Fear the Spotlight [PC] | REVIEW

Blumhouse is one of most prolific names in the world of horror movies, and now, with the release of Fear the Spotlight, it looks like they’re ready to make their mark in the world of frightening video games too.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Fear the Spotlight sees friends Vivian and Amy breaking into their high school one night to experiment with a Ouija board that had been on display – something which was ALWAYS going to end in disaster, right? It turns out that Amy disappeared when the lights dimmed during the séance, whilst the eerie secrets that their high school was hiding make their presence known as a result of the girls’ hijinks. This doesn’t deter Vivian though, who takes it upon herself to try and find Amy, all whilst an ominous creature with a spotlight for a head stalks her across the hallways.

It makes for a spooky tale that doesn’t have TOO many surprises, but will definitely keep players on the edge of their seat as they deal with every unnerving moment that comes their way. It’s very well paced and offers enough sense of mystery to keep players invested, whilst I genuinely found myself rooting for both Vivian and Amy across their harrowing fight for survival. And the opening and ending? They’re both perfectly executed to hook players in and then give them an equally engrossing pay-off.

At its core, Fear the Spotlight is a puzzle-adventure, with a little bit of stealth sprinkled in for good measure. And believe me, its puzzling is very rewarding, with creative and logical enigmas to face that’ll certainly leave players perplexed as they utilise clues and objects in the environment in order to progress. They offer plenty of interactivity in their design and don’t simply force players to ‘use this item on this object’ as a means to succeed, which makes for more a more immersive experience that felt befitting of the game’s horror vibe. And sure, some of the puzzles could be a little easy to solve, but the process was always satisfying and helped make it easier to feel more engrossed in the game’s world.

“Fear the Spotlight is an engrossing horror escapade that’ll keep players hooked in with its intriguing storytelling, clever puzzles, and atmospheric world.”

You know that little bit of stealth that I mentioned? That comes when dealing with the vicious spotlight-head creature that’s lurking across the school, with players never facing it directly in combat but instead having to stay out of the way of the ominous bright light that it projects across their surroundings. This means hiding behind objects or crawling under desks as a means to avoid its gaze, with a lot of time spent monitoring the creature’s search behaviour and picking the right moment to dash.

It can make for a really tense experience, but if I was being honest, I did find the stealth mechanics a little bit too simple at times. It always felt easy to hide out of view, whilst the lack of reliance on distractions or using the environment to your advantage (outside of hiding) did feel like Fear the Spotlight was missing a trick or two. And if you do get caught? The stakes are pretty low, with the player given the opportunity to heal up and simply try again. It’s not a big problem by any means (and the fact that the spotlight-head creature is bloody creepy ensures they’re always breathtaking moments), but it would have been nice to see the stealth mechanics expanded upon.

Where Fear the Spotlight really excels is with its frightening atmosphere, with this foreboding sense of anxiety felt across the board when playing. There’s always something eerie to see, and whilst the school can feel pretty ordinary at times, there are plenty of things that go bump in the night to keep you on your toes when exploring – especially those spooky figures that ALWAYs seem to be watching you. It’s not necessarily scary in the conventional horror game kind of way (and you shouldn’t go expecting jump scare aplenty when playing), but it is certainly unsettling and brings with it plenty of ghostly occurrences to ensure it’ll stick with you long after playing. It also helps that the PSOne-inspired aesthetic is wonderfully utilised, with the game capturing a tone similar to the likes of Resident Evil and Silent Hill that still manages to prove as effective as ever in 2024.

Check out some screenshots down below:

You’ll see Vivian’s journey through to its conclusion in around three-hours, so Fear the Spotlight is on the shorter side. However, you’ll then be able to play through the game as Amy, giving players a fresh perspective to the story with new areas to explore, additional puzzles to complete, and more sinister scares to deal with. I’ll admit, I was worried that it might just recycle some of the same content all over again, but it’s actually wonderfully executed to make for an additional adventure that complements and, in some ways, improves upon everything that came before it. Don’t skip it, because honestly, you won’t get the full Fear the Spotlight experience if you only see it from Vivian’s perspective.

Developer: Cozy Pal Games
Publisher: Blumhouse Games
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1959390/Fear_the_Spotlight/