It’s the most wonderful time of the year for Steam users, as the Steam Next Fest is well underway, bringing plenty of great-looking indie games front and center. The annual event isn’t exclusive to indies, but it’s a great way to check out compelling smaller-scale projects via demos and developer events. Steam remains one of the best places to find new games, and one particular title that has stood out to me during the fest is first-person survival horror Blighten.
What immediately stood out to me when first seeing the trailer for Blighten was that it had some serious Half-Life and classic Doom vibes. Games like Half-Life and Doom have built special reputations and identities over the years, and the prospect of getting a taste of both in one experience immediately piqued my interest. Blighten isn’t a mere copycat, though. The indie project leans heavily into survival horror, giving it a special edge and unsettling atmosphere that is beautifully brought to life through its retro-inspired graphics.
Blighten Takes Half-Life and Doom’s Energy and Blends It With Resident Evil’s Survival Gameplay
Half-Life and Doom are some of the greatest FPS games of all time, so it only makes sense for the two to continue to inspire. Valve completely transformed the FPS genre with Half-Life, and Doom brought intense shooting mechanics and dynamic level design into the spotlight. Blighten takes both games’ approach to the FPS genre and drenches it in a grimy, bleak atmosphere that brings its survival-focused world to life.
In Blighten, players take on the role of a survivor who is trapped inside a mysterious facility. The building has become overrun by creatures infected by a mysterious ailment known as the “Blight.” The corridors and environments mixed with first-person gunplay make the Half-Life and Doom comparisons inescapable, but that definitely isn’t a bad thing. When it comes to the game’s atmosphere, though, it’s a wonderfully spine-chilling energy that feels like John Carpenter’s The Thing was put in a blender with the Resident Evil games.
Blighten Gameplay Features Overview
- First-person
- Hand-drawn animations
- Retro-inspired 3D design
- A dark narrative that hides a deeper mystery
- Limited ammo and resources
- Unique enemies that make encounters unpredictable
It’s hard to make a new survival game stand out since it’s such a popular genre within the indie space. The new indie game Tenebris Somnia is a great example of how developers are using retro formulas in a fresh and effective way, especially within the horror genre. Blighten takes a very different approach with its retro influence, but the two are proof that looking to the past for inspiration can actually be a more powerful way to build an atmosphere that makes a player’s heart race.
Games Like Blighten Prove That Atmosphere Is the Heart of What Makes Something Scary, Not Graphics
Check Out Blighten’s Demo on Steam
A horror game with mind-blowing, realistic graphics can still fall short on the scares, and a retro take on horror can also fail at making players feel the dread that is necessary to make a good horror game. However, as some popular horror franchises become more realistic over time, it’s easy to forget that simple, pixelated art direction can tell a story that is just as terrifying. For example, hyperrealistic body horror game ILL teases a deeply grotesque experience that already has my stomach churning from the trailer alone. I’m crossing my fingers that the game lives up to the hype, but if the atmosphere falls flat, then the intensely lifelike gore probably won’t be as effective.
Blighten is being developed by a solo developer working under the name Blight Software.
Some of the Best Indie Horror Games of the Past Few Years Have Featured Retro Graphics
- Crow Country
- Mouthwashing
- Iron Lung
- Look Outside
- Alisa
- Tenebris Somnia
- Signalis
- Hollowbody
A game can be as realistic as it wants to be, but if the atmosphere isn’t right, then the entire thing falls apart. I want to be clear that I’m not saying that realistic horror games are inferior. Games like Resident Evil Requiem, the Outlast series, Visage, and the now-legendary P.T. demo are clear examples of how this approach to graphics is just as effective at bringing on some serious scares. However, Blighten and its fellow retro-inspired peers are important, because these titles debunk the belief that gaming has to constantly be in search of realism.
Games with realistic graphics are eventually going to hit a ceiling, so it’s important that games like Blighten continue to show audiences that visuals are actually secondary when it comes to the qualities that make a game work well. This goes far beyond the horror genre, too. Gameplay and atmosphere are the true heart; realistic visuals are just a nice addition to everything else. Blighten‘s retro graphics add a sense of uneasiness that just gets under the skin in a way that hyperrealism doesn’t always achieve. Not every horror game benefits from simplistic, retro art direction, but I’m very glad that Blighten‘s developer opted for this path.
