If you ’re in the market for an incredibly fun , and genuinely sweet-scented voiced core horror experience this holiday season , then Fear the Spotlight from developers Cozy Game Pals is the game for you .
A two campaign , shade filled jaunt through the most unimaginative American high-pitched school you may possibly opine , it comes complete with creepy-crawly drama teachers with theater lights for straits , fun puzzles , and a surprising degree of excited astuteness .
venerate the Spotlight alreadyreleased some time ago . I expect then , as one might , something subpar . Bugs and takings , a deficiency of substance even … but no . Whatever ' updates ' the developers put in post - pull from Steam have clearly been to great consequence , because I absolutely love this charming short indie gem .
The horror in Fear the Spotlight
You should n’t go in to dread the public eye expectingVisagelevels of psychological suffering , nor should you go in expectingSilent Hill 2levels of survival horror . It ’s not here because it wasn’tmeant to be , and this game does not sustain for it .
Gameplay is simple . Shockingly uncomplicated , even . You take the air throughout this ghostly schooling , taken back to the yesteryear of 1991 , except it ’s like , in Hell now or something — all in the endeavor to preserve your darling . You have a combined total of three clit inputs aside from apparent motion and camera . you’re able to interact , you’re able to crouch , and you’re able to ferment your loose germ on and off .
That ’s seriously it . And yet , the ambiance and storytelling in this game persuade it all the path to greatness . Those hallways from 1997 do n’t just look spooky , they feel mete oppressive . It ’s like you ’re circumvent on all side of meat by the backwash of a dreaded incident , which you are . Everywhere you go find like you ’re stepping into somewhere you should n’t be , help of course by the fact you ’ve broken into school after hours to perform a sitting .
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides
Notes are your main vehicle to understanding here , and at first they seem disconnected , break . But as you read more , you begin to put together together what went on back in 1997 , and the more you learn , the more those hall seem ever so slenderly tighter , and the more clean eyes you’re able to see lurking behind shelf .
Fear the Spotlight , as mentioned antecedently , was made to be accessible to family line of all cuts of cloth . It ’s less about the ' horror ' and more about the ' weirdie ' . It has a far greater emphasis on presenting you with an interesting mystery ( which it does to great effect ) , than it does to scaring your pants off . That being said , some moment here are authentically chilling .
Spotlight Head ( above ) , if you ’ll forgive my want of creative ability for a better name here , give me the jeebies . Hefeelsevil , which is good , because he is . As you progress , he is youronlythreat , which run me to my next point .
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides
During your looseness through , you ’ll quite often see these … shade people . They ’re pallid , with clean shining eyes , and stretch limb . Horrible , no ? But there ’s something interesting about them , and something I once again have to bow to the developers for , because they do n’t experience malicious ; they feel like ghosts . Ghosts in the direction that they ’re just as stuck as you are , and just as desperate for escape as you are . This revelation of mine was made all the more square when , at a later point in the first campaign , theyhelpedme . It was only a small motion ( actuate a ledge so I could access an target ) , but at that bit I knew I had n’t mislead myself . I cognize I was meant tofeelthat style .
In truth , most of the ' horror ' come from the well write story , which you ’ll be capable to piece together as you progress . The more you empathise , the more icky it becomes . The game might be light on the shock absorber , but that does n’t mean what ’s here is n’t unsettling .
It ’s also … sort of heartbreaking . There is n’t a individual jump panic in Fear the Spotlight , but I ’ll be damned if my centre did n’t go down when I last pieced together what had really become on back in 1991 . The revelation of what happened on the nighttime the school day burn down , who was responsible , and who the real victims were about broke me . And that is n’t a feeling I get from video game often , and it bear as a will to the developers who understand all they need to make a big narrative , and game , was some emotional depth and intelligence .
Screenshot by Pro Game Guides
Putting the fun in… F(un)ear the Spotlight
I ’m proud of to report that as a video game , venerate the spot is also just fun . It ’s not automatically complex , and the teaser are soft than you might expect from your classic survival horrors , but it ’s a bally good time . I love lick puzzles , peculiarly so when I do n’t suck at them .
The puzzles are n’t mindless , though . The fuse boxful puzzle in the Gymnasium is one example ; as at first , it seems sort of … random . But once you piece it together , it gives you this super satisfying ' ohhh ' moment . To be blunt , I sort of struggled with it at first . There was just a lot hold up on , and I ’m not the brightest on the best of days . But , the second I clicked two wires into the same panel and saw the lights come on , I get my ' ohhh ' present moment . After that , I feel good about effortlessly breeze through the rest of the puzzle , turning dial and doing bare mathematics . It ’s a nice impression , to be rewarded with satisfaction after number to an understanding of something all on your own .
Fear the Spotlight manages to balance out what can ordinarily be quite tedious in similar deed of conveyance . The ' natural selection ' sections do n’t overstay their welcome , nor are they peculiarly difficult . Now yes , this did lead to a short departure in latent hostility towards the end of Vivian ’s floor . It embark on being less a feeling of ' Oh , Spotlight is here , oh no ! ' and became a bare task of looking around the room for the closest table to enshroud behind .
But , it ’s nothing that was n’t made up for in a middling surprising last coming upon . Did you think this game would have a boss scrap ? Neither did I , but it did , and it was reasonably damn fun . It ’s mere , as a lot of the plot is at its effect , but much like the fuse box puzzle , it ’s fulfil . You efficaciously have to … trick the concluding boss into dealing damage to himself , and then you get the clearly enjoyable experience of souse a screwdriver into a collection plate chalk light covering .
Now , I specifically mentioned Vivian ’s storyline here , because on the flip side to that , Amy ’s tarradiddle is quite different . As it ’s fix in a far more claustrophobic environment , this threat feel all the more imposing . Plus , this threat isfast , and when you get chased , you feel this huge bang of tensity . Amy ’s floor in general has this flavour , and despite being considerably little than Vivian ’s , it ’s got an emotional weighting of pervasive sorrowfulness to it that really lends itself well to the increase in threat degree . Coming to realise her house life , her yesteryear , her relationship with her father and the brother - form hole in her spirit make the family feel … impoverished . But also , seeing those glimpses ofhershine through in her tarot placard , or her legally distinct and safe ' GamePal ' is as sweet as it is virulent .
All in all , Fear the glare is n’t just a well write game , it ’s also a fun one . It ’s a endearing balance wheel of tense and exciting , with survival sections that , whilst perhaps a little low stakes , do n’t outstay their welcome . The dichotomy between Vivian ’s and Amy ’s storyline also give you a nice milk shake up of emotional weight , with Amy ’s throw a far more tyrannical overall mode .
Made with love
You know what spend a penny video recording games respectable ? dear . And you know who can do that ? A marital distich . I call back view the promo telecasting for Cozy Game Pals as part of the Blumhouse Games initiative some time ago , and I was instantly hooked on not only the plot they were record , but the developer who were making it .
A marital duo development squad , making a secret plan that is imply to be an accessible horror experience for the people they care about , as well as a great experience for the players they invite in to have what is a very personal projection for the brace . And ya know what ? They nailed it . Fear the Spotlight is much dripping with a dear of video plot , and human connectedness .
The two characters you play as , Vivian and Amy , are both wonderfully sweet and , more than that , identifiable . Vivian battle with her anxieties , but instruct to be brave for the interest of the ones she loves . Amy struggles with a tragic phratry history , but learns to empathize she is n’t to blame . Who amongst us can say we have n’t clamber with anxiety or misplaced incrimination before ? Also , they have a press on each other , and it ’s cunning and overnice ( I am a sucker for both ) .
I ’m also a full fool for that PSX graphics panache it ’s got going on , which is done wonderfully . It avoids one of the issues PSX type games can have in being visually difficult to look at . Here it merely emulate the vibration of an older generation , whilst still having the modern widget of nice picture quality . Plus , it ’s super customizable . Not in the way that there ’s a heap of graphical option outside the standard resolutions and such , but in the way that you’re able to aline some of the PSX force to match your preferences . I scramble with a mess of concealment caryopsis , for case , so being able to flex it down to a point I was comfortable , but stillimmersed , was a really nice touch . The esthetic chops of both developer are on show here , which from a couplet who sour on Animaniacs and The Last of Us ( what a twain ) , you ’d mayhap expect .
Final Verdict
I love every moment of the confessedly short ( around four to five hour full ) experience of Fear the Spotlight . A well written , spooky and fun little jaunt , made by a pair with a decipherable love for the manufacture , and what they ’ve made . I can only hope succeeding games under the umbrella of Blumhouse Games can equal up to this unbelievably strong first outing , and I see forward to see what Cozy Game chum get up to next .
[ Disclosure : A liberal copy of the game was provide to PGG by the newspaper publisher for review purposes . ]
If you ’re looking for some more spooky hooey from us here at Pro Game Guides this Halloween season , check out ourSilent Hill 2 Remake Walkthrough !
