I don't think there is a single horror game fan who hasn't heard of the famous P.T. or Playable Teaser from 2014. That eerie adventure where the player moves through a loop of corridors was like a short demo for Kojima's upcoming Silent Hills, announced as a Playstation exclusive. The game was canceled and removed from the PS Store not long after, and people were selling PS4 consoles with the game for big bucks as it became a museum piece. It has also served as inspiration for many horror games with the theme of investigating anomalies. The recently released The Cabin Factory is one such game. This tense first-person horror adventure was created under the auspices of a small, unknown to most players, indie studio with an interesting name - International Cat Studios.
The story revolves around a newly hired inspector who works in a horror attraction cabin factory. Her task is to find out which cabins are haunted and which are not. The action takes place in a large hall where cabins come and go on a conveyor belt. In front of the hut there is a device with buttons "clear" and "danger", and eight lights that turn on in sequence if the right buttons are pressed. The player enters the hut, goes around the ground floor, first floor and sometimes the basement, explores every corner and if anything moves in the house, runs outside and presses the button "danger". If there are no anomalies and even if some characters or objects in the hut have changed places, actions or facial expressions compared to the previous one, this indicates the button "clear". In that case, that cabin is not haunted, it's just plain creepy. Anomalies are divided into two types: deadly ones and purely visual ones. There are about forty of them in total, and among them there are a smaller number of those where you might not get out alive. To progress through the game, you need to recognize what is happening in the cabin and make the right choice. If you press the wrong button, all the lights go out and you go back to the beginning. Also, if you don't manage to reach the device alive, the game is over. finished and you are starting from scratch.
Each anomaly is unique and terrifying in its own way. I will recall some of the most interesting ones. One is when the woman from the picture on the wall, after touring the house, is no longer in it, but stands in front of the frame and looks at you. Then the child's hand coming out from under the bed, the reflection of the child in the TV that turns to you and gives a creepy laugh, the haunted maze that appears in the middle of the room, etc. To complete the game, you need to explore and survive all the anomalies. Sometimes it will not be an easy task, especially if you do not know what awaits you and you panic.
The sound in the game accompanies the terrible atmosphere. Thus, your character is followed by silence through the hut, so that sudden children's cries, banging or clattering of dishes more strongly cause the fear and loss of the player. Visually, the game looks very good. Although the graphics and visual impressions are not at the level of well-known hit games, the effort invested in certain details is visible and that makes this game good and interesting.
The only complaint about this game would be its short duration. To get to the end and turn on all the lights, if you know what to do, you will solve the game in less than half an hour. If you still can't figure it out or want to complete all the anomalies, several hours of fun is guaranteed. A game of this type, as a smaller project, is not even expected to last too long. Another positive thing about this game is the very low price on digital platforms which makes this game affordable for everyone's wallet. Therefore, I recommend it to every horror fan or those who want to become one, because the experience is more than exciting.
A copy of the game was provided by publisher International Cat Studios for review purposes
