Fear the Spotlight

Fear The Spotlight is far from the scariest game you could play this Halloween season, but what may be read as a detriment for some is instead its best quality for others. With classically designed but more contained puzzles and combat-free monster encounters, it's a game that utilizes genre touchstones in manners meant to onboard new and/or younger players.

Fear the Spotlight is the least scary horror game you'll likely ever play, but there's a tenderness to its storytelling that cannot be overstated here, even if some of it's a bit muddled.

Nailing its low-poly aesthetic, smart visual and audio choices combine to create luxurious moments of tension. While a lack of friction makes action a bit straightforward, the well-crafted vibes make for an experience you won't forget anytime soon.

If you’re looking to delve into a supernatural story laden with satisfying, tactile puzzles, then Fear the Spotlight is a grand way to spend four to five hours of your time this autumn. Though, if you were hoping for something that would keep you on your toes and have you losing sleep, you might be better off waiting for the other titles that publisher, Blumhouse Games, has up its sleeve.

That’s unusual for me. I mostly play horror games for the scares, to distract myself from what I believe is the horror of my life — my anxiety disorder and a new round of insomnia, which can keep me up for days. On the most terrible occasions, I get too exhausted to do anything other than cry with the lights out. But Fear the Spotlight offers me solace over escapism. It tells me that love is everywhere, especially in the dark.

The horror element is extremely well done throughout the game, and paves the way for an interesting story as you progress through the game, but things can verge on tedious as the gameplay style does feel very back and forth throughout. Fortunately, with each run lasting just a few hours, it doesn't overstay its welcome, and so comes recommended if you like this era of horror games.

Fear the Spotlight is an excellent narrative horror experience that proves to be the perfect companion for Halloween season. It's a game loaded with atmosphere and dread throughout, with immersive, tactile puzzles and an overarching storyline that is engaging and tragic in equal measure. Encounters with the main enemy won't prove particularly challenging, but they're always nerve-wracking thanks to its creepy design and accompanying spooky audio. Rare, minor performance hiccups aside, this is a must-play for horror fans and an approachable entry point for newcomers.

As a work of throwback video game horror, Fear the Spotlight passes, but only with partial credit. It’s a concise creepshow with a dual narrative twist that digs into the psyche of both of its teen heroines. Its attempts to look and feel like a PS1 game miss the mark, though, as it can’t shake the feeling of a modern indie game in a stage costume. The tonal discrepancy dims the spotlight around what’s otherwise an impressive passion project for a two-person development team.

Cozy Game Pals have truly crafted one outstanding ode to classic survival horror games with Fear the Spotlight. It perfectly finds a balance between an atmosphere and story that are all suitably creepy, core stealth gameplay that features one impressive, imposing monster while never frustrating the player, and a terrific use of old-school touches like nifty puzzle that wouldn't feel out of place in the likes of Silent Hill. It's the type of horror game that perfectly keeps you on edge throughout all of it, then leaves you walking away feeling refreshed and satisfied. It's an impressive show and one that players need to check out.

Fear the Spotlight is a creepy survival-horror game that serves as a fun throwback to the genre's heyday.