At A Glance
Released: 7/2/21
Reviews: 4773, very positive net, as of 12/2023
English Reviews: 2789
Localized in: english
Had Publisher: no
Majority of reviews:
English ~58%
Russian ~10%
Portuguese Brazil ~7%
Price: free
Review report:
Negatives: no controller support, jokes about not being able to throw stuff at killer, takes a lot of resources to run, seems there were some bugs in the past
Positives: mostly joke reviews, players were tense and afraid,
Gameplay
Blinds on the windows go up automatically when approaching them, no need to interact but it offers a better look outside
Tv show is on, but doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen before (horror-esque), could’ve been made specifically for the game
Reminds the player to do things they might otherwise forget such as shutting off tv, closing fridge door, etc. through narrative prompts
Option to hide under bed after receiving scary text
Music
Song for the main menu is interesting, not at all what I expected. Usually smaller indie horror games have little or no music in the intro, this sounds great
Environmental music plays while exploring the house, quiet and foreboding which matches being alone in the house
Music changes to something a bit more tense as the night goes on
Sounds
Street is pretty active outside with cars passing by
The sfx for cars seems to have been recorded from inside, can hear the turn signal from inside the house
Art
There is a full-screen retro vhs effect while the game is playing, leans into PSX genre, even though the house doesn't appear that way
UI
Text interface to check messages with drag/drop windows for easier control with mouse, interesting
Writing
Game seems to be told through a Reddit post, mentions the site by name
Can't go to sleep because of homework, cant do homework because i left the tv on, rookie mistake
Scare Factor
Heartbeat and intense music plays after waking up in the middle of the night
At the beginning a shadowy figure can be seen lingering around the driveway
Music changes again and scary stinger plays after drinking water
Get a text from mom with someone standing at the door, image came from the house across the street. Picture taken by neighbor then sent to mom?
Mom sends more texts as player approaches front door, says to hide no matter what happens, says its Paula instead and the doorbell keeps ringing
Forced to go back out and answer the door since it keeps ringing, just before going down the stairs there is a jumpscare from the parents bedroom (creepy guy was in there)
Extra
On main menu there are links to discord, other games, and even an email to send ‘stories to share’, marketing-wise the game is rock solid
Since this is free it’s an extremely good entry point for influencers, and setting up the expectation of further episodes provides additional content for said influencers if they enjoyed this free ep
I believe the strength seen by Fears to Fathom comes from the community-building and sharing of scary stories, everyone has seen something they wish they hadn’t
Game states it takes ~20 mins to beat
Game force closes itself after the final jumpscare
There were more opportunities to push future products as well as the Discord community instead of closing it automatically, but it’s already succeeded on its own merit
Overall
A sublime example of working with what you have in an extremely small home setting
Most of the horror comes from the player’s own paranoia, very few actual scares are present in the game
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