I had very low expectations going into Seek. There was barely any press leading up to it, and when it popped up as a recent release, I was pretty ambivalent about its art style. I assumed it would just be another RPG Maker game masquerading as survival horror, with its 2D anime isometric art style. But thankfully, this is a very well crafted true survival horror game that stands alongside classics such as Signalis, Evil Tonight and Viviette.

The game is very understated in its presentation, but effective. You wander the halls of a dimly lit orphanage with only your flashlight to guide the way. Its themes are dark and disturbing, with bits of lore that feel plucked out of a Silent Hill game. The sound design really delves deep into the psychological horror aspect as well.

The gameplay is a nearly perfect mix of Silent Hill and Resident Evil– with the ambience of the former and the snappy exploration of the latter. The map is particularly impressive as it marks every little interactive element you find in great detail. You spend your time unlocking doors, solving puzzles, and deciding whether to use your bullets or save them. It has limited inventory/item boxes as well and well-paced backtracking – and even multiple endings!

It took me about 8 hours of in-game time to finally reach the end, and for only $6 it’s one of the better deals I’ve found on Steam. While it’s not the most original or richly detailed game, it absolutely nails all the fundamentals of what survival horror fans look for. As this seems to be the developer’s first published game, I am excited to see what they pull off for their sophomore effort

If you’re a fan 2D survival horror games Seek is absolutely worth checking out. You can grab it on Steam for just a few dollars, and if you want to keep up with the developer’s future projects, follow cloud_li13.