GamesHorrorSometimes unashamedly riffing on the biggest genre hits works – just ask Nightghast, a creepy budget horror game in the vein of P.T., Resident Evil and Silent HillWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesHorrorSometimes unashamedly riffing on the biggest genre hits works – just ask Nightghast, a creepy budget horror game in the vein of P.T., Resident Evil and Silent HillWhen 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: Playstige Interactive)
To be fair to Nightghast, I’d been exploring the darkest pockets of its abandoned country house setting for a full 20 minutes before encountering its first shameless jump scare. It’s also worth noting up front that despite taking my time with Playstige Interactive’s first-person exploratory horror game – launched last week onPS5, PS4 and Nintendo Switch – I reached the end credits in less than an hour. The game’s modest length is reflected in its £2.49 / $2.99 price tag, which, admittedly, was enough to inspire me to buy.
And I’m glad I did. Nightghast wears its inspirations firmly on its cobweb-covered sleeve, while also feeling like a lesson in genre successes. Yes, Nightghast borrows heavily from some of the horror sphere’s biggest hitters, but it also does so in a tightly-contained way that walks the line between influence and imitation with precision.
Tip-toeing on the shoulders of giants
(Image credit: Playstige Interactive)
“However, I’m not a psychologist, so I’m not concerned about her mental state. This case is perfect for me as it holds many paranormal clues. I must search her house to determine whether it is genuinely haunted or not.”
Movement in Nightghast is a little stilted as you stumble around the country house’s dimly-lit hallways and darkest recesses, and there are scores of items that can be examined for no reason beyond satisfying curiosity. But where the game shines is in its OG Alone in the Darks-style memos, newspaper snippets and police reports that serve to fill in some of the blanks around the hows and whys of Mildred Bartgis' story – and likewise why you’re so invested in her unsettling tale.
Indie Spotlight(Image credit: Future Friends Games)I built the most peaceful tiny homes in a cozy building sim that prioritizes creativity, and now I want to move in
Indie Spotlight
(Image credit: Future Friends Games)I built the most peaceful tiny homes in a cozy building sim that prioritizes creativity, and now I want to move in
(Image credit: Future Friends Games)
I built the most peaceful tiny homes in a cozy building sim that prioritizes creativity, and now I want to move in
Throughout its short run time, I made some off-the-cuff presumptions as to where the story was ultimately heading, most of which I got wrong. This is testament to the efficiency of which Nightghast weaves its narrative, rarely offering more than required while leaving plenty of room for speculation and dead-end guesswork. Again, given how compact Nightghast’s story is, it’s difficult to share more here without spoiling its main beats, but the fact that this game flies so closely to so many other horror games and still leaves scope for misinterpretation speaks volumes for its execution.
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I once argued that horror games are best served on handheld consoles (more specifically,I pined for Dying Light to scare me on the toilet), and I reckon experimental, narrative-led indie ventures like Nigthghast fit that rhetoric perfectly. Having watched a handful of PS5 let’s plays onYouTube, Nightghast definitely looks a little sharper onSony’s flagship hardware, but for me there really is something to be said about playing games of this nature in a dark room, with your headphones on and your nose just a few centimetres away from the screen; soaking up every horror trope and leaning into every single cheap jump scare.
Check out what else we’ve been enjoying in ourIndie Spotlightseries, or see out what’s on the horizon with our roundup ofupcoming indie games.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
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2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
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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”
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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”
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5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2
Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3
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4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
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5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”