For all the horror game lover there is a new thrilling horror game coming out! darkwebSTREAMER is not your typical horror game it is not about chasing monsters or getting jump scared. The game revolves around the underbelly of the internet the Dark web.
We Have Always Live In The Forest is the name of the developers who created this 90s internet theme game. The game is a narrative rougelike where you will become an occult streamer in the 90s dark internet. You will experience procedurally generated world and endless sinister stories. Also, let’s not forget your own apartment is haunted!
“You grow your stream, surf the web, perform rituals, make hard choices, manage your stats and try to survive your increasingly haunted apartment.”
A Hauntingly Familiar World
The main highlight of the game is unsettling familiarity. The game starts of with pixelated rendition of the early internet. You can hear dial-up sounds and clunky web interfaces. Initially the feeling is nostalgia but soon it gets overthrown by eeriness. As you navigate through various forums you will encounter conspiracy theories and occult shops.
The more you progress the atmosphere gets darker. Suddenly the sound of you tapping keyboard and the constant hum of your computer will become an eerie noise. As a streamer you will also see a chat option where you will see cryptic messages that may hinting something sinister.
“Explore a procedurally generated infinite internet, filled with strange individuals, bizarre writings, insidious entities, peculiar marketplaces and a whole host of disturbing knickknacks and webpages to share with your subscribers.”
Balancing Act: Streamer by Day, Occultist by Night
As a streamer your main goal is to increase view count and grab those sweet streaming cash. You need to engage with audience by spinning stories and get reaction out of them. Of course, you need to pull some risky stunt to give your audience the wow factor and increase your view count.
You need to purchase creepy objects from the occult shop to show it off on your stream. However, the greed will also become a curse as some occult object can summon hell upon your abode. Your cozy apartment may get haunted and you will experience paranormal activities.
In order to mitigate the damage, you need to surf through the occult recipes on Dark web forums and cleanse your apartment.
“Find, purchase or pry occult recipes and rituals from the web to protect yourself from your increasingly contaminated apartment. procedurally generated recipes mean no googling what you want – you work for that ish, every time”
Choices with Consequences
Every decision you take and every click you make will have a consequence. It is up to you if you will take the risk of being haunted just to please the audience and increase view count. You can also delve deeper into the occult forum to unlock some forbidden knowledge like occult recipe or something darker.
The choices can change the narrative quickly. You can go from successful streamer to getting absolutely haunted by something evil.
“Every creepy object you purchase and show off to your stream has a chance to unleash a haunted hell upon your cozy little apartment”
Technical Terror
The pixel art style really brings out the nostalgia and of course there is a residue of RPG elements. The main horror of the game you can’t see any visual horror it is the unsettling feeling. Moreover, the audio also does a good job making you feel uncomfortable. The distorted music and sound effect create a constant dread.
Procedurally Generated Scenarios
The game is a narrative rougelike which is quite rare to find. Every run is unique you will encounter randomly generated events, NPCs, webpages, items etc. So, every run will be different from previous one and you will rarely predict what will be the outcome.
“Completely randomised encounters, events, characters, histories and outcomes mean a story which makes itself in response to your actions — and those of the world around you.”
Each denizen of the dark web will have their own unique background story. All NPCs have their own life apart from yours. You need to make friends and enemies to improve your relationship and maybe get some hints from them.
Conclusion
darkwebSTREAMER is not your usual horror. Gamers who love narrative heavy game they will definitely love this game. This game will question your own relationship with technology and the ethics of using dark web.
