Ahead of tonight’s Day of the Devs showcase, it was revealed to us that there would new games from developers such as the husabnd-and-wife team of Cozy Game Pals. “Well, they sound like they’re going to have something cute,” we thought. So naturally, it turns out that their debut game is a throwback to ’90s horror games with Fear the Spotlight, which as seenin the announcement trailer at this link,is as far from cozy as you can get. Notably, this also marks the debut for Blumhouse Games, after being founded early last year (NOTE: This article was written in advance before Blumhouse’s showcase at Summer Game Fest earlier today, but yes, it is still Blumhouse’s debut game, and the debut of the trailer).
Blumhouse, as you may know, is the production company best known for their horror films, including such titles as Get Out, The Invisible Man, M3GAN, and many more, and now they’re following in the footsteps of Annapurna by entering the world of indie game publishing as well. And considering Blumhouse’s model of investing in modest projects with modest budgets instead of blowing nine-digit figures on a single piece of entertainment that’s expected to somehow generate a near-infinite amount of money, their entry into the gaming ring seems welcome at this point.
Don’t Go Into the Light…
Set in Sunnyside High (whose name was basically tempting fate), Fear the Spotlight puts players into the shoes of Vivian, who enters the school after hours for a seance with their friend Amy. Unfortunately, things go wrong, Amy disappears, and Vivian sets out to find her, uncovering the truth behind a tragedy that happened long ago while being confronted with several mysteries along the way. Most importantly, there’s the mystery of why a monster with a massive spotlight for a head is stalking them. Players will have to use their stealth skills to successfully avoid this creature’s gaze, finding ways to avoid them in what look like rather tense situations.
Sorry We’re Closed Won’t Apologize For Being Too Good
There are a lot of indie survival horror games that are fifth-generation throwbacks, but à la mode games has a particularly special one in the works.
For the most part, Fear the Spotlight certainly comes across like any other fifth-generation survival horror throwback, complete with ’90s TV filter, though it certainly still looks like it could be fun. But one thing on the list of features certainly stands out, though: The fact that the game is described as being “jump scare free,” with the scares here coming from the atmosphere. That’s quite a boast for a game such as this, as if it were presenting a dare to online streamers around the world. Then again, it makes sense, given that it would be hard for someone with a massive glowing spotlight for a head to sneak up on players. So can Fear the Spotlight excel through its atmosphere and story as well as its classic gameplay? We’ll find out later this year when the game arrives for all major platforms. And if this succeeds, who knows, maybe A24 will be next one to get in on some indie game publishing…
