extremely cliché and had no originality to them at all. The damsel in distress, the brave hero, the wise old man - it felt like I had seen these characters a hundred times before. Additionally, their actions and motivations were often confusing and didn't make sense within the context of the story. It was frustrating to see such shallow character development in a film that had the potential to be so much more.
3. Sarah Johnson - 1 star
"The Bridge Curse Road to Salvation" had such unlikable characters that it was hard to get invested in the story. I couldn't stand the main protagonist and found myself rooting for the supernatural force more than anything. The characters' decisions were often idiotic and seemed to go against any sense of logic or self-preservation. It was as if the writers wanted the characters to be foolish in order to move the plot forward, which only served to frustrate me as a viewer. I would have preferred to watch a film with more likable and relatable characters.
4. Mike Thompson - 2 stars
The characters in "The Bridge Curse Road to Salvation" fell flat for me. They lacked any real personality or uniqueness, making it hard to invest in their journeys. The film seemed more focused on the supernatural elements rather than developing well-rounded characters. I found myself not caring about what happened to the characters or whether they succeeded in their mission. It was a missed opportunity to create a more engaging and memorable cast of characters.