FMV horror game Tenebris Somnia is a nightmare come true

There’ve been a ton of great horror games released recently, between major titles like the Silent Hill 2 remake, the indie survival horror game Hollowbody, and horror-themed DLC like Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred. One title fans of survival horror games should pay attention to among all these big releases is Tenebris Somnia, an upcoming survival horror adventure game that has a new demo on PC this week as part of this year’s Steam Next Fest. Here’s the pitch: It’s a retro-inspired horror game that features Famicom-style graphics interspersed with bone-chilling live-action cutscenes, and the combined result is as novel and entertaining as it is jarring and terrifying.

Developed by Argentinian filmmaker Andrés Borghi in collaboration with Saibot Games and published by New Blood Interactive, Tenebris Somnia centers on Julia, a film student who has recently broken up with her college boyfriend Ivan. Upon returning to Ivan’s apartment to return her copy of his key, Julia quickly realizes that something is not quite right. From there, she’s thrust into a dark supernatural story brimming with alternate dimensions, occult sacrifices, and chthonic entities and horrors that look like they stepped straight out of Clive Barker’s imagination.

After playing through 2022’s Faith: The Unholy Trinity, Airdorf Games’ 8-bit inspired horror game — which New Blood also published — Borghi was inspired to try his hand at creating a game of his own, one that drew on his love of classic point-and-click horror titles, à la Clock Tower, as well as his skills as a filmmaker and visual effects artist. The result is a side-scroller, with the player navigating through pre-rendered, low-detail environments evocative of classic titles of the Amiga, Famicom, and NES eras of gaming.

The demo consists of the player cycling through the usual touchstones of mystery game tropes: collecting and combining items they find around Ivan’s apartment building, interacting with and solving puzzles to advance the story, scrutinizing item descriptions for clues as to what to do next, and fighting off malicious otherworldly creatures. Interjected between all these moments are the live-action cutscenes — filmed and directed by Borghi himself — featuring ghastly monstrosities brought to life through chilling practical effects and ghoulish costume designs.

The effect in-game is a surprisingly cohesive experience that leans into the respective strengths of games and cinematic horror, combining the interactive gratifications of the former with the terrifying spectacle of the latter. Eat your heart out, Hideo Kojima.

The latest demo clocks in at roughly a half-hour of playtime and doesn’t allow for the ability to save, so you’ll have to play through to the end if you want to see the demo’s shocking cliffhanger ending.

While Tenebris Somnia doesn’t have a release date yet, the demo is available to play all throughout this year’s Steam Next Fest, which is set to end on Oct. 21.