Fear the Spotlight review – engrossing, eerie and unexpectedly thought-provoking horror | Games

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***** the Spotlight review – engrossing, eerie and unexpectedly thought-provoking horror | Games

For those who remember the dawn of the survival horror genre, its aesthetic renaissance in the independent gaming scene has been a spooky delight. Crow County, The Closing Shift, ******* House – are all modern supernatural adventures that use low poly 3D visuals and blocky textures, not just as a visual ***** but as a means of reconnecting with what made the likes of Silent Hill and Clock Tower scary and engaging in the first place. ***** the Spotlight, the debut title from Cozy Game Pals and new horror-specific publisher Blumhouse Games, is another wonderful, warmly chilling example.

Two ****** break into their high school library late at night, looking for one particular item: a spirit board, locked in a display case as part of an exhibition on the occult. Vivian is kind of a nerd, a star volunteer at the library, while Amy is a fascinating outsider, interested in the supernatural. When the two decide to hold a seance in the empty building, they make contact, not only with the *****, but a tragic event from the school’s recent past. And then Amy mysteriously disappears.

Creepy atmosphere … ***** the Spotlight. Photograph: Blumhouse Games

As Vivian, you must roam the now nightmarishly altered corridors, looking for your friend and learning more about what happened here 30 years ago. Developer Cozy Game Pals understands that a school at night is the perfect horror setting – this game is filled with darkened, locker-lined corridors, ****** bathrooms and areas such as gymnasiums and swimming pools that take on a creepy atmosphere when they’re silent and empty. As you explore, the game feeds you the little telltale signs of horror convention; a creaking door, a flickering light, a face glimpsed at the far end of a corridor, so you know something is out there, watching. There is also excellent use of 1990s technology – an overhead projector, a TV with a video player, an ancient PC – that provide puzzle settings, but also tell you you’re not in the 21st century any more.

Particularly enjoyable are the formal nods to Resident Evil and Silent Hill – important items in the environment sparkle so you notice them, and Vivian’s head turns toward interesting artefacts as she walks past. The puzzles too use familiar conventions, often involving mechanical objects, whether those are power generators that require fuses, or a piano that needs to play a certain tune. The use of juddering low poly visuals is accurately retro, but with a self-conscious, artsy quality that elevates the look of the game beyond mere nostalgia.

This also applies to the narrative, which outdoes the sometimes schlocky plots and wooden voice acting of old-school horror titles. ***** the Spotlight has at its core a subtle and emotionally resonant ****** love story, through which it explores themes of performance and observation. It is a game about the roles we play in our lives and the role that imagination (for good and bad) plays in love and *******. The spotlight of the title is literal and figurative, providing a metaphor for the human gaze, which can be adoring or bullying, desirous or obsessive.

It is a short game – you can finish in several hours – and is only mildly challenging, which makes it an excellent entry point into the horror genre for young adults. There is a lovely message at the end thanking players for their time and attention and acknowledging the game isn’t perfect. It isn’t, but then nothing is, and the time I have spent in its company has been engrossing, eerie, and unexpectedly thought-provoking. Horror provides a skewed and shadowy lens through which to view our lives and learn new things about ourselves and the world, and it has been expertly utilised here. With love as its focus, ***** the Spotlight will do more than scare you.

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***** the Spotlight is available now on PC, PS4/5, Switch, Xbox, from £18

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