VandrahoGames Indie Review

 There is nothing more unnerving than receiving a phone call with a distant and muffled voice on the other end! Exanimum: Silent Call is a atmospheric horror walking sim that delves deep with story rich lore and visuals drenched in blood and gore. ESC was developed by Perspektik , released on March 11 2024 and currently retails for $6.99. This game has a run time of about 2hours (give or take - due to time played I will be using my 5star rating system) Capturing ambiance and atmosphere are critical to immersion in any game situation. ESC has done that very well especially in respect to the sounds found outside & inside the home. The sounds that I found were the best were inside the hospital, the eerie sense of quiet while also hearing distant sounds, leaving us unsure of their origin. The visual on the other hand are consistent with modern atmospheric hotpot Games, life like, realistic and down right bloody. There was a heavy amount of detail in all of the interior scenes, howe...

A short disclaimer as I want to try something new - for games that trend under the 2 hours mark I am changing my rating system. For these shorter horror games I will be rating the out of 5 stars rather than 10. This does not diminish the quality of the game nor does it diminish it at all in my eyes. I merely am doing this as its easier for me to rate a game under 2 hours in length with a 5 star scale Going to the circus is usually a fun experience for the whole family -- But in the case of Circus of Tim Tim it leaves the player with a racing heart beat and an awkward giggle. This stealth mascot survival horror game was developed by Mascot Bros Studio it currently retails for $8.99 on steam and was released on March 22, 2024. This review may be shorter than others, since my game play clocked in at about 1 hr 30 minutes. Which for an indie horror game version of hide and seek was well paced and a bunch of fun.  The visuals were super cute, colors and kitschy. I liked the fact that th...

When I think of emotions - I wonder where exactly they come from, from a scientific standpoint they come from the part of our brain called the amygdala. With that point that brings us to our game of this week - AMYGDALA by Antonino Truisi it was released on March 15th 2024 and is currently retails for $9.99 and has around 2-3 hours of playtime.  Amygdala is an atmosphere rich, realistic horror experience that takes us to uncharted realms. The visuals of this game are by far the most breathtaking I have seen in a horror game. The atmosphere created by this developer was not one of blood curdling horror, but allowed us as the player to really appreciate the beauty that lies in horror and even the perfection in it. The levels we move through are some of the most detailed I have experienced. Stunning setting aside, we need to talk about the creatures - They are some of the most unique character designs i have seen. They were ultra realistic, the blood oozing from them glistened and the...

When I think of a slaughter house, I think of a bloody, virile mess of bones, flesh and muscle and I do have to say Matadouro Grindhouse captures this bloody scene well. Made by Pulp Games and was released on January 18,2024 and retails for $7.99 and at about 3-4 hours of gameplay its well worth the price.  The sound design was well done although quite ominous,  I could not focus too much on it as I was enraptured with the PSX/retro style graphics - the gore factor was up "over 9000" with buckets of human goo peppered with hands, eyeballs and limbs of all sorts, which as a horror gamer I appreciate a developer not being afraid of gore. Because horror gamers LOVE gore.  The gameplay itself was smooth for the most part, the controls were easy to master and I only encountered 1 bug. Which I was lucky enough to have the dev in chat when playing, who kindly enough helped me through it. The puzzles themselves were quite challenging- and the description of "does not hold your h...

Have you ever wanted to work at a local video store (complete with spicy section) while out running a bloodthirsty serial killer? The Rewind or Die is the game for you! This game was launched in April 2023 and is currently available for $11.99 is developed by comp3-interactive and published by Torture star video. It took me about 4 + hours to complete.  Rewind or Die features PSX retro style graphics, full voice acting and a killer soundtrack that would make the metal gods gleeful. The style of the graphics took me back to a better time, when I only had to focus on beating a game and not the existential dread of being an adult and paying bills. Visually it was fantastic and really captured the late 90s aesthetic, color themes and overall tone, most of the time I prefer a more basic graphic style and I love more of the focus on the story. The sound design was fantastic especially when we were in the video store, or the dark dingy tunnels, the developer really captured the ambient so...

Quick update friends!  Mentally i am not in the best of places, but i need yall to know that ill be okay.....let me explain.... I've been a bit off lately don't worry I am OK. I had some things happen to me while at work, I can't talk about it yet, but again rest assured I am OK. My CFS has been particularly bad as of late and the pain i deal woth on a day to day basis (without any pain managament) is insaine. Some.days the fact I'm able to function is a miracle.   Reviews will be jumping back in next week with "Rewind or Die". I will also be uploading a no commentary playthrough part 9 of WTC: Loves Labours Lost VN as well as working on a secret project for you all.  Every Thursday (when I close or am off) we will be doing Tomb Raider Thursdays toll I work my way through the Remastered series. It was such an important part of life and I have Loved Lara since I was 10 years old. Indie games will occupy the other stream for the week - I have some demos to get t...

  HorrorStory: Hallowseed is an atmospheric first person psychological horror walking sim with deeply rooted lore. It was developed by Jeff Winner, published by Fulqrum Publishing the game retails for $19.99 as of the release of this review and was published in October 2021. I did purchase the game during a steam sale. It took me about 4hrs and 30 min to complete with both endings.  When I started to playing HSH, I was blown away by how beautiful the atmosphere was, it was truly breathtaking. From the texture of the trees in the forests, to the dark, dirty and dilapidate visuals of the house set the dev did a fantastic job, I have absolutely NO issues with the atmosphere that was set for me. Now the sound design, was top notch. I had in ear buds, so all of the sound went directly into my ears and oh my lord, was it haunting. The sounds that got me the most, is when the female demon was singing i felt uncomfortable and disturbed and I loved every second of it. The other thing I...