Photography is a hobby many people adore; some hobbyists take pictures of the scenery, some prefer shots of people, and us horror gamers? We like ghosts. Fatal Frame is one of the most popular franchises we cover on this website, but unfortunately for the fans, the games rarely leave Japan. Shutter is therefore a welcome title.
Developed by a studio known as “Cosmic Logic”, Shutter has you control a small surveillance robot with a camera attached to it that ends up encountering more than just ordinary burglars. The demo I played saw me investigate a house that, according to neighbors, has recently being plagued by vandalists that made a lot of noise and left the place in quite a messy state. Of course, the reality was a lot more supernatural.
I was somewhat worried that not having an actual character experience the horror would make the game a lot less scary, but Shutter managed to prove me wrong there, as the game had me consistently tense and even made clever use of the fixed camera angles to enhance the atmosphere. The demo did leave me curious as to how linear the game is, since the house I explored was pretty small and always directed me straight to the next objective (dictated by a partner who was quite entertaining) with very little room to explore. Still, I had an exciting time and the gameplay was fun.
The game is currently running a Greenlight campaign to secure its way unto Steam and if my words aren’t enough, then you can try the demo yourself. The game is also available on itch.io at a discounted price of $2.99.
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