Fear the Spotlight Image
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: You and your friend Amy sneak into school after hours to perform a séance. Things go horribly wrong and you become lost and separated.

    In search of Amy, you explore a section of the school that was condemned long ago because of a tragic fire. It's up to you to explore the decrepit halls,
    You and your friend Amy sneak into school after hours to perform a séance. Things go horribly wrong and you become lost and separated.

    In search of Amy, you explore a section of the school that was condemned long ago because of a tragic fire. It's up to you to explore the decrepit halls, unravel the mysterious past, and save your friend Amy.

    Fear the Spotlight is a third-person survival horror adventure with a PS1 inspired visual style. After a séance goes wrong, you have to solve puzzles, hide from monsters, and search an empty school for your missing friend.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 7
  2. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Dec 10, 2024
    85
    A short but well-paced and atmospheric horror game with simple puzzles and a story that blends adolescent drama with darker themes, delivering a nostalgic PS1-era aesthetic and a few effective scares despite its technical and narrative simplicity.
  2. Nov 13, 2024
    82
    Ultimately, Fear the Spotlight doesn’t really try to reinvent the formula, serving as a smart, respectful and well-designed homage to the PS1-era of horror games and the 90’s aesthetic in general. Lovely visuals, great voice acting and genuinely spooky vibes more than make up for the fairly simplicistic gameplay loop and short length, making this retro horror game one of the better picks for a playthrough in a spooky season.
  3. Oct 22, 2024
    80
    Fear the Spotlight is relatively short to play through, taking around 3 to 4 hours to complete, but it makes the most of that time.
  4. Oct 21, 2024
    80
    I can see myself returning to Fear the Spotlight in the future. It's a great game to get into the Halloween spirit, with an effectively creepy atmosphere that doesn't feel overbearing. Hardcore survival-horror fans will likely find it all a little too easy, but it's a great way to introduce newcomers to the genre and is consistently entertaining from start to finish. Fear the Spotlight ensures that Blumhouse's new video game initiative gets off on the right foot and gives horror fans a game that will likely become a Halloween favorite in the years to come.
  5. Oct 24, 2024
    80
    Fear the Spotlight is a good first effort from the Blumhouse games initiative. It hits all the notes of a classic horror game with the hint of nostalgia for those of us who grew up with the 32-bit consoles. I am excited to see more and more of these drop over time and definitely recommend picking it up for a spooky weekend of fun during the holiday season.
  6. Oct 25, 2024
    80
    As an opening gambit and statement of intent from Blumhouse Games, Fear the Spotlight gets things off to a strong start, delivering a 3D retro horror experience that, while in thrall to its '90s influences, also manages to carve out an identity of its own.
  7. Oct 22, 2024
    70
    Fear The Spotlight is far from the scariest game you could play this Halloween season, but what may be read as a detriment for some is instead its best quality for others. With classically designed but more contained puzzles and combat-free monster encounters, it's a game that utilizes genre touchstones in manners meant to onboard new and/or younger players. Mechanically, it's simple, and the story doesn't come together until you've unlocked and finished the second campaign, but its combination of old and new horror-game design elements makes it a creepy and clever introduction to what is my favorite genre, and what may prove to be yours, too.