Creepshow Game First Impressions

Horror anthology fans will be excited to learn that a video game adaptation based on the Creepshow TV show has been released. The Creepshow game features three bite-sized horror stories for fans of the series to experience in an interactive medium for the first time. Here is what to know for those interested in the game.

Creepshow at a Glance

Creepshow is developed by PHL Collective, a studio that focuses on tie-in games for movies and TV shows. The game is published by DreadXP, a horror developer and publisher known for recent indie horror hits such as Amanda the Adventurer and My Friendly Neighborhood. The game takes inspiration from Shudder's Creepshow TV series and features three different horror stories. Players are taken through these stories by completing simple tasks, exploring environments, and solving puzzles. Careful eyes will find secret collectibles and details that expand the story on screen.

The Stories

The Main Story

Creepshow Game First Impressions

Creepshow tells its stories through a main, overarching narrative with two full anthology pieces nestled within. In this main story, teenagers Jack, Liz, Melody, and Danny break into a burned-down, abandoned mall. The player controls Danny, who is searching for clues about his father who died in the fire. Each character represents a classic horror trope , Danny is a timid nerd, Jack is a jock, Liz is his cheerleader girlfriend, and Melody is a goth who serves as the closest thing the group has to a voice of reason.

After Jack and Danny get into a fight, Danny falls down a pit and wakes up alone in an old comic shop. While looking for a way out, he finds an old fortune-telling machine occupied by a character called The Reader. The Reader agrees to help Danny discover the truth about his father, and in return Danny must find and read him stories. The stories Danny finds scattered around the shop are the game's two anthology pieces, narrated by the Creepshow Creep.

Metamorphic Love

Creepshow Game First Impressions

The first anthology piece follows Andrew Murray, the sole caretaker of his sick wife Laura and the pet bugs they keep in their apartment. Laura is dying from her illness, and Andrew struggles to care for her on his own while working as a fast food employee. His manager understands his situation but remains on his case for poor performance and strange behavior at work.

One night, Laura begs Andrew to let her go , to let her pass so neither of them remains burdened. Andrew refuses to accept this, and when she dies, he shows no sign of awareness that she is gone. He begins hallucinating, experiencing strange visions at work and hearing Laura's voice from unexpected places. Eventually, his delusions take a terrible turn when Laura wakes up.

Toll Keeper

Creepshow Game First Impressions

Father Torosian is a corrupt priest who stole money from donations meant for the poor and lied to his bishop about it. As punishment, he is sent to St. Cuthbert's, a church in dire need of repairs, and tasked with restoring it and bringing back the congregation. He meets the groundskeeper, a dog named Hamish, and Mrs. Penhallow, whose ancestors founded the church. As Father Torosian begins his work, it seems he may be able to turn his life around.

Then he begins to hear a dark, mysterious voice , one that promises great rewards in exchange for ringing the bell in the church's belfry. Despite a warning from a nearby villager that the bell is evil, Father Torosian listens, hoping it is God rewarding his faith. He witnesses great miracles, but soon learns that taking this shortcut carries a dangerous price.

Story First Impressions

Creepshow Game First Impressions

Creepshow is an anthology that can be fully completed in a couple of hours. The stories are fairly shallow in terms of themes and scares. Both Metamorphic Love and Toll Keeper become predictable once they get started, and once their main gimmick is revealed, they do not have much else to say. Danny's story is a bit more fleshed out, but this is unfortunately counteracted by splitting it into short segments between the other two stories. While the stories are not completely devoid of quality, they rely heavily on the shock factor of their main reveal. How successful they are depends on whether the scares keep the player invested until the end.

Creepshow Game First Impressions

The characters across these stories are all quite shallow. There are certainly opportunities to flesh them out and use their evident qualities to tell a richer story, but repetitive and basic dialogue does little to differentiate characters from one another in meaningful ways. Interacting with environmental elements will occasionally reveal interesting character details , such as Andrew's attachment issues in Metamorphic Love , but outside of this, characters mainly exist to push the story toward the next scare. These stale personalities are further undermined by poor animation and static facial expressions that drain tension from important scenes.

One of the most important aspects of telling stories through video games is taking advantage of the interactive medium, and this is something Creepshow does well. In Metamorphic Love, players can search environments for details that relate to the overall story or to specific characters. In Toll Keeper, Father Torosian finds notes around the church relating to a secret puzzle , notes that detail the experiences of people who worked there in the past. Through these notes, the player gains insight into the world through their own exploration, making these discoveries more rewarding than if they had simply been told or shown outright.

Gameplay First Impressions

Creepshow features very simple gameplay, which makes sense for its target audience. Aiming to be enjoyed by fans of a series that has never been a game before, most of its content involves watching cutscenes and walking around simple environments. While some might consider this a fault, Creepshow fans who do not play many video games should not have too many issues enjoying and interacting with the game.

Creepshow Game First Impressions

Puzzles

The other major aspect of Creepshow's gameplay is its puzzles. While not too difficult, they help break up the other segments and keep players engaged. For example, when Father Torosian is cleaning up the church, he must repair a section of wall by arranging stones into a pattern where they all fit. These simple puzzles are one of Creepshow's genuine strengths, offering a fun break from the story for anyone playing.

Creep Pieces

Creepshow Game First Impressions

Creepshow also contains hidden secrets that enhance gameplay through Creep Pieces. One is hidden in each of the three stories and can be found through exploration or by solving hidden puzzles. Each Creep Piece found unlocks its own visual mode:

Not only are the Creep Pieces fun to seek out, but they lean into the nostalgia that fans of older horror media will enjoy and do a lot to reward the curious player.

Gameplay Issues

That said, the gameplay has some notable issues.

Creepshow also uses camera angles reminiscent of horror movies and older horror games. While this occasionally reinforces the nostalgia factor, these angles tend to impede gameplay more than they help it. At times it is difficult to see the character the player is controlling, and dramatic camera switches between rooms can confuse the direction the player intends to move.

Overall Thoughts

Creepshow may not fully take advantage of what video games can offer horror fans, but it is still a fun experience that horror anthology enthusiasts should get enjoyment out of. It targets its appeal at existing Creepshow fans and is stronger at satisfying them than it is at introducing new fans to the series. Its stories are simple but function as enjoyable low-level scares. Its strengths lie in its standalone anthology pieces, with Metamorphic Love being the stronger of the two. The Creep Pieces add a fun element of challenge and reward players by enhancing their gameplay experience in a personally meaningful way. While Creepshow could be a lot better, it is still a fun experience that fans of the series should definitely give a chance.

Creepshow is available now for purchase on Steam.