At a casual glance, horror incorporates a number of huge and influential titles that have left an imprint on the genre and are still inspiring other titles to this day. The likes ofResident EvilandSilent Hillhelped shape horror gaming, with the latter still reaching millions in sales to this day. However, under that AAA surface, there is a wealth of indie horror titles that have been scaring the pants off players for years, and a new psychological entry calledStray Soulshas just had an alpha demo released.
Developed by Jukai Studios,Stray Soulsis a third-person horror title that follows the story of teenager Daniel, with moments in which perspectives switch between characters. With its lean towards psychological storytelling, puzzle-based mechanics, and elements of combat, it seems to take cues from some of the classic horror games similar toPost TraumaorWronged Uswhich take inspiration from the likes ofSilent Hill. It should be noted that the demo for this game represents early alpha development, so there is still a lot of work being done to the finished product.
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There is currently no release date as of yet, but fans interested can download the demo now from the game’s Steam page. There is, however, ten-minutes of gameplay footage, which was uploaded a few days ago. The video introduces protagonist Daniel on his birthday, investigating an abandoned area located in the heart of a dilapidated forest. There are story elements, combat against creepy looking monsters, and even the oddjump scare which is a staple of horror gaming. In general, it looks like it will be an interesting entry in the genre, especially in the indie scene, and especially more so for those who like modern horror that takes inspiration from the classics.
As well as the above,Stray Souls, according to the official Steam page, is ahorror game that has elements inspired by real life events. One example of this is the use of a Ouija board, which was implemented into the game with help from people who say they actually have been able to communicate with spirits using one.
The last few years have seen a rise in some well-received releases, with somegreat horror games being made in the last console generation, such asAlien Isolation,The Evil Within, andOutlast 2. What Jakai Studios is working on has the potential to sit up there with some fantastic entries in the genre, as fans continue to experience a golden era of horror gaming.
