Blumhouse Games’ initial roster of titles includes Fear the Spotlight, a brand-new horror game taking some retro aesthetic influences from the PS1 era. Well, it’s out now for you to enjoy, and we certainly think it’s one worth playing.
Fear the Spotlight was released on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, and is available on Nintendo Switch alongside PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. Sporting visuals that evoke the chilling nostalgia of Resident Evil and Parasite Eve, developer Cozy Game Pals says in a PlayStation blog that the original Silent Hill is a key point of reference for the horror game.
“It’s nostalgic and reminds us of playing our first horror games, in bedrooms around the TV with siblings, daring to brave the original Silent Hill […] there might not be 4K gore running down the walls of Sunnyside’s halls, but that doesn’t mean you’re not going to be on edge,” expresses the developer.
Not only is the throwback to “classic PlayStation experiences” intentional, but it’s also a practical decision, as Cozy Game Pals is, well, two mates making games together. Duo Cristina Castro and Byran Singh are the studio’s sole members, having previously worked on Nickelodeon projects and triple-A games like The Last of Us.
To further ramp up the old-school vibes, Fear the Spotlight includes options that allow players to tweak features such as “the TV filter, polygon wobble, and ambient camera wobble to make sure players can feel as 90s as they want.”
Aside from looking the part, you encounter environmental puzzles and other obstacles, like ensuring that Vivian always has an inhaler on her at all times. Most puzzles will involve a first-person perspective, putting you directly into Vivian and Amy’s shoes. In our Fear the Spotlight review, we gave it a prestigious nine, saying that it’s “a love letter to iconic 90s horror games.”
There’s no word of a physical edition of Fear the Spotlight just yet, but you can head to the eShop and get the game digitally.