There have been a ton of fantastic horror games released recently, including major titles like silent hill 2 remake, the independent horror and survival game hollow bodyand horror-themed DLC like Diablo 4: Vessel of Hate. One title survival horror game fans should keep an eye on among all these big releases is Tenebris Somniaan upcoming survival horror adventure game that has a new demo for PC this week as part of this year's Steam Next Fest. Here's the plot: It's a retro-inspired horror game that features Famicom-style graphics interspersed with chilling live-action scenes, and the combined result is as novel and entertaining as it is jarring and terrifying.
Developed by Argentine filmmaker Andrés Borghi in collaboration with Saibot Games and published by New Blood Interactive, Tenebris Somnia It centers on Julia, a film student who recently broke up with her college boyfriend, Ivan. Returning to Ivan's apartment to return a copy of his key, Julia quickly realizes that something is not quite right. From there, she is immersed in a dark supernatural story filled with alternate dimensions, hidden sacrifices and chthonic entities and horrors that seem straight from the imagination of Clive Barker.
After playing until 2022 Faith: The Unholy Trinity8-bit inspired horror game from Airdorf Games, which also published New Blood, Borghi was inspired to try creating a game of his own, one that would draw on his love of classic point-and-click, style horror titles. Clock Toweras well as his skills as a filmmaker and visual effects artist. The result is a side-scrolling game, in which the player navigates through pre-rendered, low-detail environments that evoke classic titles from the Amiga, Famicom and NES gaming eras.
The demo consists of the player going through the usual touchstones of mystery game tropes: collecting and combining items found around Ivan's apartment building, interacting and solving puzzles to advance the story, examining the descriptions of the elements searching for clues on what to do next, and fighting malicious otherworldly creatures. Interspersed between all of these moments are live-action scenes, filmed and directed by Borghi himself, featuring gruesome monstrosities brought to life through chilling practical effects and macabre costume designs.
The effect on gameplay is a surprisingly cohesive experience that leans into the respective strengths of gaming and cinematic horror, combining the interactive gratifications of the former with the terrifying spectacle of the latter. Eat your heart out, Hideo Kojima.
The latest demo lasts about half an hour of gameplay and does not allow saving, so you'll have to play through to the end if you want to see the demo's shocking cliffhanger ending.
While Tenebris Somnia Doesn't have a release date yet, the demo is available to play throughout this year's Steam Next Fest, which will end on October 21.