Routine is, or was, a game in development hell for 13 years. Announced in 2012 with the release window set in 2013, it is no wonder the talks I could find on the game are largely the pure surprise on the mere fact it had not been fully abandoned. No doubt with 13 years of…
There is a new subgenre of horror which most horror lovers would have already seen one way or the other — liminal horror. Some of the liminal spaces went viral online, such as the Backrooms, for invoking sense of eeriness or uncanniness to the space itself. It is an acquired taste, even in the world…
Silent Hill franchise finally has a new installment in the franchise, and it’s called Silent Hill f and it’s set in 1960s, Japan. I know there were quite the concerns about the status of the IP under Konami and the future outlook of it; I believe The Short Message and Silent Hill 2 (2024) have…
I was waiting for Chilla’s Art to make landing on non-PC platforms for a while; any other successful horror indies have ported their games over with or without the help of porting studios. That hasn’t happened as of yet. Regardless, Chilla’s Art titles have special place in the indie horror scenes of serving realistic modern…
The second season of Fears to Fathom series is already underway, and I thought to come back to the series as it is slowly being released on other platforms. Currently, only the fourth episode is available on the PlayStation with DualSense support. Fears to Fathom is an anthology; the episodes are not connected from one…
Would you believe it if I told you I found the game due to its usage of NHK, or MHK in-game, fee collector as a horror? BrokenLore: DON’T WATCH is part of the franchise that seems to be publishing multiple titles this year alone. DON’T WATCH primarily focuses on the Japanese societal issue of hikikomori,…
I remember when Platform 8 came out, the indie market was already saturated with Exit 8-likes, especially with trains, trolleys, subways, and tubes — any kind of public transit that would be remotely reminiscent of liminality. In essence, Platform 8 is late in the game; subways and trains are already tried ideas as Exit-8 likes.…
I suppose calling Order 13 a job simulator would be a euphemism. Order 13 is a horror game with big enough emphasis on the job of warehouse workers. Though I have never worked in Amazon warehouse before, I can safely assume jobs in the warehouse is more separated and specialized, instead of having one employee…
It’s yet another horror game from yesteryear with a ‘find an anomaly’ mechanic. However, Dollmare is less an anomaly game than more a job simulator game. Job simulator is a subgenre which focuses on “simulating” real life job — in this game, a doll inspector. The premise of the game is rather straightforward. The protagonist…
With the release for Chapter 2 finally set for coming December, I believe it’s a great time to revisit the mascot horror that went viral last year. Indigo Park: Chapter 1 is technically in playable teaser state, where the first chapter only debriefs the premises of the game. It is relatively short and free to…
Who’s at the door? shows what is possible with AI generated contents in Exit 8-likes, and to discuss how the game used the AI contents, it’s bound to touch on some of the spoiler territories. If you want a spoiler-free review, there is a separate piece for it. This one, on the other hand, I…
After I had played the demo version of Who’s at the door?, I wanted to see for myself how much more could the game offer for an indie horror game. The demo, the decision which I personally appreciate not to abuse Early Access on Steam, had shown different take on Exit 8-likes as a horror-centric…
I had been waiting for The Cabin Factory and other The Exit 8-likes for console release, as many indie games have made it over to consoles; small developers working on console release sound impossible, but it is the new norm. But I thought to jump aboard early from the traditional Steam side, as there were…
The Exit 8 has opened the new subgenre of horror games, which I would dub as Exit 8-like. These new indie horror games share the same gameplay principle: a. the player is in a looping environment, b. if there is an anomaly (e.g. jump scares, out of place objects, etc.), act according to the game’s…
Poppy Playtime: Chapter 4 is finally available for consoles. I had assumed the franchise has gained enough traction to release day-one cross platform, and I stand corrected. It does appear the developers wishes to err on the side of indie; irregardless of how big it has become since the Chapter 1. Due to the nature…