Fobia, or to give it its full title, Fobia: St Dinfna Hotel, is a new first-person horror available now on Steam, and from what we’ve seen so far, it’s like Outlast, but with shotgun decapitations.
Created by Pulsatrix and Maximum Games, a publisher with previous credits on Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach and Among Us, Fobia casts you as a novice journalist sent to investigate the eponymous, and extremely haunted, St Dinfna hotel. Something deeply spooky is going on, and as the architecture of the hotel transforms around you, and you’re attacked by enemies that look half cyberpunk, half Lovecraftian nightmare, you need to find clues and use them to solve a series of increasingly cryptic puzzles. It’s pure survival horror stuff, and you can see more in the trailer below.
You’ll also notice the in-game handheld camera. Similar to Outlast – which recently got an incredible new speedrun world record – this serves as both your viewfinder and night vision, allowing you to pick out the hidden secrets behind the hotel’s true nature, and find your way through the oppressive, dark corridors.
But this isn’t a run-and-hide type horror, like Amnesia or Blair Witch. In Fobia, if you get backed into a corner or you’re feeling brave, you’ll have a range of guns to help handle the hotel’s monstrosities. Ammo is scarce and enemies are tough, but this is a welcome extra layer to the current genre fare – especially when you score a headshot with the ol’ double barrel, and shower the walls in bright-red gore.
Fobia is out now on Steam and there’s also a free demo if you want to try before you buy. From what we’ve seen, it’s an ambitious combination of all the horror classics from the last decade, and we’re looking forward to finding out how they go together.