Work is hard and very time-consuming, so I decided to play a game that was my pace. I had a choice between two games and of course, I chose the game with an added spook to it. This week we roam an endless hell in search of the light to banish evil; this week is Nix Umbra.

Nix Umbra is a first-person horror game from Ilzard. The game was released in November of 2021, is available for the PC, and retails for $10.

Nix Umbra is something else entirely. I don’t know if there is a story but the most I could find is a reference from the developer:

Once upon a time in Midwinter,
while the Trees were sleeping,
the Moon cast a spell upon the Sun
turning him into Snow, shining,
falling into the Woods forever.

I don’t, man, the point of the game is to survive for the longest amount of time. The game is pitch black and the sword you acquire provides the only light in this horrifying world. Roam the land, and collect little tokens, that when you collect enough, give you a power-up.

Spiders, skulls, witches (maybe), and other scary shit are out to get you. Use your swords light to banish them, but don’t be generous with the light because once it is gone, the game is over. It is an interesting combination of survival and horror because it is in fact truly scary.

The only sounds that are present within Nix Umbra are your heartbeat, the screams of skeletons, and the ambient sound of a vast void with nothing but evil inside. When the bad guys attack violins screech and it always catches you off guard.

Truly terrifying

The game is solely in black and white. It is also incredibly hard to see, so commenting on visuals is difficult. I really like the effect that Nix Umbra gives off though. What you can see is grainy and difficult to interpret until you are face to face with it.

Nix Umbra is a game that has a cult following that dedicates itself to maxing out that leaderboard. The game tells you nothing other than the fact that you need to banish evil. I’m not saying that this is a bad form of onboarding because the game is quite simple and can be understood within the first five attempts. The game is dark, the game is scary and rounds are quick early on.

It just works. I like it enough to continue playing it off and on because it is quite a decent pallet cleanser.