Today’s look at a trio of new releases is all about the spookier side of things, as we look at 1C’s new horror game Hallowseed, platformer Spooky Chase and VR frightfest HINGE.
Horror Story – Hallowseed is out in Early Access
Developed by Jeff Winner, Horror Story – Hallowseed is a brand new horror movie-inspired Early Access title from 1C Entertainment. Scheduled for release this summer as a 6 hour narrative, it’s out now in Early Access on Steam with the first part of the story already in place. And released at a price point of under $10/€10, it looks like it’s an absolute steal.
The content that’s currently available in the Early Access build took us just under an hour to complete and serves as an introduction to what’s coming later, but already lifts the veil on a story that’s filled with familiar tropes like an ominous setting in the woods where young people go camping, creepy farmhouses and a link to the occult.
The game also features plenty of jump scares and the occasional puzzle, and there’s a foreboding atmosphere that works quite well because the visuals are highly detailed – especially for a game in this budget range. It’s worth pointing out that the price for the game will gradually increase as development goes on though, so it pays to jump aboard early for this one. Definitely one to watch as it develops – it should be out in its complete form before the Halloween season this year.
Spooky Chase – now on consoles
Originally developed and released on Steam by Burning Goat Studio, Spooky Chase is a fun retro-style platformer with a twist. It’s been ported to consoles by QUByte Interactive now, and we went hands on with the PlayStation 4 version.
You know how, in some challenging platformers, you can have a ghost image playing of your fastest run, just so know if you’re on track for beating your best time? Spooky Chase turns that concept on its head by making sure that your former self can actually hurt you, and you need to account for what you did before while you set about collecting the flags in each level.
To illustrate – imagine picking up the first flag. This will spawn an enemy from your starting point, who will then proceed to mimic your movements, so if you stand still he’ll catch up to you. You keep going to the second flag, and so on – but each flag spawns an enemy who will mimic you. This wouldn’t be an issue if you just went from left to right, but Spooky Chase has you zig-zagging all over the place, and intersecting with your previous path. By the time you get to the last few flags, it’s hectic and crazy on screen, and you have to try and stay safe.
It’s a fun and simple concept, and as with many challenging platformers it nails that “one more go and I’ll get it!” sensation that makes you want to come back even when you’re frustrated. It brought back fond memories of time manipulation in Braid, and that can only be a good thing, right?
HINGE was updated for a smoother VR experience
Although we cover a lot of VR titles, the subgenre has really boomed over the past few years and a good number of games slip by us. HINGE was one of them when it released, but this VR horror game from Arcadia was recently updated to deal with issues that players had with the game at launch.
The most recent update includes the following:
– Improved FPS
– Improved hints
– Added Native Oculus Driver Support
– Improved map
– Added highlighting of gameplay objects
– Fixed bug with door handle
– Fixed saves bug
As a lot of early user feedback was about the game’s performance, this is a great moment to try out the game, which also has a demo on its Steam page. Our initial impressions have been excellent – something akin to Resident Evil 7 in VR in terms of how detailed, tense and creepy everything is, so we can’t wait to explore the game in more detail.
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