Shutter

About

Shutter is a single player action game with a horror theme. It was developed by DocLogic and was released on February 13, 2015. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

https://store.steampowered.com/widget/359560/ [email protected] www.cosmiclogic.ca @Doc__Logic https://www.facebook.com/cosmic.logic Warning: This game contains flashing lights which may not be suitable for photosensitive epilepsy

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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79%

Audience ScoreBased on 141 reviews

story21 positive mentions

graphics7 negative mentions

Unique and innovative gameplay concept of controlling a drone in a haunted environment.
Effective atmosphere and creepy setting that create moments of genuine tension and scares.
Short, bite-sized experience suitable for a quick horror fix at an affordable price.

Numerous bugs and glitches, including camera malfunction requiring frequent restarts.
Clunky and awkward controls with a steep learning curve, sometimes frustrating navigation.
Very short game length with limited story depth and low graphical fidelity.

story
70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
63%
7%
The story of the game is generally described as simple, familiar, and conveyed mainly through scattered notes, which can be confusing or blurry at times. While it effectively creates a spooky atmosphere and offers a few chilling moments, many find the narrative shallow, predictable, and lacking depth or originality. Nonetheless, the story is engaging enough to complement the gameplay and maintain interest throughout the short, roughly one-hour experience.
- “This game was fantastic, bringing me near to tears with the heartwrenching and suspenseful story.”
- “The story is amazing!”
- “So far this game is really really cool, the graphics and how the story unfolds is really well done, the jump scares actually do spook you, the controls take a bit of getting used to but overall I enjoyed this game and hope that more games like it come out in the future.”
- “The story is very cliched and is frankly not told very well.”
- “There is no real story beyond a few base tropes mashed together with a token effort, and if you're even paying attention to the notes, you see it all coming ahead of time.”
- “But, I could have let this all pass if it wasn't for the sheer lack of imagination in the ending, literally needing to read the office report to make proper sense of the story. It is very unclear until you read that one woman's husband liked to take walks and happened to walk by a schizophrenic neighbour who snapped and killed him. The last photo you need to take took me half an hour and I needed to watch two walkthroughs to make sure I was even doing it right since the camera takes 5 seconds to take the photo but the ghost only appears for 2.5 seconds, out of a random location, so the last photo is basically luck.”
gameplay
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
65%
7%
The gameplay is centered around piloting a drone to explore a haunted house, taking photos of paranormal activity, and solving puzzles, blending classic fixed camera angles and tank controls with innovative mechanics. While the novel drone and camera-based gameplay is praised for creativity and atmosphere, frequent glitches with the camera system and a short, somewhat repetitive experience detract from overall enjoyment. Fans of old-school survival horror may appreciate the nostalgic elements, but the gameplay often feels limited and can be hindered by technical issues.
- “With its novel gameplay, decent writing, and short runtime, Shutter is definitely worth your attention.”
- “Exactly as everyone says, it's a fun mixture of old-school mechanics from the golden age of survival horror but updated with a clever conceit of being based around a home surveillance company, with fixed camera angles as security cameras and your character being a small remote-controlled camera drone with traditional tank-style controls.”
- “It's an interesting game mechanic having a game of this style where you can't directly interact with the environment; all you can do is observe, take pictures, communicate with your off-site HQ, and solve the mystery through these methods.”
- “The game is also very glitchy, with a glitch that ruins the in-game camera, which is the main mechanic.”
- “A huge, huge reason I give the gameplay such a low score is that taking pictures is a huge part of the game, and half the time the camera bugs out, so you can't see what you took a picture of, requiring a restart of the level.”
- “The gameplay is pedantically dull, mainly consisting of you rolling around taking pictures of floating objects and uploading them to your technical support, Barry, who constantly accuses your photos of being clever fakes or software glitches.”
atmosphere
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
31%
8%
The atmosphere is widely praised for its spooky, eerie, and tense qualities, effectively using sound, camera angles, and storytelling to build immersion and chills without relying heavily on jump scares. While some find the graphics and certain effects a bit rough or repetitive, the game's haunting setting and creative drone perspective contribute to a compelling and memorable ambiance. A few note minor issues like occasional bugs and a desire for deeper atmospheric development, but overall, the atmosphere is regarded as a strong highlight of the game.
- “The atmosphere is nicely done, and all the different camera angles add a lot to the tension, especially the drone's POV camera.”
- “The idea of controlling a small remote control camera system is quite novel and adds to the eerie atmosphere of this spooky game.”
- “It's surprisingly effective - I got chills a couple of times, and while there were a couple of jump scares, it's the build of the story and the events that work to keep the atmosphere right.”
- “If I had to give the best example, imagine exploring what feels like a plastic doll house; everything just looks rough around the edges and very cheap, which lessens the atmosphere of the game.”
- “While this didn't impact the game progression, as the picture was accepted anyway, it really killed the atmosphere and sense of immersion.”
- “Couldn't even trigger the events 20% of the time, strange angles were needed, there were a few game-breaking bugs (sound repeats but doesn't show a certain item in a certain location at one point, had to reboot) and on top of that, no atmosphere - completely lacked it.”
graphics
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
62%
24%
The graphics are generally considered primitive, dated, or low-quality, with some describing them as rough, cheap, or even terrible, though a few note competent execution given the small development team and nostalgic PS1-era style. While not immersive or impressive visually, the graphics suffice to support the horror atmosphere for some players, though others find them detract from the overall experience. Overall, the visuals are unremarkable but acceptable for the game's low price and indie scope.
- “It combines the sensations of immense horror jumpscare, tremendous creep factor, with fine, ultra realistic graphics.”
- “So far this game is really really cool, the graphics and how the story unfolds is really well done, the jump scares actually do spook you, the controls take a bit of getting used to but overall I enjoyed this game and hope that more games like it come out in the future.”
- “The graphics don't hold it back - it is a genuinely scary and intriguing game, without being too complex.”
- “The worst graphics I have ever seen; Warcraft 3 has better graphics.”
- “Overall unremarkable graphics: before you get the HD camera upgrade, first person view is so badly pixelated that I thought it was a bug.”
- “Shutter also has some woeful graphics that even I crossed my eyes at and wanted to scream 'why?!'”
stability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
86%
The game is plagued by frequent bugs and stability issues, including graphical glitches and malfunctioning menus, which significantly hinder the experience. Despite the developers' attempts to mitigate problems by suggesting restarts, the overall polish and stability remain lacking.
- “The developers even left a note in the game: 'please restart in case your graphics are getting buggy'.”
- “Why didn't they just try fixing their buggy game?”
- “I think that a longer and more polished experience could have made a great game, but in its current state, it just comes off as an okay game that is too short and has a lot of bugs.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
33%
17%
The music in the game is beautifully composed, with piano pieces and atmospheric tracks that enhance the overall mood and emotional experience. It effectively complements the gameplay and voice acting, creating an immersive and soothing ambiance.
- “I relaxed for 5 heart minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- “That piano music is nothing short of beautiful.”
- “The music is perfectly done and really adds to the overall feeling of the game.”
- “Music: n/a”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's emotional impact is highlighted by its heartwrenching and suspenseful story that moved players to tears, especially with its tear-jerking ending. However, some players find it challenging to emotionally connect with the main character, a small electronic rover, which lessens the overall sense of fear and emotional immersion until the final chapters.
- “This game was fantastic, bringing me near to tears with the heartwrenching and suspenseful story.”
- “By the end of the game, I went through six boxes of tissues with the amount I cried at that tear-jerking, heart-breaking ending.”
- “It's certainly not lacking in atmosphere or spookiness.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users appreciate the game's humor, noting its funny character design reminiscent of Barry from Resident Evil, and enjoy the blend of comedy and scares at an affordable price.
- “Funny, he actually looks like Barry from Resident Evil.”
- “I was looking for a funny and scary game to get for a little amount of money.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers minimal replayability due to fixed scares and objectives, leading to repetitive gameplay where players quickly adopt the same strategy for progress.
- “The scares and objectives are fixed, leaving no replayability, and you'll quickly learn to just hold the space bar for photo mode since it provides the best camera view and taking photos is how you progress anyway.”
- “It also has very little replayability.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is engaging and enjoyable, offering a fun experience that remains fresh and never feels tedious.