The older I get, the more I despise actual spooky games. I like action horror games, I don’t like walking around and being jump-scared for two to five hours. Fuck off with that. I WANT to sit down and be scared but then I get up and go play another game. Then I tell myself that I will play some Itch.io spooky games and it calms me down until I play said games and I wonder why I dislike this stupid genre of games.
I hate it, so much.
I decided this time to play a couple of free games, one of which was at the top of Itch’s popular section and another that had just released, within the past couple of months. This week I take a childrens slide all the way to hell and witness a cult murder; this week I played Slide in the Woods and The Building 71 Incident.
Slide in the woods is a survival horror game by Jonny’s Games. It looks like it released sometime in July of this year. It is currently on PC and is free.
You begin the game in a park with just a slide. You take the slide and when you pop out the end, it is dark. Take it again and it sounds like someone is following you. Take it again and now you are part of a sacrificial ritual to satisfy an ancient entity. You run and crawl away to avoid a hellish monster.
You then pop out the other end of the slide.
was it real? Who knows.
Graphics are the usual poop, washed out ones where detail is barely visible.
Sounds are great. Atmosphere is really fucking creepy. The sound of someone running towards you gets my hair standing up.
Christ, I hate it.
Controls are simple: Walk, interact, and most importantly, crawling; for when something is chasing you.
Slide in the Woods only lasts a few minutes but it achieves what it was set our to do, freak you out.
The game doesn’t over stay it’s welcome.
If you literally have twenty minutes to spare, play the game. It’s pretty good.
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The Building 71 Incident is a horror game by Scary Cube. It released sometime in September, is on PC and is currently free.
Oh, the most shameless rip from the Itch page for the game.
“Between 1997 and 1998, building 71, at a university in the south of Brazil, was closed after allegations of a gas leak. However, during this period, on several occasions, suspicious activities were detected from within the building. An employee whose identity was not disclosed, decided to investigate and record the origin of such activities. The man ended up being considered missing by the police, but portions of the recording are now being released to the public.”
Armed with only a video camera, the player takes the role of the proposed missing person. As the sun goes down, the university building becomes a haven for a cult that dedicates itself to the “red moon.” As you roam the building it becomes apparent that kidnappings and sacrifices took place.
Graphics are reminiscent of PS2 games. It is gritty, dark and surprisingly has more than two, non gray colors, with the added benefit of the tube tv feel.
I honestly don’t know how to describe that god damn look.
Controls are the same as the game above: You walk, run, and interact with stuff.
Sounds are choice in this game. The sounds and atmosphere make the game. Cultist shit is already scary and add a weird soundtrack with even weirder sounds, it does get pretty spooky.
I think the game lasted about a half hour. I would push it to be at least forty if every piece of lore was found and read.
For being an undergraduate thesis game, Building 71 is quite a spooky game. Reading the notes on the wall about how the cultist had to barricade off the stairs so that the people they kidnapped could no longer escape, and how the group’s leader has descended into madness is all just icing on top. The game creates a believable story with believable backstory and it stayed with me.
Great game. Would 100% recommend.
Grinds and Games 