GamesHow a story publisher-turned horror game dev duo is challenging the genre: “Horror in video games can be a trap"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesHow a story publisher-turned horror game dev duo is challenging the genre: “Horror in video games can be a trap"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Chorus Worldwide Games)
As gripping as a novel, as atmospheric as a video game. It’s a unique balance that Argentinian developer duo Fer Martínez Ruppel and Nico Saraintaris of LCB Game Studio aims to strike through its interactive novel series, Pixel Pulps. “Being on the margin validates us”, LCB says. “When we created the Pixel Pulps, one of our goals was to create a new genre, to stand at a specific point in time and not just imagine an alternative line of development, but to create it.”
This “new genre” in question occupies the curious space between horror game and horror novel. As someone with a keen interest in the evolution of horror games leading up to and including the currenthorror game renaissance, the concept of a brand new subgenre piques my interest immediately. “Our games are not first-person – they require a lot of reading, they don’t have incentives for endless play sessions, and yet, streamers from all over the world play them and share them in something that feels more like a group read than a playthrough,” says LCB.
Pixel Pulps are interactive visual novels with light puzzle elements, heavy on both the novel and novelty, that share CGA graphics and point-and-click gameplay. At the same time, LCB somehow captures a very specific feeling: sitting down to read a dog-eared copy of an obscure horror story, plucked from the shelves of a dusty library that few still frequent. This commitment to literary storytelling runs through each of the three existing Pixel Pulps because LCB Game Studio wasn’t always a video game developer.
The hint is in the name: LCB – abbreviated from “Literatura Clase B”, or Class-B Literature – published illustrated stories once upon a time, but now, it’s determined to make waves in one of the busiest games genres around.
Page churning
(Image credit: Chorus Worldwide Games)
Don’t look behind you(Image credit: Capcom)The time of the remake is nigh, buthorror isn’t just about nostalgia.
Don’t look behind you
(Image credit: Capcom)The time of the remake is nigh, buthorror isn’t just about nostalgia.
(Image credit: Capcom)
The time of the remake is nigh, buthorror isn’t just about nostalgia.
It all started with Atlantis. Martínez Ruppel and Saraintaris describe themselves as a “creative duo”, with a shared love of literature, horror, and storytelling that culminated in their first collaborative project back in 2012. “In our case we feel like we are a footnote in a perhaps more organic and normalized horror game development history,” they explain.
As unquantifiable as normalcy might be in the weird and wonderful world of game development, I don’t think LCB is wrong in saying so. Going from creating illustrated stories like ‘The Atlantean Butcher’ – “picture an exiled Atlantean struggling for survival on the mainland” – to a series of 8-bit-style horror games in the space of nine years probably isn’t the weirdest studio origin story out there, but it certainly stands out. It also explains LCB’s continued dedication to crafting literary experiences through video games, even after the studio merged its creative channels in 2021. To this day, LCB treats game dev as a mid-20th century publishing venture: “Publish, publish and publish even more.”
But why horror stories specifically? “We are interested in genre fiction in general, and within this enumeration, horror has a very special place,” LCB says. “Horror is the constant threat of the tale’s emergence: A boat trip on a lake may seem trivial, but there is always the possibility that the tail of a creature we can’t see will turn it upside down, transforming a simple trip into something worthy of being told.” It’s this catalytic potential of the horror genre that, according to LCB, “transforms a simple concatenation of words into a story. Horror is the alchemist’s secret, if you will.”
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Whether it’s the ominous tail of a fabled aquatic beast or the mangled form of Jason Voorhees bursting from the watery depths, LCB Game Studio knows what makes horror fans tick. Each Pixel Pulp is decidedly retro in nature, and each hones in on a specific horror trope.Mothmen 1966is all about cryptids, my personal favoriteVarney Lakeis a retro-gothic vampire adventure, while the latest instalmentBahnsen Knightsis a gumshoe thriller that plays off the Satanic Panic of the 1970s. The studio’s specific brand of nostalgia makes me yearn for an ephemeral time, place, or feeling rather than a specific game or gaming era, and that’s what makes Pixel Pulps stand out amid the current indie horror boom.
We are Legion
(Image credit: Chorus Worldwide Games)
And what a boom it is, indie or otherwise. Despite drawing most of its inspiration from horror fiction rather than video games, the LCB duo understands how and why horror works in games as developers, novelists, and as fans of such an active genre themselves. Knowing this allows LCB to hone in on the Pixel Pulps' unique selling point as predominantly literary game experiences.
“Horror is the alchemist’s secret, if you will.“LCB Game Studio
“Horror is the alchemist’s secret, if you will.”
Steam is teeming with horror games of all shapes, sizes, and permutations as we dig deeper into 2024, and LCB agrees that this resurgence isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. A thriving scene means plenty of competition, though, and that battle rides on a lot more than nostalgia plays and genre-specific kitsch alone.
“Horror in video games can be a trap,” says LCB, “A genre in which it is easier than others to dump design elements such as tank control systems, camera systems, reductionist explanations of a character’s motivation translated into a pathfinding algorithm, gimmicky level design, and more.” The studio hazards a guess that the supposed ease of making a horror game is both a blessing and a curse, drawing more developers to the genre thanks to “a whole system of consumption and feedback between streamers and the genre” already being in place. This feedback loop is part of how indie horror has carved out such a vibrant space for communities and creators in the first place, after all, but LCB doesn’t want to rest on those laurels.
Check out thebest horror demos of Steam Next Fest, from survival horror to tech noir terrors.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
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Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
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3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3
Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5
Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
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Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3
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4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
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Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”