Trust the Watchers is a creepy and atmospheric first-person survival horror game with retro low-poly 3D graphics. The game's premise is delightfully simple - you find yourself in the woods around a campfire with two other characters, and that's it. Where you go and what you do from there is up to you to discover.
The visuals immediately grab you with their nostalgic PSX-inspired style. The character models are charmingly crude yet expressive. The environments, while dark and foreboding, have a neat stylized look. The lighting and particle effects are used effectively to create an ominous and suspenseful vibe.
What really sells the atmosphere though is the stellar audio design. The unsettling ambient noises, the eerie music, and especially the terrifying screeches and roars of the malevolent "Watcher" creatures make a lasting impression. You'll be filling your virtual pants when those hair-raising sounds pierce the darkness.
The gameplay itself is quite simplistic, having you venture into the woods while following cryptic clues and instructions. You'll be spelunking through caves, chopping wood, and desperately trying to avoid drawing the ire of the disturbing Watcher beings. The controls are smooth and straightforward.
While very short (most can complete it in under 30 minutes), Trust the Watchers packs a lot of creepy punch in that short span. The finale in particular is an intense, harrowing sequence that will have your heart pounding. Players are already clamoring for the developers to expand this into a longer, fleshier experience.
For such a brief indie jam project made in just two weeks, Trust the Watchers is an impressively polished and engrossing little horror romp. The moody ambiance, chilling sounds, and perplexing cosmic horror mysteries provide plenty of eeriness and delight for fans of old-school survival horror.
If you have an appetite for dread-soaked retro 3D graphics, oppressive darkness, and menacing supernatural entities, you'd do well to trust the excellence of this Watchers game.