Exploring the: Eclipsium and It Consumes Demo
Eclipsium was a surreal experience, and It Consumes had me on high alert.
Developer and publisher: Housefiregames
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A Heart That Beats Atop A Tower That Illuminates The Sky
Eclipsium, developed by Housefiregames, is a surreal first-person horror game, and that can be quickly noticed by the game’s art style, and its approach to horror. What initially caught my attention was its presentation, from the oddly moving hand to the stylistic (and sometimes hard to see) environment, but I stayed because of the eerie uncertainty that loomed throughout the gameplay.
The gloomy atmosphere carries throughout the demo, and everything that happens is so unexpected, that it really nails “fearing the unknown” in a whole different way.
Short Little Side Note
Nothing else but a connection.
When I was a little kid I was “forced” to watch Child's Play by my older sister. I was so young that I shouldn’t have watched it, and I wasn’t actually allowed to watch it, but I did. Luckily, not for me but for my older sister, it was on T.V., and whether we had the DVD or it was on a channel is irrelevant. I remember crying as Chucky stabbed people with an angry look on his face all while my sister called me llorón.
My sister pulled pranks on me late at night. From pulling my leg while I was sleeping which prompted me to run into the door she locked to voicing my toys to make me think they were possessed. I like to think that many of these events, horrifying then but now funny, created an appreciation for horror.
And while I now easily stomach horror movies, I cannot stomach any video game with a semblance of horror, though I truly enjoy them. All these situations lead to me discovering Eclipsium, and forcing myself to beat it.
So, Onwards. What Happened?
You’re walking through a dark forest, and the trees seem to grow taller the longer you walk throughout the night. From a distance, a red shinning orb appears, seemingly siphoning what’s around it.
You draw closer to it, and as your sight begins to waver, you have a vision of a large stone tower with a heart on top in the middle of a red ocean. As the vision fades, you wake up on what seems to be a medical room.
It’s spacious for one person, with a television directly in front of the bed, an an oxygen tank with medical equipment directly to the left of the bed. Directly above the bed is a distorted painting of something unknown. Farther to the left of the room are cabinets and drawers with a radio, that’s playing soothing music, and a clipboard on top of one of the cabinets. Two paintings similar to the one above the bed hang there. The right side is similar to the left side, with more medical equipment, some chairs, a table, a metal shelf.
Once you open the door, you see a bonfire and the wilderness that surrounds it. The sky is a bright red, though no light shines outside but the bonfire’s range. You step out and look behind you, the house now resembling the opposite of the once cheery and warm nature it once had.
The house lacks light, colorless, empty, with its structure resembling a wave that halted mid-motion. Everything you once saw inside, the glimmering light through the windows, the soft bed, the warm environment, is all gone and now presented as a lie.
Only a lantern it left inside.
You find an axe nearby and chop down a tree to cross a gap, and after walking a couple of steps you find a cliff, and before you, the tower from your vision. The tower protrudes from the red sea, shinning and beating, unclear if the sky is red because of it. But it shines brighter than anything else close to you.
As you continue to walk down the desolate forest, you find what seems a mining entrance.
The inside is as desolate as the outside. It’s pitch black, but someone had left lit lanterns along the path for you to follow.
You go up a mine shaft elevator that looks like a torture cage and continue to walk down the dark cave, occasionally lit by torches, lanterns, or flares, until you find a table with candles. Everything feels like it was left on purpose by someone, or maybe some thing.
You grab the wax candle and it lights itself, then you continue to move deeper into the cave, encountering eyes protruding from the cave’s walls. Maybe this place isn’t as desolate at you thought.
No, Really, What Happened?
I tried three times to finish this game. Kind of spooky.
I’m not really sure if there’s a story in this demo, but everything presented, and how it was presented, was very interesting. From the game’s harsh art-style and how you traverse the game to the game’s audio and puzzles, everything is so simple yet effective.
This short snippet, that is easily beat in around 30 minutes, reminded me of Evil Within 2’s otherworldly and impossible events. And it makes sense, considering that in the game’s description is says that it’s a “twisted dreamscape.”
However, I did notice medical equipment in the room you spawn in, which is also the room you spawn in after you “die” during your playthrough. As it’s said that it’s a dreamscape, hence, a dream of some sort, maybe it’s safe to assume that the protagonist is unconscious in some way, and maybe implied that they may be in an infirmary. There are a lot of places that it could be, even a senior’s home.
More happens in the demo, but I believe it is something that should be experienced firsthand. I could’ve sworn a saw a face in the shadows, and from the game’s description, “Even though it seems void of life, the environment says otherwise. The ever-present motion, endlessly respiring.” It shows that it could have or could not have been my imagination, and it also shows that the game aims to use subtle tactics to put the fear in you.
It Consumes
A fast-paced first-person bullet heaven in the dark, where you’re surrounded by creatures from the void.
Developer: Sublexical Interactive
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This solo developer is crafting It Consumes, a first-person bullet heaven where I have felt more paranoid and alert than any other bullet heaven I’ve played. While this game is still in its early stages of development, the demo showcased what It Consumes has to offer, and that is a fast-paced area-like gameplay, and creatures that will surround you in the void. So keep your ears open, too.
With a heart on your left hand and your weapon on your right, you have to “pulse” the heart in the dark void to see the otherworldly creatures that are out to get you, like a sonar.
Equipped with dashes, and a couple of upgrades, these abilities gives the player many simple but effective tools. It Consumes seems to be a quick arena bullet heaven sure to keep you on your wits. As a fan of bullet heaven games, I appreciate it when someone tries to innovate on what bullet heavens are, and so I have my eyes on this horror fueled quick-paced bullet heaven.
Eclipsium is another first-person horror game with a dithering effect on visuals. I am sold!
Nice find - I'll check out these two demos asap. Eclipsium looks very interesting.