Review
Annie here! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
In honor of this special day, I thought it necessary to pick out a spooky and scary gem for my dear readers. It's way too easy to find cheap jumpscares when you're looking for undiscovered indie titles online, but I didn't want to bore you with something underbaked and overdone. So I scoured the Steam store until I found the demo for Species: Unknown, an Alien: Isolation-inspired co-op game worthy of my lovely readers.
My Experience
The demo includes just one mission, but you'd be surprised how much content they can fit in there. Sasha and I were playing for at least a full hour.
My first impression of the game was that it feels like a triple-A title that took years to make. The level of polish is excellent. Everything looks gorgeous, from the screen shake right down to a very tasteful level of grain.
My next impression was that it's terrifying.
It should come as no surprise that I am a huge scaredy cat. I frequently found myself trying to avoid being scared by forcing myself to dissociate from the game by saying, "It's not real, it's just a game. There is no monster." But it didn't work. It's just too immersive. I ended up needing to take my headphones off to break the immersion so I could keep playing, but even that wasn't enough. Sasha took over and finished the mission about 40 minutes in.
Once they figured out the optimal strategy, Sasha says they found the game less "scary" and more "tense and fun." But for me it was still terrifying even just as a viewer.
Horror fans rest assured though, the Steam reviews are chock-full of your fellows praising it for being an excellent take on the genre.
Multiplayer
We played the demo in single-player mode, but Species: Unknown is meant to be enjoyed with friends. Anyone who has the game can join and play online co-op up to 4 people. If you can find some buds to try it out with you, I guarantee it'll elevate the experience.
Final Thoughts
Species: Unknown is a great game for horror fans, and a terrifying game for cowards. It's fun for the whole family!
(This is a joke. Don't play this in front of your kids.)
The game is currently available in early access for only $13 (on sale right now for $11.69!), and the reviews claim it's an amazing amount of content for the price. But if you're not sure yet, the demo is free!
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