REVIEW : Frightence (XBOX Series X)
Frighthence is a brief but terrifying first-person horror game. You’re a janitor at the fabled Apartment #17, which has spawned a slew of scary tales and chilling urban legends… The apartment recently received an eviction notice, and you must inspect each resident’s flat tonight to ensure that they have all left.
You’ll soon realise that things in this awful apartment are not as they appear. Inside, it appears to be very bad, but what you’ll find in some of the units is far worse.
Frightence is a walking simulator that defies the indie horror game trend by prioritising atmosphere and the occasional jump fright over the typical ‘run and hide’ concept. With the exception of one brief instant, the janitor moves at a glacial pace. The controls are simple: move about, look around, zoom in, and interact with various objects. Everything is in place for you to enjoy the game’s environment.
Which is easily Frightence’s best feature. It generates a dreadful and suffocating environment that makes you afraid to enter an apartment. Who knows what you’ll come across? The heart of the storey comes from documents found in the residents’ apartments that provide background information on who resided there. There isn’t much else to do in the game, so it’s a nice addition.
Although the mechanic of walking to each apartment door and trying to enter it may appear tedious, the game does provide suggestions if you know where to search. Are you unsure which flat is now available following the most recent horror-filled event? Take note of the clock in the foyer on one of the floors.
As previously noted, Frightence’s scares come from the atmosphere, but it’s not opposed to a jump scare or two. Some are quite effective (flesh), while others aren’t (doll’s face), but none are startling. Frightence is an effective horror game thanks to graphics that make the building appear to be on its last legs, music that is really scary, and sound effects that add a lot of creep factor.
At least until the game’s final portion, when things start to get a little strange and the game abruptly stops with a ‘to be continued’ warning. When you only get 30 minutes of gameplay out of it, that feels like a copout.
