Nostalgia is a very powerful thing, and many modern developers are using their nostalgia for the PS1 era of survival horror to create innovative, exciting new games that both pay homage and offer something new. A plethora of PS1 inspired horror games have been released over the past few years, such as Night of the Nun, Flushing the bloodand this year Crows of the earth. And now it's time for fans of retro survival horror to turn their attention Fear the Spotlight.
The release is scheduled for October 22nd Fear the Spotlight is currently in development at indie studio Cozy Game Pals and has gotten a lot of buzz thanks to its recent presentation at Sony's State of Play. With throwback graphics and gameplay, Fear the Spotlight should be on every retro horror fan's radar, and there's even potential to be an indie hit this Halloween.
Fear The Spotlight could be the hit of Halloween 2024
Fear The Spotlight wears its retro influences on its sleeve
As his latest trailer for State of Play shows, Fear the Spotlight has PS1-era influences on its sleeve, and its art style is a clear homage to classics like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Character models appear deliberately low-res and polygonal, mimicking the 3D graphics of 90s consoles. Fear the SpotlightThe lighting is also 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 film grain-like filter was also layered over the top Fear the Spotlightmimicking the look of a game running on an old CRT TV.
This throwback art style blends beautifully with it Fear the Spotlight's seemingly simplistic gameplay. Based on the recent trailer, it looks like it is Fear the Spotlight will have players creeping slowly through a haunted 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 eerie halls.
Fear The Spotlight is headed by Blumhouse Games
Back at Summer Game Fest, Blumhouse Games took center stage to unveil their first slate of upcoming releases. Blumhouse announced six games at once, each a smaller-scale experimental horror game with a strong sense of art and game direction. Fear the Spotlight was one of six games announced and is the first game to come out of the Blumhouse Games gate.
While there is still quite a lot riding on it Fear the Spotlight – being the first project to be released under the Blumhouse Games banner – the game has already received some buzz. Fear the Spotlight was originally released back in 2022 on Steam, where early users gave the game a “Very Positive” rating. When Blumhouse approached the developers to make it a bigger project, they pulled the game from Steam and are now preparing for release Fear the Spotlight in its full form.
Although there are currently no release windows for any of Blumhouse's other upcoming horror titles, they are all worth watching for fans of the genre. From a farming simulator turned murder mystery Grave Seasons to the collaboration of 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 to follow.
