I figured that while I am playing spooky games for the month of October, I might as well play some actual spooky games. I was genuinely afraid while I was playing Babysitter Bloodbath, so I decided to continue with games made by Puppet Combo. This week I continue the legacy of 80s horror games, sit at my computer desk, in broad ass daylight, afraid to be chased by a man with a power drill. This week I struggle to get through Power Drill Massacre.
Power Drill Massacre, a 80’s vhs inspired horror/slasher game. It was developed and Published by Puppet Combo and it was released in 2015. The game is on Itch.io and retails for $3.
After a brutal car accident that left her husband immobilized, Megan is off in search of a phone to call for help. After traveling for a moment, Megan comes across an old factory, that has long been abandoned. A visage of man rests near the entrance of the door and then disappears as you climb the steps. When you enter the door CLICK, CLACK and the doors lock behind you. With your trusty flashlight, Megan’s objective is to find three paint splattered keys to get out. Scraps of newspapers are littered throughout the area that details the area and what has happened in the Pocono Mountains. In 1985 a couple had went missing from their campsite and were never found. You can escape or not it is up to you actually based on the decision to go into a creepy site termed the “Sugar Tunnel.”
The atmosphere is, again, the key player in this game. The factory is dark and random environmental noises keep the player on their toes. It was so fucking quite that I was anxious about whatever was about to happen next. The silence is literally maddening.
As you walk/run about the abandoned factory, there are moments when the powerdrill man, that is what I’m going to call him, darts right after you. The screen flashes white and red and there is a cacophony of sounds that may or may not incorporate a man trying to make powerdrill sounds. It got me literally every time. There was NOT one moment when the fucking guy would show up and I didn’t jump and chills ran down my spine. You usually dies from the encounter because of how the factory is laid out. There are dead ends everywhere and no places to hide, just RUN.
The controls are dumb-downed this time around. Megan can only run. That is it. WASD move Megan, mouse controls the god awful camera, space bar is to interact with objects and shift is to run.
I just can’t get over that Megan takes turns like a fucking 18-wheeler. You need to angle left and then right to be able to make the damn turn.
Again, sound design is great and it greatly adds to the atmosphere, which is already choice.
The silence breaks when you hear fucking shoes click on the floor as this giant ass man is sprinting right at you with the intention to kill you. That sound effect is insane; it always catches you off guard and it emanates fear as, within seconds, a figure is on you and the game decides to
I’ve grown to really like Puppet Combo’s games. They know what they like and they create games that imbue that love for 80s vhs horror/slasher films. Their games still control like ass but that is a small detail that inhibits gameplay by a small amount. They know how to create a spooky atmosphere that adds a ton of anxiety to their already jump scare games. The setting and atmosphere was so spooky that I was actually hesitant to play the game in the dark, so I played it at ten in the morning.
Grinds and Games 