Indie horror games are not usually my thing mostly because they suck. They usually follow the same cliches, the same premise, the same settings, the same eight million jumpscares, and the same doofy looking monster. There are exceptions of course but even with the better ones do I rarely feel all that scared. They're just too predictable. So for this indie horror game, I went with an unusual developer.
I'm not sure why, but I've always heard of Kitty Horrorshow without actually playing any of her games. Again, I have no idea why. Maybe she was brought up in articles or videos discussing other horror games and I just remembered the name for some reason? I dunno. Looking at other reviews and videos of her other games make me think....okay, do you remember a game called LSD Dream Emulator for the Playstation? Of course you don't really remember it since nobody played it but you've probably heard of it. Her style is almost like she took LSD Dream Emulator and decided to make it purposefully scary and not accidentally scary like the original game. LSD Dream Emulator is a shit game though and Anatomy, which isn't really like that game but maybe some influence here and there, is great.
I think that plum has a lazy eye.
Yeah I know that title is bleh. I'm pretty sure there are 2,000 pieces of media titled "Anatomy" without even including actual anatomy textbooks. Most are horror and/or thriller stories, many are zombie and/or evil doctor related, and a handful are porn....don't ask why I know that (or do I don't care). This Anatomy is about a house. A very, very, dark house that the player goes into for some reason and collects tapes in which a narrator gives a philosophical treatise on what is, a house.
For a game built on the Unity engine, it is fantastic. The atmosphere is superb even if it might be a little too dark at times (mainly the basement but I think that may have been on purpose?). Anatomy is a horror game that uses more psychological horror and that never ending sense of unease. If I could describe this game in one word it's "dread". You walk through a very dark house seeing through a VHS tape (you get the tracking lines and everything) with almost no sound. You collect tapes to play in a old school tape player in the kitchen while constantly feeling like something is coming after you, or something is wrong with this house, or ghosts or something. It's set up SO WELL that you are not sure why you are afraid....but you are, and that deep dread sinks in. This game is intriguing and a game I'm afraid to ever play again. Its horror is that good.
Everything other indie horror games get wrong are not here. The cliches are mostly absent but if they are used, they are used ONCE and only after you've had some time to get a feel for the house. The premise and setting is similar to other games, a haunted house, but this has a major twist on that idea. There are almost no jumpscares* and no monster whatsoever. There is nothing chasing you. There is nothing to run from. You are dead the moment you start this game, maybe.
*There are only two "jumpscares" but neither are traditional. One is a game breaking glitch, the other is a pre-ending. They are used rarely and thus far, far, FAR more effective than the run of the mill indie horror games that jumpscare too often and get predictable.
This is a game you absolutely have to play repeatedly. 3 times just to get one real ending, possibly several more for the "true" ending. I'm not sure but I think they are random or dependent...on....some....thing I can't find out. I even read a goddamn NeoGAF thread and nobody there seems to know what causes what ending. There is a read me file that says one ending is the "true" ending so ehhhhhhh???
When you open the game a 2nd time things change. The horror intensifies and other Kitty Horrorshow tropes (?) start happening. The game uses glitches to add to the unease. The second playthrough alters enough that you start to think the house is infectious, actually altering the code of the game. It's fucking bizarre and also one of the best jumpscares I've seen in a long time at the end. You know you've finished an act when the game just hard quits. It just crashes.*
*This is a small spoiler but right before the crash, the door to the basement opens on its own and I nearly shit myself. Unlike every other indie horror game that uses opening/closing doors 15 fucking times, this is the only time it happens in Anatomy and is far more effective. It's really the only time anything moves on its own.
The third time you play it is out of this world. The deep dread is realized in this final act. You start out on the top floor in one of the bedrooms instead of the entryway. The glitches are out of control. Objects in the house will have doubles overlapping or be placed where physics says no. And even though I knew what the house WAS after the first playthrough....this act was still terrifying. The ending in the basement got me good too.
It's amazing that somebody can make a Unity Engine game feel this wrong (in a good way). The game is very, very, very quiet....which makes every stupid little sound dreadful. They aren't bombastic in a jumpscare way, but you hear a slight...thing in the distance and it's THE WORST. You can check. Nothing is there. Yet there is a primordial instinct that good horror uses and Anatomy uses it so well. There was a sound where there shouldn't be. Be afraid.
I can't stress enough how great this game is and a true horror classic that almost nobody has played. It is certainly more accessible than a normal Kitty Horrorshow game (I don't want to dig through folders to find your game) but that new age meta horror is all the rage right now and this one hit. It hit hard. It's available for 3 bucks on Itch.io if you wanna give it a go. Almost all of her other games are free.
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I recorded video of my play through but it's of poor quality and there is no way I can edit it into something decent before the spooky month is over. Here is a good spot in the game about the door and the hard crash. Or, you can watch the whole video for the full effect.
For a game built on the Unity engine, it is fantastic. The atmosphere is superb even if it might be a little too dark at times (mainly the basement but I think that may have been on purpose?). Anatomy is a horror game that uses more psychological horror and that never ending sense of unease. If I could describe this game in one word it's "dread". You walk through a very dark house seeing through a VHS tape (you get the tracking lines and everything) with almost no sound. You collect tapes to play in a old school tape player in the kitchen while constantly feeling like something is coming after you, or something is wrong with this house, or ghosts or something. It's set up SO WELL that you are not sure why you are afraid....but you are, and that deep dread sinks in. This game is intriguing and a game I'm afraid to ever play again. Its horror is that good.
You also can't see shit.
Everything other indie horror games get wrong are not here. The cliches are mostly absent but if they are used, they are used ONCE and only after you've had some time to get a feel for the house. The premise and setting is similar to other games, a haunted house, but this has a major twist on that idea. There are almost no jumpscares* and no monster whatsoever. There is nothing chasing you. There is nothing to run from. You are dead the moment you start this game, maybe.
*There are only two "jumpscares" but neither are traditional. One is a game breaking glitch, the other is a pre-ending. They are used rarely and thus far, far, FAR more effective than the run of the mill indie horror games that jumpscare too often and get predictable.
This is a game you absolutely have to play repeatedly. 3 times just to get one real ending, possibly several more for the "true" ending. I'm not sure but I think they are random or dependent...on....some....thing I can't find out. I even read a goddamn NeoGAF thread and nobody there seems to know what causes what ending. There is a read me file that says one ending is the "true" ending so ehhhhhhh???
When you open the game a 2nd time things change. The horror intensifies and other Kitty Horrorshow tropes (?) start happening. The game uses glitches to add to the unease. The second playthrough alters enough that you start to think the house is infectious, actually altering the code of the game. It's fucking bizarre and also one of the best jumpscares I've seen in a long time at the end. You know you've finished an act when the game just hard quits. It just crashes.*
*This is a small spoiler but right before the crash, the door to the basement opens on its own and I nearly shit myself. Unlike every other indie horror game that uses opening/closing doors 15 fucking times, this is the only time it happens in Anatomy and is far more effective. It's really the only time anything moves on its own.
....I'm sorry?
The third time you play it is out of this world. The deep dread is realized in this final act. You start out on the top floor in one of the bedrooms instead of the entryway. The glitches are out of control. Objects in the house will have doubles overlapping or be placed where physics says no. And even though I knew what the house WAS after the first playthrough....this act was still terrifying. The ending in the basement got me good too.
It's amazing that somebody can make a Unity Engine game feel this wrong (in a good way). The game is very, very, very quiet....which makes every stupid little sound dreadful. They aren't bombastic in a jumpscare way, but you hear a slight...thing in the distance and it's THE WORST. You can check. Nothing is there. Yet there is a primordial instinct that good horror uses and Anatomy uses it so well. There was a sound where there shouldn't be. Be afraid.
I can't stress enough how great this game is and a true horror classic that almost nobody has played. It is certainly more accessible than a normal Kitty Horrorshow game (I don't want to dig through folders to find your game) but that new age meta horror is all the rage right now and this one hit. It hit hard. It's available for 3 bucks on Itch.io if you wanna give it a go. Almost all of her other games are free.
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I recorded video of my play through but it's of poor quality and there is no way I can edit it into something decent before the spooky month is over. Here is a good spot in the game about the door and the hard crash. Or, you can watch the whole video for the full effect.
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