Amberskull
- April 13, 2018
- CharlieBehan
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Amberskull" is a survival horror anthology featuring four unique, terrifying experiences in varied environments. Players must overcome unique enemies and solve hidden mysteries while facing heart-pounding fear and challenges. With collectibles to find and extreme remixed versions to unlock, "Amberskull" promises a stressful and fun horror experience for $4.99, available on Unreal Engine 4.
Reviews
- The game effectively blends audio, color, and visuals to create a scary atmosphere, providing a memorable horror experience.
- Each of the four mini-games offers unique mechanics and environments, keeping the gameplay fresh and engaging.
- The game features well-crafted jump scares and a variety of monster designs, contributing to its overall tension and excitement.
- The game currently has significant technical issues, including frequent crashes, especially on Windows 11, making it unplayable for some users.
- Some mini-games lack depth and can feel repetitive or frustrating, particularly the audio cues that are often hard to hear.
- The overall experience is quite short, with many players feeling it lacks replay value and could benefit from more content.
- gameplay18 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its engaging mechanics and atmospheric design, featuring four distinct horror mini-games that each offer unique challenges and jump scares. While many players appreciate the tension and creativity in the scenarios, some have criticized the initial balance and audio issues, which detracted from their overall experience. Overall, the game provides a mix of fun and dread, with varying levels of enjoyment depending on individual preferences and experiences.
“Even after learning the mechanics and cycles, it still manages to zap me with juicy jump scares and give me chills, due to how it's crafted to leverage your attention.”
“A fun game with good atmosphere from level to level, with simple but interesting mechanics for each.”
“Each minigame is a proof of concept of a simple mechanic being used to cause dread in the player.”
“The audio design was pretty sketchy and felt unpolished at times.”
“In terms of visuals, the forest monster looked more goofy than scary.”
“The premise and gameplay of each episode is fairly simple with only a few basic controls to get you by, but despite that, there's a lot of tense and somewhat scary scenarios the game will put you in.”
- atmosphere10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
Overall, the atmosphere in the game is praised for its effective blend of audio, visuals, and simple mechanics that create a genuinely eerie experience, heightening players' senses and immersing them in horror. However, some users noted inconsistencies, with certain levels lacking the intended creepiness and failing to deliver a compelling atmosphere, leading to disappointment in later episodes. While many found the atmosphere engaging and scary, others felt it fell flat, particularly in comparison to earlier experiences.
“The developer does an expert job of blending audio, color, and visuals to create that scary atmospheric experience.”
“Deliberately pared-down, with simple controls, simple visual/audio cues and clues, combined with just the right amount of atmosphere and motivations to repeatedly force you to heighten your senses while focused on a specific goal, with consequences and threats ranging from subtle to explosive.”
“Small, bite-sized horror experiences with decent graphics and a cool, weird atmosphere.”
“The forest - got scared once at the start, missed the atmosphere, wasn't creepy and didn't have any chills.”
“Had no atmosphere whatsoever, driving a boat and suddenly you're done like... nothing happened... and the same horrible ending.”
“No atmosphere, same old scare tactics which didn't scare after episode 1.”
- graphics4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are generally praised for their impressive quality and ability to create a chilling atmosphere, effectively blending audio and visuals. However, some users noted that certain character designs, like the forest monster, may come off as more goofy than frightening, slightly detracting from the overall horror experience.
“The developer does an expert job of blending audio, color, and visuals to create that scary atmospheric experience.”
“Small, bite-sized horror experiences with decent graphics and a cool, weird atmosphere.”
“The graphics are amazing, and Amberskull is definitely worth your time!”
“In terms of visuals, I made a comment in the gameplay section about the forest monster looking more goofy than scary.”
- story3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The story of Amberskull revolves around a protagonist trapped in four fear-based simulations within a testing facility, exploring themes of human reaction to fear. Each segment of the horror anthology features its own unique monster and narrative gimmick, contributing to the overall unsettling atmosphere.
“Secondly, what is with the images of brains to the right of the player? Is there a story to this?”
“The story goes that the protagonist is stuck playing four simulations of fear, and afterward, he/she comes to the realization that it's all part of a giant testing facility dedicated to studying the human reaction in terms of... well, fear.”
“Amberskull is a first-person horror anthology, where each story comes with its own gimmick and a unique monster to avoid.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game is generally perceived to have low replayability, with users noting a lack of incentives or content that encourages them to play again after completing it.
“No real replay value.”
“The game lacks incentives to play through again.”
“Once you finish it, there's little reason to return.”
