This Horror-Only Games Showcase Features Very Creepy Pokemon And Lots More
The team behind the annual Horror Game Awards has once again aired a special summer showcase, this year billed as the Midsummer Nights Scream, to highlight dozens of upcoming horror games. The show covered a remarkable number of art styles, gameplay genres, and horror moods from around the world. I was able to enjoy a sneak preview of the show and rounded up 15 games that caught my eye the most. Everything from PS1-style revival projects to mind-bending co-op horrors, to a very creepy take on Pokemon is here. Be sure to check out the complete Midsummer Nights Scream here for lots more from the show.
Creepy Atmospheres and Unsettling Gameplay
Liminal Point
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ESZHnPTGgc
Liminal Point looks like an isometric Resident Evil and stars a hero who looks like if Jill Valentine were in a post-hardcore band. There's a ton of Resident Evil vibes to be seen in the Midsummer Nights Scream showcase, but this is my favorite of them based on aesthetics.
Remothered: Red Nun's Legacy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR6G_XMMqxs
Each of the first two Remothered games was a bit frustrating for me because their vibe is sincerely haunting, but a lack of polish and confusing gameplay sections tripped me up. I'm hopeful the third time is the charm in this series, because yet again I find myself so drawn to the world of Remothered.
Murder Meet Cute
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu3kfbZ7yBs
It's hard to make out exactly what is going on in the story of Murder Meet Cute, but the trailer suggests it's one of those "fake OS" horror games, a la Home Safety Hotline, and places players in the early 2000s or perhaps even a bit earlier. Being so fresh, this genre is full of new ideas, which I find really exciting.
Blighten
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2SPSQ6RdSc
Blighten is an FPS with Doom-like visuals, except your field of view is severely limited by darkness and the speed of the game is slowed down to a creepy crawl. It looks to be a slow-burning creature feature where, if all goes well, the sound design should play a huge role in making it memorable.
Retro Aesthetics and New Twists
Encryptid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gq5F_ZdgFQ
Encryptid combines Game Boy-era Pokemon visuals and gameplay with internationally famous cryptids, like Mothman and the Loch Ness Monster. You'll explore regions in black-and-white, top-down presentation, seeking to capture evidence of the world's most camera-shy monsters. It feels like it could be a huge hit.
Nowhere
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOldqXDQs9w
I actually played a very early build of Nowhere about two years ago, and I'm glad to see it shaping up to be the interesting horror-detective game it hoped to be. This is the type of game that doesn't hold your hand much, which is exactly how I prefer a detective story.
In Hope Voiden
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWK3hrF5jmw
Anything the Horror Game Awards does is a must-watch for me, and In Hope Voiden is a great example of why that is. This is a first-person horror game that features 12 characters and a permadeath system, and you'll uncover the complete story by playing all of them. It's a fantastic premise and I'd not have heard about it without today's show.
Becrowned
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAL0ueq7EWA
On the flipside of the above example, Becrowned is a game I've known about for a long time now, and I remain very excited for it. While old-school Resident Evil was maybe the inspiration du jour of the showcase, Becrowned goes for more of a Silent Hill approach, and that's always been my personal preference.
Deadly Rehearsal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlSwQ3ZrdqA
I've always loved plays more than I've shown it, since I hardly ever get to them. I'm particularly keen on the idea of "cursed plays," which is what Deadly Rehearsal is all about. The show must go on, and it's up to you to put it on, even when it feels like it's meant to be your doom.
Silver Pines
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_PVwrQivKE
Silver Pines combines a comic-booky aesthetic that reminds me of Tequila Works' Deadlight with a classic metroidvania world design. I don't often enjoy metroidvanias, but one way to get me interested is to make one look this cool. It kind of reminds me of a 2D Alan Wake.
Cosmic Fear
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QND2UhKSoU
I've been saying it for years: There aren't enough games about alien abductions. I don't want to fight aliens. I want them to feel like gods, X-Files-style. Just totally incomprehensible, leaving me feeling terrifyingly unmatched. Cosmic Fear's latest trailer hints that this elusive trait may have a home in its story.
Farsight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YemRe4vREo
There's not much known on Farsight outside of what today's trailer showed (as I type this, there's not even a Steam page for it yet), but what I do know is it comes from developers who previously made the Fears to Fathom series, which I've enjoyed as an anthology of short, PS1-stylized horror stories, and it uses a clever mechanic in which a Game Boy Camera-like device seems to reveal hidden ghosts.
The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR4pOLn0ydg&pp=ygUhdGhlIG1vdW5kIG9tZW4gb2YgY3RodWxodSB0cmFpbGVy
The most photorealistic of the games shown off in today's show is The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu, a four-player horror game that combines elements of Lethal Company and GTFO, but setting it all in the woods haunted by Lovecraftian horrors that make you and your friends literally lose your minds.
Cordura
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jz__Kr6E0I&pp=ygUPY29yZHVyYSB0cmFpbGVy
The Mound wasn't the only co-op horror game in the show. Cordura (Spanish for "sanity") also plays off the idea of distrust and monsters mimicking your teammates. This one is set in procedurally generated Victorian labyrinths, which may help it stand alongside both The Mound and the many other co-op horror games out right now.
The Victor Initiative
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa4zzKO4CS0
The Victor Initiative feels inspired by
