Retro Indie Horror Game Dawn of Fear Launching Exclusively on PS4 February 3rd

Show of hands: Who has ever heard of the PlayStation®Talents program? I certainly hadn’t. According to their website, it’s an initiative designed to help small studios in Spain create PS4 exclusives. There are five PlayStation®Games Camps located all throughout the country, which serve as a space for devs to work for a year without having to foot any of the bill themselves. So free office space, dev kits, and a marketing campaign. All you have to do is make a game, and make it a PS4 exclusive. It sounds like a pretty sweet deal. With the barrier to entry so high even for indie games, anything to help new people enter the industry is a good thing. Muy bien, Sony. No hablo español.

Taking advantage of this unique offer, developer Brok3nsite has created Dawn of Fear. It’s a tribute to… well that should be obvious. Just watch the trailer. It’s basically Alone in the Resident Hill. Those classic horror titles that basically everyone indie wants to be. I mean, the inspiration is right in the title. You can’t get more dawn of fear than Alone in the Dark and Resident Evil. They basically made the whole genre.

Dawn of Fear lives this whole retro vibe in both style and substance. Taking place in 1990, you play as Alex. Returning to his family home after the news of his stepmother’s suicide, Alex finds the mansion full of zombies. Oh no, that’s not how mansions are supposed to be! Best get to work clearing them all out. And while you’re at it, maybe find out just why the dead decided to spring back to life. You’ll accomplish this task by collecting keys, solving puzzles, finding notes, and shooting faces. All while managing your limited inventory.

I won’t lie. That walk animation also looks like it was ripped straight from the 90s. It’s pretty clear that the visuals of Dawn of Fear could still use some polish. But since when does survival horror have to be about the graphics? Horror has always been a space where lower budget projects can shine. As long as you tell a good story and spook me, I’m happy. So will Dawn of Fear spook me? We won’t have to wait long to find out. It launches on the PlayStation®Store February 3rd. I couldn’t find any information on a price point, so expect anywhere from 0-10,000 dollars.