Bloober Team’s rendition of Silent Hill 2 is a solid reimagining of top-tier source material: the narrative is affecting, haunting, piercingly human in moments, and it handles difficult subject matter with deftness and care. Despite some unambitious combat mechanics and encounter design, this game is consistently and effectively discomforting, and it nails the legendary atmosphere that made Silent Hill a giant of the genre. In many ways, the game embodies the great hallmarks of Japanese horror : uncertainty of events, inevitability of succumbing to them, and a protagonist that might find resolution, but almost certainly without triumph. No one leaves Silent Hill unmarked. 

Dead Space was a masterpiece when it was released in 2008, and somehow feels even more so remade in 2023, when engrossing singleplayer horror story games are so rare. It threads the needle by doing something original, meaningful, and memorable, while giving appropriate nods to the properties that inspired it. Sixteen years later, much of that quality still shines though, though the inevitability of progress has ground some of the luster off of this title and made the offering feel more limited than it once did.

All in all, it’s an excellent title with a memorable story, though not one where you should pick at the seams too much lest you dampen your enjoyment. It’s a game you should play to experience rather than “beat.” Through a mix of aggressive enemies and sparingly-used scripted sequences, Still Wakes the Deep masterfully orchestrates its cycle of tension, dread, panic, and reprieve, balancing all seasons equally.

Bite Night is awesome, well worth the $3.49 the game costs in the United States. One part horror, two parts humor, it succeeds on both fronts and is an absolute joy to play for the short time that it lasts. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed a retro game this much since Pony Island, and I’m eager to see what MyGrandfather Games does next.

Indika throws a lot of cool things at the wall, but too little of it sticks, creating a mess of elements which work in a proof-of-concept but fail in a full game. While the narrative and storytelling are capable of moments of intrigue and even greatness, the story and game as a whole are thematic skeletons where nothing substantial ever came to be. It succeeded in pulling me in, but didn’t do a great job of keeping me there. That said, there were enough exceptional elements that I am eager to see what Odd Meter/11-bit studios do next.

The undeniably-aged gameplay keeps The Last of Us Part I Remaster from being among the best around, but there are elements of pacing, immersion, and narrative which are perhaps without peer, and that makes this title a worthwhile visit for any fan of post-apocalyptic survival horror.

‘The Bunker landed when I was far enough removed from the disappointment of Rebirth to approach with the enthusiasm warranted by a new entry in the storied series. Hoping for a return to form, I was granted something far more exciting: a new apex for my beloved Amnesia series. The Bunker reached such heights by the unexpected route of casting off the gothic, body, and cosmic horror of previous entries and going in a new direction: that of prey eluding the hunter. This title introduces a number of new gameplay elements, mechanics, and dares to discard long standing hallmarks of the series to great success.’

…the game is undeniably beautiful, and the artistic vision is comprehensive and complete from the first moment of the game up to its finale at the top of a tower at the center of the city. Some of the small details that go into designing an area players will pass through only once are deeply impressive, and every scene in the game has a hand-crafted feel that is almost never present in video games. Every piece of Little Nightmares 2 feels bespoke, and is a thoughtful, aware artistic representation that ties the imagery of a single scene to the wider work.

‘I describe the original Alan Wake as “an early-years Stephen King novel married to an extended cut of Twin Peaks” and feel that does a pretty solid job of capturing the aesthetic. Alan Wake 2 is more original, carving its own path while retaining and respecting that foundation, creating a next-level survival horror narrative that strikes a remarkably well-balanced note between action and story.’

Sagebrush opens with headlights crossing a desert. There’s a brief monologue wherein a woman recounts meeting someone named Amy, who promised inner peace through the teachings of a man named James. Not the disciple, but an actual flesh-and-blood figure who had a church out in the wilderness. Shortly thereafter, the car pulls up outside of the Black Sage Ranch, an abandoned compound somewhere in the American Southwest where the gates are chained and the windows are dark.

‘Single Malt Apocalypse is a great way to spend a few hours. The story, while familiar, is paced and executed well, and the gameplay has just enough depth to remain interesting. It’s a debut that shows promise from the lone developer, and while I don’t think this game will ever be a breakout hit, I look forward to the developer’s sophomore effort and believe we could see some very good things from this creator in the future.’

‘All in all, FAITH: The Unholy Trinity is an excellent indie horror game that hits far more often than it misses. It has a high skill cap and carries the frustrating elements of 1980s gaming, but those in no way should dissuade the intrepid gamer who typically finds they are more than a match for the asks of modern games. Despite my issues, Airdorf Games are still going to make my automatic buy list, as the vibrant creativity and excellent storytelling showcased in FAITH eclipses all of its lesser elements.’

‘Bendy and the Dark Revival is an uneven game that opts for being scary and interesting over challenging or especially fun. This is a game about the experience and on that front it delivers, it’s just tragic that the solid story and rich world get mired in bad mechanics.’

‘The story is simple: Alex is a video blogger of middling fame who goes to locations suggested by her followers. Once there, she digs into the history, documents any experiences, and packages it for her audience. This time she’s off to a remote corner of Russia to explore an abandoned Young Pioneer camp that is purportedly haunted by the spirits of those who died there.’

‘IMMORTALITY is among the finest examples the video game as an artform’

‘Maid of Sker has an audience, but that audience needs to be a forgiving one that prioritizes world design and story over gameplay.’

I cannot overstate the perpetual sense of menace that permeates every moment of Visage. Even when you have a good grasp of the game’s mechanics and know where you’re going next, walking down a hallway can feel suffocating, and the sprint across a dark room to the light switch is as tense on the twentieth rendition as it was on the first.

‘While the story and world may feel hollow, Thymesia’s combat absolutely shines’