Full-motion video gaming is in full effect in this 2020 click-to-move horror title. Does it scare us into playing? Let’s find out.
I had never heard of At Dead of Night until a few days before writing this. The game randomly popped onto my screen while watching a marathon of the top-ranked horror games.
I punched the game title into YouTube and was instantly enamored. Being click to move and full-motion, I was brought back to 90s standout The 7th Guest. THE GAME that got me interested in the horror game genre over 25 years ago.
At Dead of Night had the same feel and mysterious musical presence as The 7th Guest. The nostalgia sent me directly to Steam to buy it and try it.
Prologue
Our player character Maya has gotten separated from her group of friends. She is notified that everyone has already checked into a hotel. The phone loses reception. Maya is shown heading into the Sea View Hotel.
Opening the scene, Maya meets Jimmy, the hotel’s proprietor. Jimmy shares an uncanny resemblance to Bill Nye. Scary similar.
Bow-tie Jimmy instantaneously conjures up a Goosebumps villain vibe. Jimmy is a lizard person or hiding a dark secret.
His initial dialogue lets us know he has some social development issues and isn’t the guy you want to get stuck in the corner at a party with. Jimmy definitely collects Beanie Babies. Or something.
Jimmy informs Maya her friends are already checked in. Then invites her to a midnight one-man self-produced comedy show staring him playing the role of social contrarian Hugo Punch.
Maya declines the invitation, as would I, choosing to head to her room.
Jimmy’s wrath over Maya’s rebuke manifest in the mirror as his unhinged and depraved alter ego Hugo Punch.
Maya is awoken by a scream and soon witnesses her friend being subdued by Jimmy.
The hotel phone she tries has no tone, and the exit is locked. Maya grabs a hotel master key and discovers a strange steampunk walkie-talkie ghost box.
The ghost box will allow Maya to communicate with the spirits in the hotel.
Gameplay
The first objective is to find a compass and a mirror. The compass points towards spirits, and the mirror shows an animation of your next clue.
You traverse the labyrinthian halls of the hotel using the master key to unlock rooms to search chests, cabinets, and drawers for clues and items.
The objectives are readily defined and, for the most part, direct.
The point and click movements are simple enough to master. However, Panic-induced clicking can lead to unwanted advances when startled by Jimmy.
At Dead of Night does a remarkable job of keeping tension built and the player fearful while progressing through the game. The impending dread as Jimmy stalks you is never out of mind.
Full-motion can, at times, lend to the AI not being terribly intelligent. That’s a limitation of the mechanics.
Jimmy doesn’t chase you down the halls and stairs to the different floors. This doesn’t mean Jimmy doesn’t terrify us. It means if you are tying to 1000 IQ Jimmy, you might be disappointed.
IMO this does not take away from gameplay. Much to the lament of people on Internet forums complaining about the game AI mechanics.
Interested in learning what game has you running from a killer? Check out our review: Murder House!
Scares
At Dead of Night earned its horror genre title with the jump scares. Having to click to move never gives you complete control of Maya. (In the traditional horror game sense)
The acting in-game is put on full display, and it shines. This production contains better acting than many Hollywood horror films and shoulders above most horror games.
Maya’s character and voice were portrayed by Chloé Booyens. The performance sells us on the fear. Personifies and draws us into this false reality.
Maya’s labored breath as she frantically moves about. Jimmy’s nefarious taunts throughout the game. The footsteps. The sounds in this game are s-tier! Every sound is amplified and adds to the realism and unsettling nature of the experience.
Jimmy is quirky-creepy. Jimmy, the character, is not scary. Strange, eccentric, fucking weird, sure. But, watching him peek, hide and walk by peepholes Maya is looking through does give the player a high shiver factor, and the fright sets in again.
Jimmy hunts. He will hide in places the player believes he is not. He can and will show up behind you. I loved the uncertainty of not being safe when I exited a hiding spot.
You’ll have plenty of opportunities in-game to run and hide and be absolutely positively terrified when Jimmy pops out and gets ahold of you. And he will.
There is an achievement for not getting hit; I did not get it. Not even close.
Hiding does not guarantee safety! The player can coax Jimmy onto different floors by calling out to him in-game. Also, you can lock Jimmy in a room. Watching him pick the lock through the keyhole is a genius design by the developer.
Ghost Hunting
You use the ghost box to commune with spirits and ask about clues you have found while pucker-running from Jimmy and his bat.
As you communicate with the deceased, their story and role in Jimmy’s life will unfold. Each clue progresses you further into how they met their gruesome end.
Each spirit has a unique and entertaining story to tell you. It’s not overly complicated to gather all the pieces to complete these chapters. All were entertaining and meshed well together.
Find the clues. Solve the deaths. Save your friends. Leave the hotel. Oh, and avoid Jimmy!
TLDR?
At Dead of Night is a first-person psychological/survival horror game that plays like a movie. Theatrical acting coupled with sophisticated sound engineering, the immersion is absolute.
Throw in some of the best-executed jump-scares in a video game, and this title is a must-have for any horror fan. Baggy Cat Ltd is an indie developer that used Jimmy’s bat to knock At Dead of Night out of the park!
Do you agree or disagree with my assessment? Let me know on Twitter.
Want to know the true definition of fear in a video game? Check out our Visage Review!