Horror games based on the surreal can be super enjoyable. I love Resident Evil, Five Nights at Freddy's, and everything in between - jumpscares and blood-curdling screams included. With that being said, I've long since felt as though the horror sphere could lean more heavily into telling the stories of real events. That's where Tenebrea steps in, having been announced for the Nintendo Switch among other consoles. The game boasts a variety of cool features, both in its gameplay and narrative, and one of them is that the developer used real witness testimony to construct its horrors.
In a very cool feature, the aforementioned horrors will be different every time you load up the game. According to the developer Bowl of Tentacles, Tenebrea will procedurally generate the jumpscares based on different aspects of the witness testimony it borrows from. The game overview suggests that these things may range "from shadows moving in the halls to objects changing place on their own," and "from loud noises to apparitions that felt too real to ignore". I'm already scared just imagining it. Promising a mixture of puzzles and investigatory work at the same time as the horror, Tenebrea should be a treat.
The real-life building that lends Tenebrea its setting has a room permanently sealed shut after a security guard reportedly saw a ghost inside - there was previously an accident leading to a maintenance worker's death. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, it's genuinely horrifying that residents and staff feel so afraid of the halls, an essence the game hopes to capture when you play as main character Laura. Time will tell if it was successful or not.
The question that remains in my mind is whether these spooks will be with us in time for Halloween. Given that the reveal trailer gave us no date, instead saying 'coming soon', I can only assume that it will miss spooky season this year. That's a little sad for Halloween enjoyers, but nevertheless, it shouldn't affect the game's launch too much, if other horror games are anything to judge it by. With some already comparing it to Hideo Kojima's legendary horror game P.T., we expect it to do pretty well.
If you want suggestions for more games that go bump in the night, head to our list of the best indie horror games. Also, you can check out more upcoming Switch games in case you missed anything, and be sure to take a look at our list of best Switch games to pass the time until Tenebrea comes out and you can get stuck in.