I live under your house.
- October 31, 2022
- SpoocleMacBoogle
Get on Steam"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.
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game features a creepy atmosphere and unique art style that effectively enhances the horror experience.
- The narrative offers an interesting perspective by allowing players to experience the story from the monster's point of view, which adds depth to the gameplay.
- At its low price point, the game provides a short but engaging experience that many players found enjoyable.
- The use of AI-generated art and writing detracted from the overall experience for some players, leading to concerns about the quality and originality of the content.
- The gameplay is quite short, with many players feeling that the story and mechanics could have been more developed to provide a richer experience.
- Some players encountered bugs and issues with the game's mechanics, which affected their enjoyment and ability to progress.
- story69 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its eerie atmosphere and engaging dialogue, particularly in the DLC, while others found the narrative to be simplistic and lacking depth. Many noted that the storytelling is enhanced by the visuals and sound design, creating a compelling mood, but criticized the overall execution as underwhelming and not impactful enough. Despite its short length, the game offers a unique perspective on horror, though some players felt it could benefit from a more intricate and developed storyline.
“The visuals are eerie and the storytelling is phenomenal.”
“I enjoyed this game a lot; I thought the story was super interesting (while unnerving) and I really liked the point-and-click half of the game.”
“The DLC chapters have better writing and storytelling, so you get a better idea of your surroundings, and the severe sense of dread the main character is feeling comes across strongly.”
“The game has potential in its storytelling, but is incredibly lacking in its writing and player engagement.”
“The DLC does improve on the base game in certain aspects, but it does not build on what is already there, choosing to tell a boring short story without any meaningful choices or consequences.”
“The story feels a little underdeveloped or intentionally being withheld from a player, and the plot didn't really vary from ending to ending aside from the final scene.”
- atmosphere41 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 34 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its haunting visuals, immersive sound design, and effective use of minimalism, creating a creepy and unsettling experience. Many reviewers highlight the absence of cheap jump scares, instead focusing on building tension and a sense of dread through ambient music and art style. However, some critiques mention that certain elements, like AI-generated images and spelling mistakes, detract from the overall atmosphere, indicating a mix of strong potential and areas for improvement.
“The game’s haunting visuals and atmosphere leave you yearning for more dialogue.”
“Overall, I live under your house is a very short but intense horror game with PS1-style visuals, haunting ambient music, and atmosphere.”
“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 atmosphere is also not creepy to me at all for some reason; I think it's because of how the game is played.”
“If I were being generous, maybe the atmosphere and sound design were positive aspects of the game, but they are not enough to save it from being nothing more than someone's first attempt at creating a horror project.”
“Overall, some story is there, but the things that happen themselves do not matter as much as the mood and atmosphere they are supposed to set.”
- graphics38 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's graphics feature a unique and creepy art style that effectively conveys its horror themes, with a mix of low-resolution visuals reminiscent of PS1-era games and some AI-generated artwork. While the grainy, green-filtered aesthetic enhances the atmosphere and tension, opinions vary on the effectiveness of the 3D segments compared to the 2D artwork. Overall, the visuals are praised for their haunting quality and ability to create a compelling atmosphere, despite some criticism regarding their execution and consistency.
“The game's haunting visuals and atmosphere leave you yearning for more dialogue.”
“The atmosphere and the art style were amazing.”
“Great visuals, creepy and dark story, and some nice ominous tunes, too!”
“Indie horror games with PS1-style graphics are becoming abundant these days, and some don’t have any substance or meaning.”
“Graphics are totally fine for a horror story, but this is neither a good story, nor is it scary.”
“The 'AI-ness' of the art comes through in a few artworks, which took me out of the game for a moment.”
- music20 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its beautiful sound design and atmospheric qualities, effectively enhancing the tension and overall experience. Reviewers highlight the haunting ambient tracks and sound effects that contribute to a spooky and immersive atmosphere, making it a standout feature of the game. Many express excitement for the soundtrack and appreciate how the music complements the game's visuals and storytelling.
“The soundtrack is great: spooky and distorted with a lot of fuzz over it.”
“Overall, I live under your house is a very short but intense horror game with PS1-style visuals, haunting ambient music, and atmosphere.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Yes, music adds a lot, and the expressive voice, but it's not just that.”
“I was willing to excuse it on that account, but this song kept stubbornly playing in my mind.”
- gameplay13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a blend of point-and-click mechanics and low-poly exploration, with a notable shift from visual novel elements to more interactive 3D segments. While some players appreciate the technical improvements in the DLC and the combination of different gameplay styles, others criticize the overall mechanics as poor and the game as lacking in playtime, with some elements feeling like padding rather than meaningful choices. Overall, the gameplay experience is mixed, with a score averaging around 6.5/10.
“Fortunately in the DLC, which improves upon the main section from a technical perspective in many ways, there's a lot more of this 3D gameplay.”
“Gameplay is a mix of point & click and low-poly exploration.”
“Some really good stuff, the mix between 2D point and click gameplay and 3D exploration gameplay is really well done.”
“Poor mechanics and lacking in playtime.”
“Hardly any recurring elements (gameplay or story-wise).”
“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.”
- emotional5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players report a strong emotional impact from the game, particularly highlighting the DLC's ability to evoke deep feelings, even for seemingly simple characters. The narrative is noted for its compelling perspective, though some players felt a disconnect between the game's premise and their emotional experience, leading to mixed feelings about the overall portrayal of the character's journey.
“I can't believe I got emotional for a little dude who lives under a house... the DLC especially hit the feels.”
“The narrative was really compelling and I can't say a game has ever put me in this perspective and made me feel like I was related to Salad Fingers.”
“But when I walk out of a game that promised me I'd be playing as a monster living in tunnels, and all the inner monologue and interactions that are shown made me feel like a mentally challenged Reddit moderator who based their life ideals on one viewing of 'Beauty and the Beast (2017)', I am sad.”
- humor4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as quirky and amusing, featuring a protagonist with a whimsical lifestyle and odd interests. However, some players found the humor fell flat, feeling that the game lacked replay value and that the comedic elements did not consistently land, leading to a mixed reception overall.
“A neat little indie game where you play as a funny little dude living underneath somebody's house.”
“The game is also pretty funny, but even for a short game, it's kind of a chore to replay it for the different endings.”
“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 it hard to enjoy the game.”
“I expected some laughs, but the jokes were stale and uninspired.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, citing slow walking speed and repetitive actions like mashing the space bar as particularly frustrating. While the atmosphere and concept are appreciated, the grind detracts from the overall experience.
“However, the walking speed is quite slow and a tad tedious.”
“Interesting idea and good atmosphere, but mashing the space bar was tedious.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game is criticized as a blatant cash grab, with one user expressing disappointment over the quality of the graphics and deeming the purchase a waste of money. Notably, there are no in-game purchases available.
“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.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is considered low, as it offers only three endings and limited gameplay variations, making it relatively easy for players to uncover all possible outcomes.
“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.”
“Once you've seen the endings, there's little incentive to play again since the choices don't significantly change the experience.”
“The game lacks depth in its replayability; after the first playthrough, it feels repetitive and predictable.”
