Intruder is a super creepy psychological horror game that sucks you in from the start. You play as someone who just moved into a new house out in the countryside, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Seems like a nice, quiet life, right? Well, not so fast.
The game really nails that uncomfortable, uneasy feeling that something isn't quite right about your new home. The visuals are in a retro PS1-style with fixed camera angles and pixelated graphics that add to the creepy vibe. But it's the sound design that really stands out - the unsettling ambient noises and binaural 3D audio make you feel like you're really there experiencing the spookiness firsthand.
The gameplay is simple - it's very much a walking simulator style. You explore the house, picking up and examining objects, reading notes and clues about what's going on. Be careful though, because there's something...or someone...in the house with you that doesn't want you snooping around. The controls are straightforward - WASD to move, mouse to look around and interact. Nothing too fancy, which lets you just focus on the atmospheric horror.
Now I don't want to spoil too much about what happens, but let's just say there are some incredibly tense sequences and a couple of legit jump scares that had my heart pounding. The pacing is great, slowly building up the dread and suspense before hitting you with those shocking moments. I seriouslyalmost chucked my headphones across the room at one point!
What really makes Intruder stand out though is the storytelling. On the surface it seems like a basic haunted house setup. But as you piece together the clues and details, there are all these weird layers and unanswered questions that make you question what's even real. The ending legit blew my mind - I did NOT see that coming at all. It's so well-crafted and clever how it subverts your expectations.
For a first horror game, Knight Games absolutely knocked it out of the park. Amazing attention to detail, fantastic setting and atmosphere, intelligent psychological mind games. My only minor gripe is that it's quite short, maybe an hour or two of gameplay. But it's extremely polished and packs one hell of a punch in that short runtime. I cannot wait to see what Knight Games does next because if Intruder is any indication, they have a ridiculously bright future in the horror genre.
Technically, Intruder is a fairly bite-sized experience made in Unity. It supports Windows, Mac and Linux. Has full controller support. And the graphical specs are pretty modest since it's going for that retro look - it'll run great even on older/weaker machines. Perfect for experiencing this twisted little horror tale.
Overall, I can't recommend Intruder enough - it's an absolute must-play for any horror fan looking for a smart, atmospheric and deeply unsettling experience that will mess with your head in the best way possible. Just make sure to play with the lights on!