Retro 2D horror is more terrifying than ever with Tenebris Somnia
Tenebris Somnia jumps us right into it. Within a couple of minutes of booting up this throwback we see blood, violence, and demonic monsters, and that’s just when we walk around an empty apartment. It lets us know, right away, that we’re going into the darkness and we need to be ready for the absurdity of what we’re going to come across..
I love the aesthetic in 2D, capturing that classic Lucasarts and Sierra Online style, layering single-color pixel furniture into a faux 3D space. The PC dioramas of the Eighties were constrained by their technology, but they used these boxes, playing within them, to more than made up for it with smart design and art. Tenebris Somnia knows fair well that it can use all of today’s technology to create horror, but that would almost be TOO easy.
No, instead the developers have opted to get back into that box, that confined space, that video game coffin, to make sure that they trap us in there with them. Developers Andrés Borghi and Tobías Rusjan, alongside Saibot Studios and New Blood Interactive, know that the box is just as important as what comes out of it.
Limiting what we can do, what we can interact with, makes for a very focused experience, getting us to live through a story almost exactly how the developers want us to. It’s linear, yes, but it also gives us just enough freedom to think we’re solving things on our own. A heretic book sitting on a kitchen table tells us how to melt evil substances, but it’s up to us to figure out how ancient recipes translate into modern settings. That’s up to us. That makes us feel somewhat smart. There are plenty of puzzles in the game, too, that are expertly nostalgic, like running away from floating eyeballs through a maze of chairs, or trying to stay alive in a battle with an apparition while putting out candles to keep the darkness on our side.
Using a simple 2D adventure (point and click through the menus baby) interface we walk around, tap on things, examine things, pick up things, and can use our equally simple sub menu to combine and organize all of those things. That simple interface is essential to putting the excessively retro-dark plot front and center, and alongside some exquisite FMV we’re treated to some really delightful sequences (in a goofy, evil way). The smooth, terrific fidelity of the FMV, and how it gives just the slightest soft, almost porcelain-like glow to everything makes it feel dreamlike, nightmare-like. The story, about a girl who needs to find the whereabouts of her missing ex lover, doesn’t try to work us in slowly; it wants us to know that we’re going into some dark territory, using classic Eighties horror tropes to keep our heart beating faster and faster. Great voice acting, and an equally great, thumping soundtrack, makes the 7 or 8 hours feel like they never let up.
There’s a ton of tension, even in the quiet, still, pixelated rooms.
Hey, I love this game. Tenebris Somnia beckons me to turn down the lights, put on a couple candles, maybe some incense, and spend a few hours in front of my laptop screen late into the night.
4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Great
This review is based on a Steam copy of the game sent to the Editor by the Publisher/PR. Read about how we do our reviews here.
