SHOULD I PLAY DREDGE: THE PALE REACH? If you dug the creepy, cozy vibes of Dredge, you’ll definitely want to check out the latest DLC. Dredge: The Pale Reach brings this lovecraftian fishing game to colder waters, adding a brand-new icy area to the game. Whether I was catching fish for a mysterious hooded figure, staring at the northern lights, or trying to avoid a surprisingly terrifying narwhal, this DLC really made

When it comes to horror something about the '80s just hits harder. The look, the music, the feel—the 1980s is just the perfect era for creepy stuff. Developer LCB Game Studio seems to have recognized that, which is why its next game, Bahnsen Knights, is both set in 1986 and looks like a PC game that could have been released right around that same time. Bahnsen Knights is actually the latest in a series of games from LCB Game Studio and publisher Chorus Worldwide Games known as Pixel Pulps. These adventure games use stylized retro graphics and music to tell unsettling horror stories. In the case of Bahnsen Knights, that story revolves around Boulder, an undercover agent who has been sent to

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT? Play it if you’re even the slightest fan of horror games. Killer Frequency is an incredibly unique first-person horror game where you take on the role of a small-town night-shift radio DJ. There’s just one twist: A killer is stalking the town during your shift, and all of the town’s 911 calls are being routed through to your station. This means a lot of the “action” is just standing behind a desk, picking which tunes to play and trying to keep innocent people alive with your words alone. Don’t let the limited setting fool you, though; this is a deeply creative game that kept surprising me with new challenges.

SHOULD I PLAY HEAVEN DUST 2? This one’s definitely worth checking out, especially if you’re interested in Resident Evil 2 but have been put off by the sheer amount of terror and gore. In fact, just imagine the chibi version of Resident Evil 2 and you’ve got a pretty accurate picture of Heaven Dust 2, which is about a guy who wakes up in a zombie-infested research facility and has to solve a bunch of bizarre puzzles to escape, all while avoiding being munched on by the walking dead.

Developer The Astronauts hasn't put out a game since 2014's brilliant adventure game The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. Their next project has finally entered early access, though, and it's very cool and very different from their last release...in a good way! The new game is titled Witchfire, and while it shares spooky vibes with The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, the core of the game is a roguelike shooter. If that change sounds jarring, you should know that much of the team at The Astronauts was previously at developer People Can Fly, the studio behind satisfyingly over-the-top shooters like

It’s no secret that Five Nights at Freddy’s was one of the worst films I had the displeasure of viewing in 2023. It was boring and humorless, and worst of all, there weren’t nearly enough murderous animatronics causing mayhem. However, I’ve always said knowing your audience when it comes to adapted properties is essential. Fans of the series showed up to make it one of the most successful movies of last year.

Horror fans are still eagerly awaiting the upcoming remake of Silent Hill 2, but Konami made a surprise reveal today that makes the wait just a little less painful. During today's State of Play stream, Sony played a trailer for Silent Hill: The Short Message, a new free Silent Hill game that will launch of PlayStation 5 later today. Konami describes The Short Message as a "short-form" Silent Hill title that's meant to be the first of a wave of new Silent Hill games to help revive the franchise. Apparently they're not counting

Vermin God: SCP Horror Game plunges players into a nightmarish world inspired by SCP-027, promising an immersive horror experience through a multi-path visual novel. As we delve into the depths of this mysterious underground science facility, let's dissect the elements that make this game stand out. Background Story: The narrative centers around Sye Mejia, an 18-year-old grappling with the enigmatic Vermin God Disease. The premise, drawing on the allure of SCP-027, sets the stage for a gripping exploration of a character entangled in a living human infestation. The mystery deepens as Sye wakes up in an unknown facility, creating a compelling backdrop for the unfolding horror.

I hadn't heard much about upcoming horror game Fort Solis until I saw the above trailer, but watch this thing and try not to get hyped. The game takes place on a mysteriously deserted mining base on Mars, and players take on the role of an astronaut named Jake sent to investigate what happened. The trailer leaves it unclear what the actual threat lurking within Fort Solis is, which is great in my opinion. Let me be surprised when I play the actual game! But whatever it is, I'm getting

UnHoly Neighborhood emerges as a distinctive entry in the realm of point-and-click adventure puzzle mystery games, offering players a captivating journey through a gloomy neighborhood teeming with surreal elements. Background Story: The narrative centers around Peter Grim, the protagonist on a quest to solve the mysterious kidnapping of his wife, confront a strange storm, and navigate a city overrun by giant rats. The dark riddles of the neighborhood serve as the backdrop to this intriguing storyline.

SHOULD I PLAY EL PASO, ELSEWHERE Uh, yeah, this game absolutely rules. El Paso, Elsewhere blends the intense shooting and slow-mo powers of Max Payne with the supernatural vampire drama of something like Blade or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That mixture pays off with an action-packed adventure through the underworld and a noir-tinged story that had me rolling with laughter but still managed to have some emotional depth as well. It’s one of my surprise favorites of 2023.

In the endless sea of modern gaming, you sometimes find yourself looking for hidden gems that get usually ignored. This was my case when I was looking through the Xbox gamepass catalogue for some new games to try. There, I see Signalis, a survival-horror video game made by rose-engine and the journey unfolds.... I am generally not a fan of horror genre... or should I say the interpretation of "horror" in mainstream media but there are some things that stand out from the crowd, the

Back Again, with your latest bit of Indie Investigating. This time, it's Team 17 Digital's darkly funny narrative title 'Killer Frequency'- which takes the campy idea of a Slash Plot, and has a good bit of fun with it. Tune In, Check Out, Leave a Not-So-Pretty Corpse While there's plenty of stories in Gallows Creek- none invoke quite as much fear as that of 'The Whistling Man', a serial killer who ran rampant in the 50's, before the police were finally able to put him down.

It's not often that we find developers willing and ready to put in a lot of effort to create high-quality video games for free. Normally, there is some type of give and take that makes it more probable that they will eventually sell a full product and that this is only the prologue, but you would be astonished to learn that this is actually the result of a previous prologue from a previous game they made called

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT? Skip it unless you’re a superfan of anything inspired by H.P. Lovecraft or you’re dying for a Metroidvania. The Last Case of Benedict Fox follows a demon-possessed detective who has the ability to jump into the memories of the dead. Using these powers, he’s attempting to find out the dark truth behind what happened to his father, a man heavily involved in occult rituals. It’s a great setup, but the experience is quickly dragged down by clunky controls and frustrating level design.

Last week, I shared a rundown of some of the problems gamers and critics were having with Redfall, the new vampire-focused, co-op looter shooter from Arkane Studios. At the time I was around seven hours into the game, and while some of the issues being raised were obviously legitimate, I was still surprised to be enjoying myself and had some hope that maybe I would like it more than the average on the whole.

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT? Wow, this is way harder to answer than it usually is. I would say skip Garten of Banban 3 if you’re looking for what might traditionally be called a “good” game. But on the other hand, if you’re looking for something almost inexplicably weird—like just so strange that you almost can’t help but enjoy it—then it might just be worth playing. As with previous entries in the series,

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT? Play it, unless you’re too scared. Like previous releases from developer Frictional Games, Amnesia: The Bunker is not for the faint of heart. Some fans worried about the announcement of this fourth game in the Amnesia series, particularly when it was revealed that it would be the first game in the franchise to give players a weapon. Those fears were misplaced, though; the limited ammunition and other defensive options in

At some point, there has been at least one game that you have come to the conclusion that you didn't wish to play any longer for a reason. Even if the game in question was one that you enjoyed playing for extended periods of time throughout various years, one day it all came to an end with you never playing it again. Story Childhood It was the year 2004, three years after the Nintendo Gamecube had been released. By this point, the majority of gamers around the world had already moved on to the more exciting consoles that were available since Nintendo to most felt more childlike, especially the the disappointment from the release of

PLAY IT OR SKIP IT? Play it if you’re a fan of sci-fi, analog horror, or just like narrative-focused games. Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is a direct sequel to the original Oxenfree, but it’s surprisingly friendly to newcomers. Set five years after the first game, Lost Signals follows two brand-new characters: small town handyman Jacob and stoic screw-up Riley. There are moments that will hit harder if you’ve played the original, but it’s not overly reliant on old material, and it should make for a satisfying experience even if you treat it as a standalone game.