Fear the Spotlight is the least terrifying horror game you've probably ever played, but there's a tenderness to its storytelling that can't be overstated here, even if some of it is a little confusing.
Why don't games increasingly come from the realm of musical theater? I would argue that they are as much a part of our cultural fabric as movies and television shows, but for some reason we rarely get to see them. Sure, they may not be the first thing thirty-something white men look for in their tapestry of pop culture references, but for a TRUE In a subsection of the gamer population, an exchange of dialogue that takes up the lyrics of Les Misérables, for example (shout out to Subsurface Circular), is just as likely to provoke a wince in me as another reference to Twin Peaks in something Like Alan. Wake up, for example.
I mention all this because Fear the Spotlight, the first game published by horror film company Blumhouse's new games division, is based directly on Phantom of the Opera, something that brought me so much joy that it was almost enough to slightly soften its rougher edges elsewhere. Yo love Phantom of the Opera. It's one of my favorite things outside of gaming, and I can't tell you how heartwarming it is to see it emerge in this gentle tale of a creepy high school seance gone wrong.
Once again, I realize that not everyone will react in the same way to seeing broken mirrors open to reveal hidden passageways or, indeed, to pulling back luxurious red velvet curtains only to find the lair of a boiler room. of a 90s school instead of a candlelit opera grotto. . But as a repeat offender of seeing Phantom in the cinema, as well as the 2004 film about ten times more than is really necessary (not to mention reading the book on which it is based), I will always have a soft spot for anything it depicts with its themes of longing and secret desires, especially when the ghost figure itself has a large honking spotlight for a head, and whose piercing gaze will make shy teenager Vivian gasp and gasp if she's caught inside its blinding light. Honestly, pyramid heads are so the last season here.
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It's an apt conceit for Vivian's underlying struggle to expose and express her deepest feelings toward her best friend Amy, but staying away from this errant stage light bulb is also how Fear the Spotlight keeps players on their toes between its segments. of brilliantly constructed Resident Evil style puzzles. . It's never very scary: the overturned tables and desks provide enough cover for Vivian to duck and hide during the fixed, predetermined times she appears, and once you reach a door to enter another room, you can always breathe don't worry. This isn't a threat that will constantly chase you like Mr.
It's very generous in that sense, even if it takes away from its overall horror a bit. It's hard to feel a lingering sense of danger when you can put a lid on a game's main threat like that, and it's very easy to lose any kind of suspense when there's very little else here working to keep up the tension. You see, Fear the Spotlight doesn't produce any jump scares (unless you count the creepy little gremlin boys who sometimes blink at you and crawl in the shadows), which will no doubt be great news for some, but it also drains the gameplay of any sense of dread or defiance whenever the ghost is not on screen. In other words, it's a horror game for people who don't make horror games and will probably be too safe and simple for anyone else.
But Fear the Spotlight isn't just a great Phantom of the Opera riff. There is a second part to this story, which was recently added to the game in October thanks to the help of new publisher Blumhouse. This shows a different side of the story from a character's perspective that I wouldn't want to reveal, and despite moving the action to a completely different setting, its mix of stealth and puzzle-driven exploration remains largely the same. Unfortunately, this is where Fear the Spotlight starts to seem a lot more confusing to me in what it's trying to accomplish. For as we retreat into the trance-like mind of Christine Daaé's stand-in on Vivian's side of the story, we no longer find ourselves in the world of musical theater, but that of Hideo Nakata's 1998 film, The Ring.
It's an odd juxtaposition to say the least, but one that feels even more toothless and diluted than what came before. Taking place in just two floors of an old house, unlike the much larger school of the first part, its puzzles are just as cleverly constructed in this smaller, more intimate setting, but it completely misses how to do its claustrophobic and full of boxes. Hallways runs on its main villain, who, yes, you guessed it, is a dripping long-haired woman who has gone too far with her slicked back hairstyle.
Sadly, she's even less of a threat than the old spotlight in the first part, as she doesn't even have the finesse to chase or stalk you half the time, and is apparently there to be an obvious metaphor for the character's troubled mother. . . It's a shame, as the first half seemed to really get the core themes and principles of what makes Phantom of the Opera tick. This second part, however, seems content to cherry-pick convenient motifs from The Ring without really getting to the heart of why it's still so terrifying after so many years. Instead, it's the puzzles that really carry this section, and while each exhibits the same wonderful tactility of pushing and pulling levers with the mouse (turning dials, lifting lids, and clicking big, chunky buttons to place them in their place as they did in the first part), their weakest story. The elements can't help but feel like they're undermining everything in the process.
All that said, Fear the Spotlight is still a fun way to spend about five hours, and I really love how the changing textures of its PS1-era visuals make every part feel a little otherworldly despite its very settings. mundane. It won't scare you in the slightest, but there is a very sweet and tender love story at the center of this, and the excellent voice work of its central duo of Khaya Fraites and Maganda Marie brings real warmth and empathy to this. pair of nervous teenagers. There may not be much to challenge you here, but if all you're after is the lightest of thrills, Fear the Spotlight will certainly be music to your ears.
Publisher Blumhouse Games provided a copy of Fear the Spotlight for review.