The Survival Horror genre is notorious for blood, gore, and mountains of jump-scares. To make the mind-numbing fear even more palatable we are placed firmly in the first person just so we know it’s not a character being chased by some ungodly monstrosity; it’s us. Now the majority of these titles and very playable and, more importantly, pants-wettingly scary but it’s become a bit of a tried and tested formula. This being said, it’s always nice to see a game that’s trying to break tradition, and this is exactly what is happening in The Caretaker.
Releasing today for your Steam-powered devices, The Caretaker is a top-down, survival horror, dungeon crawler. In this new adventure, players will have to try and escape the city of Red Chapel, laid waste by an unknown disaster. If you are to out-maneuver the hideous monstrosities lurking at every turn looking to end your life; you will have to depend on your exploration skills and the ability to manage what you find. If you can use hidden items as obstacles and decipher the game’s interactive puzzles you might just come out alive.
Placing you in modern-day, The Caretaker sees you having to survive the aftermath of a sabotaged Research Power facility which horribly mutates the inhabitants of a small city. Exploring human ignorance, regret, and pride this title unveils its plot through the lives of fallen victims and the encounters of failed experimentation.
Nik Kemsky of Squid Monkey Studios stated, “I’ve always loved the Survival Horror genre, but most games are in third or first person. I wanted to experience the same thrill from a new point of view. I played with the idea of blending it with a top-down style of gameplay and found that the blend was received rather well. The narrative was inspired from exaggerating heavily on my own personal experiences. I really wanted to tell a story that showed the cause and effect of someone’s arrogance and ambition.“
The idea of top-down survival horror is actually quite fascinating. What this does to enhance the scares, or indeed create a new way of being afraid will soon be seen. If you’re looking to get your fright on with something a tad different, you can find The Caretaker over on Steam now.
