Nostalgia is a very powerful thing, and many modern developers are using their nostalgia for the PS1 era of survival horror to create innovative, thrilling new games that pay homage while offering something new. A plethora of PS1-inspired horror games have been released in recent years, such as Night of the Nun, Washing with bloodand this year The Land of Crows. And now, it's time for retro survival horror fans to turn their attention to Fear the spotlight.
It will be released on October 22, Fear the spotlight is currently in development at indie studio Cozy Game Pals and turned a lot of heads thanks to its recent presentation at Sony's State of Play. With throwback graphics and gameplay, Fear the spotlight should be on any retro horror fan's radar, and there's even potential for it to become the Halloween indie hit.
Fear The Spotlight could be the bedroom hit of Halloween 2024
Fear The Spotlight wears its retro influences on its sleeve
As shown in the latest State of Play gameplay trailer, Fear the spotlight wears its PS1 influences on its sleeve, its art style clearly paying homage to classics such as resident evil and silent hill. Character models appear deliberately low-res and polygonal, mimicking the 3D graphics of 1990s consoles. Fear the spotlightIts lighting is very reminiscent of horror games from the PS1 era, with darkness and low light playing a key role in building the game's spooky atmosphere. A grain-like film filter was also layered on top Fear the spotlightmimicking the look of a game running on an old CRT TV.
This throwback art style blends in nicely with Fear the spotlightthe seemingly simplistic gameplay. Based on the recent trailer, it seems Fear the spotlight players will slowly creep their way through a creepy abandoned school, using their trusty flashlight to light the way and solving environmental puzzles to progress. Players will also have to avoid the eponymous spotlight-headed monster that haunts the strange halls.
Fear The Spotlight is leading the charge for Blumhouse games
Back at Summer Game Fest, Blumhouse Games took center stage to reveal their first slate of upcoming releases. Blumhouse announced six games at once, each an experimental horror game on a smaller scale with a strong sense of art and game direction. Fear the spotlight was one of six games announced and is the first out of the gate for Blumhouse Games.
While it's still quite a long way off Fear the spotlight – being the first project released under the Blumhouse Games banner – the game has already received some buzz. Fear the spotlight was originally released in 2022 on Steam, where early users gave the game a “very positive” rating. When Blumhouse approached the developers to turn it into a bigger project, they pulled the game from Steam and are now preparing to release Fear the spotlight in its full-fledged form.
While there are currently no release windows for any of Blumhouse's other upcoming horror titles, they're all worth watching for fans of the genre. From farming simulator turned crime mystery Grave Seasons co-starring Sam Barlow and Brandon Cronenberg Project CBlumhouse has some interesting games in development right now and Fear the spotlight hopefully it will set the gold standard for others.
