This game is a perfect example of how to pull of atmosphere and suspense but deliver an experience that feels imcomplete. When I first saw this game and started it up, I had high hopes for it and while the atmosphere in the game was well organised, there wasn't much else to it. There was really nothing scary or horrific about the game to call it a horror game. I feel like many indie developers fall for this by either making a horror game with tons of jumpscares that get old fast or make an atmospheric game that really has no conclusion. This game is the latter. The atmosphere is there but apart from that, there is nothing else. Nothing to really scare the player or to make them feel more on edge while playing and the only reason players feel scared is more due to the phycology of how the game is marketed rather than the gameplay itself.
With that being said, it does have potential to become something more than just an atmospheric game and there are even some examples of games that do this perfectly. Madison being one game in particular that creates perfect suspense for the player while delovering a good payoff in the end game. I feel like this game was to follow a similar pattern but fell short of that.
I do go more into detail about this game in my video so I hope you give it a watch.
This is a perfect example of how to build suspense to a good payoff. I had a little trouble with really low mouse sensitivity but otherwise this was a good experience.
Hey there, so I recently played through Something in the Shadows and I wanted to share some of my thoughts on it here. With these mini reviews I usually go over some things I liked, some things I didn’t and any bugs I might have found.
I’ll start with the positives. The game looks good and has a fairly high degree of ambiance to it, there are some fairly tense moments to be had while wandering around the house. The sound adds to this as well, having some well-timed moments where the audio rises at the peak of a scare. All of this combined creates some pretty creepy moments that work very well in a horror game. The lack of overdone ‘jump-scares’ is also a nice touch. It’s also impressive that the assets were made by the devs and they definitely deserve recognition for that, as it’s easy to just rip the same old royalty free assets that other indie game devs on here have been notorious for.
Now I’ll go over some gripes I had with the game. It’s another collectathon, while this might not be an issue to some, it is to me, it’s a trope that has been beaten to death, and I feel it just doesn’t do the games environments and excellent ambiance justice. There seems to be a somewhat lack of a story, while it can be argued that it’s told through the environment and the notes, even then there really isn’t much meat there.
I discovered one bug while doing my second run through, so it’s not captured on the video linked above, but if the player doesn’t interact with the door first and instead gets the key first, the game seems to go through the script of “the door is locked, where’s the key?” when the player already has the key and is trying to escape. It’s not a major bug, but it does sort of suck you out of the moment.
At the end of the day I found this to be fairly average; however, I did find some enjoyment in it. The game looks good, sounds good and feels good for a horror game, but it’s wasted on an overdone game-play concept. I know this was a student project, and when that’s taken into consideration it’s quite an impressive feat, especially when you factor in that many of the assets are made by the devs themselves, but that doesn’t stop me from being critical about a game, especially one that is now (at the time of writing) in the number one position on itch.
I still can't believe this is a student made game! great use of space and a sort of story to follow which is what a lot of these little games lack! Great job guys and gals! Keep killing it! Oh and heres my play through if y'all are interested!
I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The suspension was very good! It was such a simple, but haunting concept and I was glad there was a flashlight element to make it that bit more unnerving. Here is my play through, I added a few more sound effects to heighten the experience and my ending was quite unique!
I haven't really played horror games before and found this genuinely creepy. Awessome work and a fantastic game, the footsteps on the wooden floors and spooky eyes on the paintings.... I'd love to see more :)
👻 NEVER TRUST A PAINTING | Something In The Shadows 👻
Welcome to Something In The Shadows! A game where things hide... in the shadows! 😅 Also included a small thanks to @itsGoncy at the start of the video cause he's a top guy that i helped out on his PT Video😉
Played this as part of a 3 free indie horrors on my channel. It was a neat little experience. It wasn't particularly scary, but it had pretty good atmosphere and the sounds design, Movement and Lighting were pretty okay. Overall, i like it and want to see more from you! You can watch my video of it below!
YOU CAN'T RUN?!! YOU CAN'T HIDE?!! And most importantly ; YOU CAN'T F#%KING ESCAPE THE INEVITABLE DEATH!! It was a great short horror game! Not really any challenge to it. But it was fun to play :) Keep up the good work! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQBlPmngl4axW1iJ3FHYs5Q
Reading the comments, a lot of people were having trouble with both, turning the lights back on and finding the key. In my first swing at this, I personally had trouble with the latter.
In order to help anyone else that gets stuck, I made a short 4 minute how to on beating the game.
Sorry it wasn't jumpy enough for you :) We aren't fans of those types of games and wanted to focus more on atmospheric tension. Thank you for the feedback though!
Clarifying the real-time design class part, it was made as a final project for the class, and three people worked on it including myself. The names are in the menu on the credits tab :)
I played something in the shadows as one of the three games in Albsterz Indie Hour. I really did enjoy playing your game. Looking forward to what you do next
I didn't have any of the issues previous videos reported, and was able to complete the game. Really liked the layout of the house, it felt very natural and like an actual house. All the assets are well made and the subtle changes to the pictures was an amazing touch that had me doubting myself if they were there before or not.
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This game was pretty spooky! Good job!
hols
Cool Game !!!
make more please !!
This gave me paranoia :P
This game is a perfect example of how to pull of atmosphere and suspense but deliver an experience that feels imcomplete. When I first saw this game and started it up, I had high hopes for it and while the atmosphere in the game was well organised, there wasn't much else to it. There was really nothing scary or horrific about the game to call it a horror game. I feel like many indie developers fall for this by either making a horror game with tons of jumpscares that get old fast or make an atmospheric game that really has no conclusion. This game is the latter. The atmosphere is there but apart from that, there is nothing else. Nothing to really scare the player or to make them feel more on edge while playing and the only reason players feel scared is more due to the phycology of how the game is marketed rather than the gameplay itself.
With that being said, it does have potential to become something more than just an atmospheric game and there are even some examples of games that do this perfectly. Madison being one game in particular that creates perfect suspense for the player while delovering a good payoff in the end game. I feel like this game was to follow a similar pattern but fell short of that.
I do go more into detail about this game in my video so I hope you give it a watch.
This is a perfect example of how to build suspense to a good payoff. I had a little trouble with really low mouse sensitivity but otherwise this was a good experience.
I started playing this at 2:19 ... genuinely a very good game with loads of potential
Gave it a go...
Sorry I was a bit late with this as I had tech issues last week but I enjoyed it and loved the atomsphere in the game!
pretty cool. Nice atmosphere with sounds and environment. Great job on the assets and bringing it together into a nice little creepy game!
I liked the effects (audio visual and controls) as you approach the end, gave an out of control feeling at just the right time.
I’ll start with the positives. The game looks good and has a fairly high degree of ambiance to it, there are some fairly tense moments to be had while wandering around the house. The sound adds to this as well, having some well-timed moments where the audio rises at the peak of a scare. All of this combined creates some pretty creepy moments that work very well in a horror game. The lack of overdone ‘jump-scares’ is also a nice touch. It’s also impressive that the assets were made by the devs and they definitely deserve recognition for that, as it’s easy to just rip the same old royalty free assets that other indie game devs on here have been notorious for.
Now I’ll go over some gripes I had with the game. It’s another collectathon, while this might not be an issue to some, it is to me, it’s a trope that has been beaten to death, and I feel it just doesn’t do the games environments and excellent ambiance justice. There seems to be a somewhat lack of a story, while it can be argued that it’s told through the environment and the notes, even then there really isn’t much meat there.
I discovered one bug while doing my second run through, so it’s not captured on the video linked above, but if the player doesn’t interact with the door first and instead gets the key first, the game seems to go through the script of “the door is locked, where’s the key?” when the player already has the key and is trying to escape. It’s not a major bug, but it does sort of suck you out of the moment.
At the end of the day I found this to be fairly average; however, I did find some enjoyment in it. The game looks good, sounds good and feels good for a horror game, but it’s wasted on an overdone game-play concept. I know this was a student project, and when that’s taken into consideration it’s quite an impressive feat, especially when you factor in that many of the assets are made by the devs themselves, but that doesn’t stop me from being critical about a game, especially one that is now (at the time of writing) in the number one position on itch.
Cheers and best wishes,
Killjoy
Thanks for the game, decided to make a video on it as part of my 3 random horror games :)
This game has a nice atmosphere to it. There were some creepy moments and Im glad it wasn't just littered with jumspcares.
Well done :)
Made a video
I still can't believe this is a student made game! great use of space and a sort of story to follow which is what a lot of these little games lack! Great job guys and gals! Keep killing it! Oh and heres my play through if y'all are interested!
Creepy game! Very well done! Any plans for future games?
it good
I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The suspension was very good! It was such a simple, but haunting concept and I was glad there was a flashlight element to make it that bit more unnerving. Here is my play through, I added a few more sound effects to heighten the experience and my ending was quite unique!
Really good game. Maybe adding more intensity at the very end when you're being chased, paintings falling and doors slamming etc.
Made some tweaks!
Great game. It kept me on my toes the whole time, I was expecting something to be in every room which reallly added to the tension.
I had a lot of fun, fantastic work! :D
I haven't really played horror games before and found this genuinely creepy. Awessome work and a fantastic game, the footsteps on the wooden floors and spooky eyes on the paintings.... I'd love to see more :)
Loved the build up throughout the game. Really creepy game, would've loved to see more of this! Great work.
A very awesome short horror game. I wish it was longer. Love how the booogeyman appeared in the paintings.
👻 NEVER TRUST A PAINTING | Something In The Shadows 👻
Welcome to Something In The Shadows! A game where things hide... in the shadows! 😅 Also included a small thanks to @itsGoncy at the start of the video cause he's a top guy that i helped out on his PT Video😉
Played this as part of a 3 free indie horrors on my channel. It was a neat little experience. It wasn't particularly scary, but it had pretty good atmosphere and the sounds design, Movement and Lighting were pretty okay. Overall, i like it and want to see more from you! You can watch my video of it below!
Thanks for playing!!
Thank you very much!! :)
Thanks for playing! :)
This is a very well made game. I can see you having a future in game development for sure.
Here's my channel if you want to see more games I played. https://www.youtube.com/c/Levont
Thank you!! :)
Stalked by a dude in a painting simulator.
thanks!! appreciate the nice words :)
thanks for playing!!
Reading the comments, a lot of people were having trouble with both, turning the lights back on and finding the key. In my first swing at this, I personally had trouble with the latter.
In order to help anyone else that gets stuck, I made a short 4 minute how to on beating the game.
wish there were some jumpscares
thanks for playing!
Sorry it wasn't jumpy enough for you :) We aren't fans of those types of games and wanted to focus more on atmospheric tension. Thank you for the feedback though!
Drunk let's play, schools out and I'm your teacher now, here's your grade
Hi!! thanks for playing :)
Clarifying the real-time design class part, it was made as a final project for the class, and three people worked on it including myself. The names are in the menu on the credits tab :)
I played something in the shadows as one of the three games in Albsterz Indie Hour. I really did enjoy playing your game. Looking forward to what you do next
thanks!! means a lot :)
:D
I didn't have any of the issues previous videos reported, and was able to complete the game. Really liked the layout of the house, it felt very natural and like an actual house. All the assets are well made and the subtle changes to the pictures was an amazing touch that had me doubting myself if they were there before or not.