Game news Twitch: This Christmas horror game terrified Amine and Billy!
When you think of Christmas, horror isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. However, both in cinema and in video games, we find works that mix fear and the atmosphere of the end of the year celebrations. And since we are right in this period, streamers Amine and Billy have rubbed shoulders with a horror title of this genre: Crimson Snow.
Summary
- Steppe Hare, a small independent studio like the others
- Christmas and horror, a cocktail that works?
On December 23, two days before Christmas, Billy, aka RebeuDeter, posted on his YouTube channel dedicated to reruns of his lives a best of a stream with Amine, aka AmineMaTue, on a horror game that presents an originality: it takes place at Christmas. In general, we realize that there are not that many titles that take place during this period, if we omit the service games which are the subject of updates to stick to this theme. So, if we add to that the genre of horror games, we might as well say that we are entitled to a rather unique cocktail. What makes it an essential horror title? Well…
Steppe Hare, a small independent studio like the others
Well, let’s not beat around the bush: Crimson Snow is not a big name in horror games like Silent Hill 2, Resident Evil 4 or even Dead Space. At the same time, you have to put things in context. At the beginning, it is therefore a small title developed by Steppe Hare Studio located in Astrakhan, Russia. Irony of Nightmare, their very first horror game, was created by only two people, which suggests the size of the structure.
In the description of their YouTube channel, we learn that they have recruited more people for their next game. And if we find among their productions many horror titles like Palmyra Orphanage, Mists of Aiden or Prognostic, the Russian studio also dabbled in other genres. If Give Me Your Coins is a platform game, Geeksos is a top-down shooter while Mother Simulator is a humorous project in which we experience the lives of young parents.
Christmas and horror, a cocktail that works?
But with Crimson Snow, Steppe Hare come back with what they know how to do best: horror, with the subtlety that the action of the title takes place at Christmas. To sum things up simply, we play Mark, a young man who will join his girlfriend Joyce to celebrate Christmas with her while she returns from a skiing holiday. While she lives in the house across the street, our protagonist will join her with the objective of asking for her hand in marriage. But no sooner has he set foot outside than a snowstorm rages and prevents him from seeing where he is really heading. However, when he thinks he has arrived at his fiancée’s house, something is wrong. Quickly, Mark understands that he entered the wrong building and it is the beginning of a night of horror for him since he realizes that a strange woman is prowling around.
Once the framework is in place, all the action of the first person game will be to avoid this woman while solving puzzles and collecting items to progress and get out of this situation. All the fear then comes from the encounters that we have with this frightening figure and the challenge is to dodge it as much as possible to avoid getting caught and undergoing a terrifying death animation. Crimson Snow is therefore not in the original, with a walking simulator gameplay with all that is most classic since apart from walking, sneaking under furniture and interacting with certain objects, we cannot do much more.
Moreover, it is when one tries to hide that one realizes some somewhat ridiculous elements. If we hide under a table, the woman won’t bend over to grab us, so we’re always safe. And then we find the classic elements of the horror game, with some jumpscares and music based on strident violins to terrify the player. Finally, the Christmas setting does not add much to the experience, except to allow the title to stand out from the competition. If despite all this you are still tempted to try Crimson Snow in this winter period, know that the game is available on Steam in early access at 5.69€. Happy New Year !
