It’s September and that means that it’s time to play more spooky games. I really am starting to get into the spooky mood and I am about it, so without further stalling, this week is Chasing Static.

Chasing Static is a psychological horror game from Headware Games and Ratalaika Games S.L. The game was released for the PC, PS4/5 Xbox, and Switch in October 2021 and retails for $15.

You take the role of a man named Chris as he travels through Wales. he makes the unfortunate stop at a cafe and witnesses a murder of the paranormal type and is plunged into helping a sole survivor of a “Stranger Things” like an experiment to set up goofy devices to eliminate the paranormal threat. The story really mixes a narrative like Stranger Things and Death Stranding to give the player a very interesting narrative. The narrative is placed in front of the player and supplemented with visions that can be seen with the help of a trusty device that can be honed to specific frequencies.

Chasing Static really nails the spooky atmosphere throughout the entirety of the game. There was not a single moment where I was not on edge and there was not anything spooky going on, it was just the game presenting itself to the player. You are given three spots to “contain” and each area is spooky. The cafe is where is the game starts, Ground Zero where the experiments and most spooky stuff begin, and the village where the inhabitants mysteriously disappear. To succeed in containing each area is puzzle solving and exploration. Exploring the areas rewards the player with items that will lead you to restricted areas with rewards and supplement the story with glimpses into the past.

Other than the puzzle solving there is not much in the gameplay department. The player is really just walking around trying to figure out what happened. Chasing Static is truly a non-linear game, as it lets the player complete the game in whatever fashion that they want and the Frequency Displacement Monitoring Device makes for more exciting gameplay.

The inventory system is Silent Hill and Resident Evil-esq, where items are picked up and easily accessible throughout the game. Puzzles require certain items from certain areas of the map, nothing so convoluted, but some areas were mazes, so little notecard maps had to be made to make sure I knew where any important items were.

Chasing Static looks like a PS2 game. It looks outdated, but that is a part of its charm/spookiness. Objects are difficult to make out from farther distances, dark, spooky areas just feel so much more scary when they look as crude as they do in Chasing Static. Truly memorable moments and areas in this game.

The audio is excellent in creating a spooky atmosphere and the voice actors do a really good job in conveying the urgency of what is happening in the story.

Chasing Static is a good spooky game that lasts the perfect amount of time. It lasts about two hours and, honestly, that’s the sweet spot. You are given information about where to get and what to get, and the search areas are small and contained. The puzzles are not too difficult, the game and audio design are great and the atmosphere that Chasing Static creates kept me on the edge of my seat. The only issue I have is some of the areas are so large that items can be looked over and a lot of time is used going back and forth to different areas looking for one single item.

Chasing Static is an excellent spooky game that I would definitely recommend.