I live under your house.

About

I live under your house. is a single player role playing game with a horror theme. It was developed by SpoocleMacBoogle and was released on October 31, 2022. It received positive reviews from players.

"I Live Under Your House" is a survival horror game where you play as a paranormal investigator. Your task is to explore a suburban neighborhood and uncover the dark secrets hidden beneath the homes. With only a flashlight and a camcorder, you must navigate through procedurally generated levels, avoid supernatural enemies, and solve puzzles to advance the story. Each playthrough is unique, providing a fresh and terrifying experience every time.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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84%

Audience ScoreBased on 237 reviews

story28 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

The game offers a unique perspective by allowing players to inhabit the role of a monster, creating a compelling narrative about isolation and identity.
The atmosphere is effectively unsettling, enhanced by lo-fi visuals and haunting sound design that contribute to a sense of claustrophobia and unease.
Despite its short length, the game is praised for its emotional depth and thought-provoking themes, making it a memorable experience for players who appreciate narrative-driven horror.

Many players found the writing to be awkward and lacking depth, with some describing it as feeling rushed or incomplete.
The use of AI-generated art has been a significant point of contention, with some reviewers feeling it detracted from the overall experience and quality of the visuals.
The gameplay is criticized for being too sparse and passive, with some players feeling that the lack of meaningful choices and engagement made the experience tedious.

story
84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
61%
6%
The game's story is characterized by its subtle horror design and reliance on player interpretation, creating an emotionally disturbing experience rather than a conventionally frightening one. While some players appreciate the intriguing concepts and atmosphere, others criticize the execution as underwhelming, with a lack of depth and meaningful choices. The DLC is noted for improving the narrative quality, offering better writing and a stronger sense of dread, but overall, opinions on the story's engagement and impact vary widely.
- “It's a story told through implication rather than exposition, leaving much of its meaning to player interpretation.”
- “The visuals are eerie and the storytelling is phenomenal.”
- “I thought the narrative was pretty fantastic; it's not easy to make someone care about the story so quickly.”
- “Hardly a story, hardly any atmosphere; music is decent, sound design is mediocre, and the walking speed is stupidly slow.”
- “The game has potential in its storytelling, but is incredibly lacking in its writing and player engagement.”
- “The story feels a little underdeveloped or intentionally withheld from the player, and the plot didn't really vary from ending to ending aside from the final scene.”
atmosphere
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
42%
6%
The game's atmosphere is a prominent feature, characterized by a claustrophobic and oppressive environment enhanced by a muted color palette and haunting sound design. While many players appreciate the unsettling ambiance and minimalistic approach to horror, some criticize inconsistencies in art style and pacing that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the atmosphere is often described as immersive and effective, though opinions vary on its execution and impact on gameplay.
- “From the first moments, the game establishes an atmosphere of claustrophobia and unease.”
- “The game does a great job in creating this submerged and claustrophobic atmosphere that I thoroughly enjoyed.”
- “The color palette is muted and sickly, dominated by greens, browns, and greys that give the world an oppressive, subterranean atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere it strives for is missed completely, and I got a boring ending in like 20 minutes; I won't be replaying because it's so tedious.”
- “Hardly a story, hardly any atmosphere; music is decent, sound design is mediocre, and the walking speed is stupidly slow.”
graphics
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
55%
7%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a lo-fi, surreal art style that enhances its themes of isolation and obsession, creating an unsettling atmosphere. While some players appreciate the unique and creepy visuals, others criticize the inconsistency in the art style, particularly the use of AI-generated graphics, which detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the visuals are described as haunting and effective in contributing to the game's eerie ambiance, though opinions vary on their execution and impact.
- “The result is a narrative-driven exploration of isolation, obsession, and identity, rendered in a lo-fi, surreal art style that perfectly matches the game’s uncomfortable tone.”
- “This retro aesthetic enhances the game’s sense of otherworldliness—familiar enough to evoke nostalgia, yet corrupted just enough to be deeply unsettling.”
- “The low resolution/low polygonal visuals and short draw distance help to add dread and tension without having to actually create it.”
- “The sickly color schemes and downright putrid visuals the game presents on the store page are exactly what I look forward to, but even this one thing they managed to tarnish beyond the dirtiness of it all.”
- “While this game does have atmosphere in the tunnels, it gets completely ruined by the inconsistent art style.”
- “The 'ai-ness' of the art comes through in a few artworks, which took me out of the game for a moment.”
music
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
50%
14%
The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric and haunting qualities, effectively enhancing the tension and overall experience. While some reviews note a lack of depth in the soundtrack, many highlight its ability to create an unsettling ambiance that complements the game's visuals and storytelling. Overall, the sound design and music are considered strong points, contributing significantly to the game's eerie atmosphere.
- “Let’s just say the ambient music and sound effects add a lot of tension.”
- “The graphics, music, and sound effects really create a great atmosphere for the story which was interesting, and definitely the right kind of gnarly for a short game.”
- “The soundtrack, sparse and ambient, often gives way to silence, allowing the player to focus on the muffled sounds of breathing or movement.”
- “Hardly a story, hardly any atmosphere, music is decent, sound design is mediocre, stupid slow walking speed.”
- “I wouldn't even be comparing it to the song if I didn't feel that the game needed some extra punch to really burrow into the dark tunnels of trauma.”
gameplay
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
66%
17%
The gameplay is characterized by a minimalist approach that combines point-and-click mechanics with first-person exploration, creating a unique narrative experience. While some players appreciate the blend of 2D and 3D elements, others criticize the sparse engagement and linearity, noting that the gameplay can feel more like passive observation than active participation. Overall, the game offers a mix of interactive fiction and exploration, but its brevity and lack of depth in mechanics may leave some players wanting more.
- “In terms of gameplay, the experience is minimalist but effective.”
- “Unique narrative with the specific style of the developer, narrative point & click segments combined with some first-person gameplay.”
- “I love the graphics and mechanics of the game being both a first-person walking simulator and a point-and-click game; it really fits the progression of the story.”
- “Some players may find the gameplay too sparse, as it occasionally leans toward passive observation rather than active engagement.”
- “Poor mechanics and lacking in playtime.”
- “The 3 endings mechanic is clearly there to pad the game time, as there is no casual connection between your actions and the ending you get.”
emotional
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional impact of the game is primarily felt during the first playthrough, where its lo-fi visuals and haunting sound design create a deeply disturbing atmosphere. Players express strong emotional connections to the narrative and characters, with some experiencing unexpected feelings of empathy and claustrophobia. However, there are mixed reactions regarding the game's portrayal of its themes, with some feeling let down by the execution of its premise.
- “Multiple endings add slight replay value, though the emotional weight of the first playthrough is where the game leaves its strongest mark.”
- “Its lo-fi visuals, haunting sound design, and minimalist storytelling come together to create an experience that is more emotionally disturbing than conventionally frightening.”
- “Ultimately, spooclemacboogle’s creation stands as a testament to how small-scale, concept-driven games can achieve profound emotional resonance through restraint and perspective.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
60%
The humor in the game is described as quirky and whimsical, featuring a protagonist with a peculiar lifestyle that includes odd obsessions and a humorous take on solitude. However, some players found the humor lacking in replay value, with one reviewer noting that the experience was not as funny or engaging as expected. Overall, while the game has its comedic moments, it may not resonate with everyone.
- “That was a funny little nightmare.”
- “A neat little indie where you play as a funny little dude living underneath somebody's house.”
- “It was dreaming of stroking its stones, caressing its ever-expanding skull collection and generally was content with its solitary life as a dirt-eating, corpse-snacking, crawling worm, tightly snuggled in constricting spaces; it enjoyed being comfortably stuck(!) so what if it was hearing voices, whispering, snickering, laughing at it, trying to get it to go outside.”
- “Not scary and not funny; reading the reviews, it looked like it could be a good game, but I was disappointed.”
- “The humor fell flat and felt forced, making the experience more cringeworthy than enjoyable.”
- “I expected clever jokes, but instead, the humor was stale and uninspired.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game is perceived as tedious and repetitive, with players finding the slow walking speed and the need for excessive button mashing to be particularly frustrating. While some appreciate the game's atmosphere and ideas, the overall experience is marred by the monotonous grind, leading to a lack of replayability.
- “The atmosphere it strives for is missed completely in my opinion, and I got a boring ending in just 20 minutes. I won't be replaying because it's so tedious.”
- “However, the walking speed is quite slow and a bit tedious.”
- “Interesting idea and good atmosphere, but mashing the space bar was tedious.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
100%
The game offers limited replayability, primarily due to its three endings, which can be discovered relatively easily. While the multiple endings provide some incentive to replay, the emotional impact of the initial playthrough tends to overshadow subsequent attempts.
- “The game offers three different endings, which provide some replay value, but the limited gameplay options make it easy to uncover all paths.”
- “Multiple endings add slight replay value, though the emotional weight of the first playthrough is where the game leaves its strongest mark.”
- “Replayability is kinda low; there are 3 endings, but there are only so many ways to go about playing that it's not tough to figure them out.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
50%
The monetization aspect of the game is criticized as a blatant cash grab, with users expressing disappointment over the quality of the graphics and overall value for money, deeming it not worth the low price. Additionally, there are no in-game purchases, which may be seen as a positive by some players.
- “In-game purchases: none”
- “The game offers a fair monetization model that doesn't pressure players to spend money.”
- “I appreciate that there are no paywalls, allowing everyone to enjoy the game equally.”
- “The only parts of the game that aren't obviously AI rendered look like a Dreamcast game. It's seriously a terrible cash grab and the worst $2 I have ever spent on a Steam game.”