Horror games live or die by their scares and tension. If the player isn’t uncomfortable guiding a character through dreadful situations, well, you may as well be playing an action-adventure game (don’t mention the first Uncharted’s final act, please). Tenebris Somnia blends the discomfort of retro horror with live-action sequences that will make your goosebumps bump, and you can get it cheaper than ever right now.

As the best horror games continue to push for more realistic visuals and immersive experiences, Tenebris Somnia’s twist on the genre combines old-school cool with movie-like cutscenes. It’s both jarring and original, and that’s exactly what makes for excellent horror. I want to be constantly surprised, and Tenebris Somnia makes its pixelated 2D threats even more menacing when you see live-action versions of the monsters.

Inspired by classics that scared us silly, like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, Tenebris Somnia has a deceptively simple premise. You play as Julia, who finds herself in a parallel universe while visiting her ex-boyfriend and is relentlessly hunted by nightmares that, well, aren’t exactly figments of her imagination. (To be honest, visiting an ex sounds like a nightmarish experience on its own. Ba-dum, tsss.)

Co-created by Andrés Borghi and Tobías Rusjan with Saibot Studios, and published by New Blood Interactive, the studio behind Ultrakill, Blood West, and Gloomwood, Tenebris Somnia’s style is fittingly inspired by past eras of console gaming. Its pixelated visuals make the switch to live-action cutscenes even more unsettling. It’s almost like Clock Tower, but if it randomly turned into a movie at any second.

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