Survival horror clatters into soccer royalty as "Silent Hill mixed with FIFA 98" offers up a Steam Next Fest demo that I could never have imagined would work this well

I'm in control of someone that looks a lot like Hannibal Lecter. I'm on a soccer field with a pentagram in the middle. A statue fountain is urinating blood. There's a very large monster with a crucifix on his head. I can hear a demonic voice telling me to "go fuck" myself. I just kicked a decapitated head into the net. I'm not in a melatonin-induced fever dream, although I'm bound to have one after this. I'm playing a Steam Next Fest demo I downloaded at work, and I'm thinking out loud, "what the hell is going on?"

The game's called FEAR FA 98, a play on FIFA 98, and it's described by developer Celery Emblem as "Silent Hill mixed with FIFA 98." Given the whole demonic theme, I'd say it's more like Evil Dead meets FIFA 98, but there is lots of rain and fog, so I'll let that little discrepancy slide.

FEAR FA 98 is the weirdest game I've ever played without a shadow of a doubt, and I've played Nothing, the game where you do nothing. And yet, it's kinda not also. At its core, it's really just a serviceable PS1-styled soccer game, and mechanically speaking, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it, at least judging from my short time with the demo.

You choose a character; the demo only lets you choose a hooded weirdo or Hannibal, but I can see what looks like a nurse and a variation of Pinhead from Hellraiser. Each monster has their own exclusive weapon and attacks, with Hannibal branding what appears to be a pickaxe for some reason, and the hooded guy uses a torch.

And then you fight for control of the soccer ball, navigate obstacles while you dribble toward your opponents' net, and try to kick the ball into the net. Except instead of a soccer ball it's a severed head and instead of other people getting in your way it's demons and stuff. Basically, aside from everything about it, it's just a normal soccer game, and a pretty fun one at that! I especially like little conveniences like the trail of blood coming from the head that distinguishes it from the rest of the field to make it easier to see.

It's worth noting that the version of the demo I played had some really weird AI-generated music during the matches, but Celery Emblem posted a recent Steam update saying the AI music had been removed due to negative feedback.

There's a lengthy disclaimer at the beginning of the demo that assures there's a lot more content that'll be available in the full game that isn't in the demo, including new "mechanics, attacks, power-ups, and other features." Still, I had a macabre, surreal, but ultimately good time with what little is there. You're probably not going to spend all night playing FEAR FA 98, and you might only play it once just for the novelty, but for the low, low price of nothing it's worth a download just to prove to yourself that this article isn't just a really elaborate troll job.

I'm not saying this open-world pirate RPG is the Sid Meier's Pirates successor I've wanted for 21 years, but based on its bangin' Steam Next Fest demo, it's not not that.