One of the best elements of a horror game is a well-developed sense of mystery, at least in my opinion. It’s one thing to create a world with frightening monsters or terrifying concepts, but it’s another thing to draw out one’s curiosity and desire to comprehend the incomprehensible. Bizarre situations, otherworldly beings, liminal spaces and other similarly baffling concepts can create fantastically scary games.
Psychroma is one such example of a game that left me with a handful of questions and a terrifying world.
The main draw of Psychroma is its oppressive atmosphere of mystery and intrigue. Almost nothing in the storyline is directly spelled out, and most answers one will receive to the game’s constantly appearing questions come in the form of confusing moments and situations. It frequently drives one to keep playing to figure out what exactly is going on.
The confusion intermingles with the plot to bolster this tense atmosphere. The game will often pluck the player from what they were doing solely to slap them into a brand-new situation that leaves them just as baffled as the main character is at that moment. Everything is lost in a metaphorical haze throughout one’s playthrough.
The game triples down on its atmosphere with most of its scares. While there is a jumpscare-like moment or two throughout the experience, almost every fright leaves a strong impact. Even the scares that rely more on suddenness and shock still stick the landing, as the game often leaves one confused and disoriented afterward.
The ways the gameplay weaves together with the interpersonal struggles of the cast and the plot enhance the atmosphere even further. I especially thought the juxtaposition between characters’ perspectives and thoughts on their gender and the device that allows people to experience other people’s memories was a creative way to approach the topic.
This game unfortunately also suffers from a few unpolished elements. I noticed the main character’s dialogue portrait was still up when I received one item, and you can accidentally spawn on top of a fire escape railing during one notable section. Granted, these are minor errors that seldom detract from the story or gameplay, but they’re noticeable enough that they could draw some players out of their immersion.
However, these rough elements also add to the aura of uncanniness throughout every inch of Psychroma. From the game’s harsh color palette to the abrasive soundtrack and downright unsettling imagery, the game delivers no shortage of unease and uncanniness. I would argue that it gets close—but not quite on—the same level of atmospheres seen from classic horror titles like Silent Hill.
I do wish Psychroma had just a little more content to offer. Aside from a handful of optional scenes and logs full of lore, the roughly two-hour main story is all the game has. I got every achievement on my first playthrough, I don’t feel like I had to dig too hard into the game’s secrets to do so, and I don’t think I missed anything.
Despite this, I want to replay the game, not only because of how excellently it conveys its plot, but because of how it ends. The story gradually builds feelings of dread, tension, and mystery, reaching exciting heights only to end with a whimper instead of a bang. Instead of leaving me dissatisfied, this caused the tale’s events to linger in my mind and pushed me to replay the game solely to find the information I needed to derive answers. All in all, I give Psychroma an 8/10 and highly recommend it for horror aficionados looking for something with an interesting new flavor!
