Fear The Spotlight review: "A love letter to PS1 survival horror"

For some, stepping into the spotlight is their calling. But for others, having all eyes on you can be a nightmare. That's all too the case in Fear The Spotlight, where an after-school seance gone wrong thrusts teenagers Vivian and Amy quite literally into the educational establishment's sordid past, and a fiery tragedy that took the lives of multiple students. All while being stalked by a creature with a spotlight on its head. And you do not want to catch its eye.

Fear The Spotlight was first released last year on PC, where it caught the interest of lo-fi survival horror fans, but was quickly delisted. Picked up by a mysterious publisher, developer Cozy Game Pals had the opportunity to further polish the project to turn it into the game they'd dreamt of releasing (and bring it to other platforms to boot).

That publisher turned out to be Blumhouse Games, with this being the first of several indie projects backed by the horror movie house's new branch. Fear The Spotlight's new release is certainly refined, and feels more complete thanks to a new storyline that almost doubles its length.

Take one look at Fear The Spotlight, and it's obvious it's a love letter to PS1 survival horror. The low-poly textures are one thing, but the dev has even recreated the way textures warped on original horror. No slavish recreation, this has actually been dialed up to give the world an unnaturally hazy edge beyond how it'd look on the iconic gray box (though you have the option to adjust this yourself if it makes you queasy).

Fantastic lighting effects also feel beyond the capabilities of PS1. Playing as Vivian – Amy having disappeared once things get spooky – you peer through the darkness for shiny clues using a candle or, later, a flashlight.

Very smart use of well-placed objects and corners ensure this darkness really does feel cloying, giving the sense that something might be lurking just out of sight. On occasion, you do actually catch glimpses of things watching, moving away just as you try to work out just what that thing was.

Knee-d to know

Playing on PC, the crouch-button toggle is just a right-click away, which instantly made me nervous about how much I'd have to use it. Beyond having to frequently duck through tight spaces, the crouch comes into play when the scariness of the darkness becomes inverted. When The Spotlight is on the loose, those shadows become your friend, as you're forced to scuttle behind or under desks to avoid the sweeping sickly orange gaze of the creature.

As he walks, he leaves a trail of fire behind him – referencing the fire that burned down the old, now-demolished version of the school in which you've found yourself. That trail of fire crackles and plays with shadows in its own way, and it adds just a smidge of complexity to playing hide-and-seek with the creaking, industrial monster as you avoid its snake-trail, though it's never really enough to frustrate.

Very little about Fear The Spotlight frustrates at all. Which may be a boon for scaredy cats like me in some ways, but a lack of friction can also detract from frights. Unless I missed them, there are no difficulty options at all. Each section of the school is snappy to polish off, never overstaying their welcome, and hallways are breezy to move through. There aren't even that many doors to unlock, many throughout simply requiring you to use one of several tools you obtain early in the game, like a screwdriver.

It also means there are only a handful of locations in which deploying The Spotlight really makes sense. His arrival, always marked by licking flames, consistently stops me in my tracks and causes me to panic, but he's relatively trivial to avoid and only becomes a threat in a handful of rooms. Perhaps the best moment in the game is the one that plays with The Spotlight as a pursuer the most, forcing you to stealthily avoid him within a relatively tight printer room as you juggle floppy discs in order to obtain a laminated sheet for an OHP elsewhere ('90s kids rejoice – this one is for us). 

It's the only time you're really forced to evade him for any length of time. Later on, a version of The Spotlight patrols a few hallways, but is simply an unexplained light source from the ceiling. It adds a bit of extra tension to a few corridors you have to backtrack down, but the mechanical nature of these sweeps is easy to predict, and the lack of embellishment makes it lose the impact of the more stompy and intimidating main lad.

Scare me twice

The second half of the game addresses some of these issues, elevating the experience as a whole. Set in a new area in which most rooms are much more contiguous without loads, there's a less clear delineation between when its own stalker monster will appear and where it can patrol, making me panic a lot more. Instead of a glowing light, this new stalker carries with it the sound of dripping water. But wouldn't you believe it, lots of other bits and bobs in this location are also exceptionally drippy, sometimes requiring you to add further water noises into the mix to progress. It's a rather mean bit of audio design that had me grinning and grimacing in equal measure as I tip-toed around.

The design of this second stalker is less striking than The Spotlight (and is, by design, a much closer reference to another horror property, though I won't spoil it), but it nevertheless provides an interesting counterpoint to what you've become used to. Though, like The Spotlight, it ultimately proves a minor threat. I wouldn't consider myself great at horror games, and I managed zero deaths, only being grabbed by each monster once.

While The Spotlight himself is less of a presence in this second half, one section calls back to the lesser hallway patrols. Mechanically simpler here, thanks to better visual and audio design it takes the concept from dull to freaky, its sinister creaking and whirring reminding me of some of Silent Hill's best moments as you snake your way around it from all directions. This second half also adds in a mobile phone item, which had me cackling after jumping in my seat as moments of quiet were punctuated with an upsettingly loud vibrating sound effect. Scares like this always feel deliciously deliberate and well-judged throughout.

Indeed, it's in this impeccable sense of atmosphere that Fear The Spotlight, ahem, shines. While what you do is so frictionless that the action won't stick with you, the vibe of Fear The Spotlight, pushing through these wobbly corridors in a mild panic, absolutely will. It's just a shame that the story accompanying this vibe is similarly frictionless.

While the dynamic between Vivian and Amy is cute, the first half's focus on uncovering the truth behind the old school's disaster is incredibly predictable, riffing on a few classic tales and ending up much as you'd expect. The second half has more of a focus on the history of our actual lead characters, and while it's better presented through more direct exploration and audio logs, it's also nothing particularly standout.

Considering you can roll credits in less than four hours, Fear The Spotlight is a great way to enjoy some chills across an evening or two. Its well-judged and expertly crafted visuals, sound design, and creatively deployed scares will stick with you. But, becoming quite predictable, and with a lack of friction in play, it's unlikely to be one that'll draw you back in for another go around.

Check out our best horror games list if you're looking for more to make you shiver. Alternatively, our best Silent Hill games list might be worth a look too!