Oh don’t worry, I already do.
You may be aware, dear reader, of Blumhouse Productions, LLC. Known primarily for horror films (including Paranormal Activity), they’ve also done some notable dramas (like Whiplash) and TV projects. Generally, their films are low budget and have a pretty average batting record in terms of quality. As it turns out, Blumhouse has a games division now, Blumhouse Games, and Fear the Spotlight is their maiden voyage. It’s a fun time, says good things about the studio’s output, and makes me want to see more from developer Cozy Game Pals.
Fear the Spotlight is about a pair of high school gal pals, Vivian and Amy, who sneak into the school library to perform a séance using a Ouija board–which goes about as well as you’d expect. Amy disappears and Vivian is left to try and find her in a now-dilapidated, abandoned, semi-spooky high school. The game is presented in a soft-edged PSOne visual style, which I found charming but also benign. The camera has a bit of random wobbliness which, I think, is intended to mimic the found-footage genre, but I had to turn it down before long (it was distracting). Fear the Spotlight is presented as a horror game for young adults, which is apt, as there’s nothing particularly scary here. That said, there is a consistent sense of tension and great ambiance throughout. It’s almost a shame there’s nothing more disturbing, because Cozy Game Pals has the chops to pull it off.
Vivian doesn’t have any weapons; just a flashlight and an asthma inhaler. She traipses through the school solving simple adventure game-style puzzles. For example, there’s some super glue in a vending machine, but you’ll need to find some coins to buy it. There’s a toolbox with a combination lock, so you’ll need to find the combination. Once you get it open, one of the tools is broken. Good thing you found super glue in that vending machine! Few of the puzzles are more complicated than this except for a handful (which I enjoyed). Puzzle solutions are never very far away–sometimes in the same room.
Many of the game’s interactions have a decidedly analog feel to them, which I’ve come to appreciate after Signalis. You’ll hold down the button and then use the analog stick to move the cursor as if you’re using Vivian’s hand to do things like open doors, unscrew bolts, and turn dials. It’s a fun mechanic, and gives Fear the Spotlight a unique hook.
On occasion, Vivian will be hunted by a being with a spotlight for a head–an actual stage spotlight. If she’s spotted, she’ll take damage, which, for Vivian, means having an asthma attack. Using her inhaler will restore her health, but they are one-time-use devices and, thankfully, fresh inhalers are not hard to find in the school. Later in the game, she’ll have to avoid spotlights that appear on the ceiling and move through the hallways. I didn’t have great luck with these, because they tended to appear right where I was going. There is a story being told that isn’t resolved as cleanly as I’d hoped by the end (but I recommend sticking around for the credits).
Fear the Spotlight is a fun time, though it’s quite short and a smidge underwhelming–for somebody who has played every Silent Hill and most of the mainline Resident Evil games. For a newcomer curious about this genre, Fear the Spotlight provides an excellent entry point.
