Justin’s Countdown To Halloween Day Six: Horror In School

So last week, I rotated between indie and bigger developers. This week I am hoping to stay in the same kind of rotation, although I am not too sure where my first one fits in that sorting. So let us dive into this nineties cultural reference-filled game!

Obscure!

Obscure was developed by Hydravision Entertainment. A short-lived developer, basically, they made this game, the sequel, and the PlayStation 2 port of the 2008 Alone in the Dark. Along with some other small titles, they haven’t released anything since 2012, so, unfortunately, they seem to be defunct now. But, Obscure reminds me of if someone mixed Resident Evil 3 and Resident Evil Outbreak or The Faculty and Resident Evil Outbreak. 

Either way, it is a coop third-person survival horror game. You play as a group of five students trapped in their school after hours. Their school Leafmore has become known for its disappearances. Obscure has a few unique things going for it. Firstly each of its characters has specialties. For example, Stan can pick locks while Josh will be able to give us, as the player hints about what to do next and hints about what’s going on in the room you are in. 

The monster design in Obscure is good too, and you feel like it’s based on an actual high school, that is until you start getting into the Resident Evil of it all, with all the wild puzzles and underground shit. One of the key things that sticks out to me all these years later is not only the coop which is something I still play with my wife these days. But the focus is on the importance of light, which the monsters in Obscure are scared of. But overall, it works well, and there is an added tension of Perma death. The game will not end when a student dies but will get a little harder. It helps that the kids will group up for a new meeting spot every once in a while, which is basically used as a room to switch out your characters.

Obscure is a great survival horror game that has coop, well I say great, but it is rather janky, and hitboxes can be a little off sometimes. But if you have a friend or partner over and are looking for some good old fashion horror fun, here it is!

For more interviews, features, and reviews, stay locked to DreadXP and check out Obscure on Steam!