When Playstige say in the store description that Frightence is a “short, intense horror experience” they are not bullshitting. While intense might be too strong a word, the use of audio and visual effects to create a creepy vibe is certainly well done, whereas short is bang on the money. If anything though, it takes ‘short’ too literally; just as it seems things are about to pick up, it ends. What’s here is enjoyably spooky enough, but even just an extra 30 minutes on top of the roughly 45 we get could have given players a more satisfying conclusion.
We take on the role of a janitor in a condemned building who has to spend a few nights going through and making sure the residents have all left. Obviously, this is no ordinary building and as such, things quickly take a turn for the bizarre. Being such a short experience I won’t go into more than that, but I will say that the there is some simple but effective environmental storytelling to go along with the more obvious beats.
I’ve not played the highly regarded P.T demo, but Playstige clearly have. There are elements in Frightence’s presentation that ape it throughout, with a few similar looking jump scares and even a certain scene that apes P.T’s gameplay loop almost exactly. It’s certainly not as horrific as what I’ve seen from that demo, but it does a good job of making us feel unsettled all the same.
While it lasts then, the gameplay consists of slowly (and I mean slowly – Playstige even acknowledge this with an early achievement) walking across two floors of the buildings, finding which of the rooms we can enter and picking up certain key items to progress the story. Be sure to read the text on items before stashing them away though, as there’s no inventory or indeed any puzzles to solve requiring the items. That word ‘experience’ is key here. It may be creepy and all, but we’re just here to take it all in rather than survive. And then, just as it seems we’re about to get into something more meaty, it’s all over with.
Conclusion
At only a fiver Frightence is worth a look for those who fancy a short thrill ride, but the abrupt ending and slow pace of the game serve to undermine the decent world building and spooks Playstige did manage to squeeze in here.
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This game was reviewed based on Xbox S|X review code, using an Xbox S|X console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.
