FMV horror game Tenebris Somnia is a nightmare come true
There have been a lot of great horror games released lately, between big titles like the Silent Hill 2 remake, the indie survival horror game Hollow bodyand horror-themed DLC Diablo 4: Vessel of Hate. One title that survival horror game fans should keep an eye out for among all these big releases is Tenebris Somniaan upcoming survival horror adventure game that has a new demo on PC this week as part of this year’s Steam Next Fest. Here’s the story: It’s a retro-inspired horror game with Famicom-style graphics interspersed with chilling live-action cutscenes, and the combined result is as new and entertaining as it is shocking and terrifying.
Developed by Argentinian filmmaker Andrés Borghi in collaboration with Saibot Games and published by New Blood Interactive. Tenebris Somnia is about Julia, a film student who recently broke up with her college boyfriend Ivan. When Julia returns to Ivan’s apartment to return her copy of his key, she quickly realizes that something is wrong. From there she is drawn into a dark, supernatural story packed with alternate dimensions, occult sacrifices and chthonic entities and horrors that look like they stepped straight out of Clive Barker’s imagination.
After playing 2022 Faith: The Unholy Trinitythe 8-bit inspired horror game from Airdorf Games – which also published New Blood – Borghi was inspired to try making his own game, one that built on his love of classic point-and-click horror titles, à la Bell toweras well as his skills as a filmmaker and visual effects artist. The result is a side-scroller, where the player navigates through pre-rendered, low-detail environments reminiscent of classic titles from the Amiga, Famicom and NES gaming eras.
The demo consists of the player cycling through the usual touchstones of mystery game styles: collecting and combining items they find in Ivan’s apartment building, interacting with and solving puzzles to advance the story, scrutinizing item descriptions for clues about what to do next, and fending off evil aliens. In between all these moments are the live-action cutscenes – filmed and directed by Borghi himself – featuring gruesome monsters brought to life through chilling practical effects and creepy costume designs.
The in-game effect is a surprisingly cohesive experience that leans on the respective strengths of gaming and cinematic horror, combining the interactive satisfaction of the former with the terrifying spectacle of the latter. Eat your heart out, Hideo Kojima.
The latest demo lasts about half an hour of playtime and doesn’t offer an option to save, so you’ll have to play until the end if you want to see the demo’s shocking cliffhanger ending.
While Tenebris Somnia doesn’t have a release date yet, the demo will be available to play during this year’s Steam Next Fest, which ends on October 21.