As a long-time horror fan of around three decades, I like to think I’ve got a firm handle on everything to expect from the genre. When it comes to games I feel like there are two ways to scare someone; either bombard them with surreal and disturbing imagery, like some kind of interactive Clockwork Orange cinema screen, or be so subtle that the player is constantly wondering what’s real and what’s outside of the screen.
One of my favourite ever horror games utilised the latter option, though sprinkled in some awful imagery too.Eternal Darkness, a game that made you feel insane, has rarely been bettered for bringing me to the edge of my seat and messing with my perceptions of what is and isn’t real.Fear the Spotlightcomes awfully close to this staggeringly high bar.
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Blumhouse Games
While so many hate on the concept of survival horror nowadays, there’s little better than trekking back and forth through a large area unlocking gates, activating computers, opening safes, and hiding from monsters. All of this is incorporated intoFear the Spotlightand yet it has brought with it some modern tropes too. The titular spotlight, for example, is a kind of Mr. X/Nemesis entity that stalks you throughout, always appearing at the wrong time.
I can’t complain about the nuts and bolts of the game - the mechanics are sound, if a little safe and well-trodden, but this is a classic genre for a reason, and why shake the cart too much? If traipsing through darkened corridors to find fuses and statuettes to unlock doors seems a little dated, it matters little as it matches the aesthetics perfectly.
I fear that I could easily spoil the game if I talk too much about the plot because this isn’t an overly long experience. It only took me a few hours and I was taken through all the touchstones of 1990s horror - teenage angst, dimension-hopping, and plenty of blood spatter. So, instead of talking about the story or the survival horror basics, let’s talk about why I almost pooped my pants while playing.
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Very little scares me nowadays, although since living on my own recently, that isn’t as set in stone as I once thought. I wasn’t expectingFear the Spotlightto creep me out, but playing in the late afternoons as the sun starts its downward arc and the rain beats against the window, I’m not ashamed to say that while playing I checked behind me, and down my long hallway, many times.
Blumhouse Games
Another time I found myself in a traditional horror film scenario, standing in an abandoned school bathroom I could see feet underneath the stall door. Being big and brave like I am, I went to open the door to find it locked. The feet, still there. I walked away, slowly, and of course, the door to the stall creaked open. There was never a jump scare, nor a grotesque monster waiting for me. I’m a bit part in a horror game, the stall was empty, but the lingering sense of sharing the space with… something, persisted.
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Pros:Delightfully unsettling, often scary, great visual throwback, bite-size experience
Cons:The survival horror formula is a little dated, and some elements feel cliche
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For fans of:SIlent Hill, Resident Evil, YA horror novels
8/10: Excellent
Topics:Nintendo Switch,PlayStation,Xbox,Xbox Series S,Xbox Series X,PlayStation 4,PlayStation 5,PC,Steam,Reviews
