Static Dread: The Lighthouse

“For me, everything about Static Dread: The Lighthouse works and it is exactly what I want out of this type of experience. It won’t be the scariest title you play this year, but the atmosphere and dread that washes over you is much more of a thrill than a lot of horror games give you. The gameplay loop - which I doubted at first - soon grew to be a highlight, I simply can’t recommend Static Dread: The Lighthouse enough, and it is now my favourite game that uses the theme of Lovecraftian horror.”

“Static Dread: The Lighthouse is a Lovecraftian title with an intriguing premise that ultimately fails to turn its idea into a worthwhile experience due to overly simplistic gameplay systems and weak writing.”

“Static Dread: The Lighthouse crafts a chilling lovecraftian narrative, though its gameplay struggles keep it from fully illuminating its potential.”

“If you enjoy games with the vibe of Dredge or gameplay like Papers, Please, or you just love eerie stories that get under your skin, you owe it to yourself to try Static Dread: The Lighthouse. It's haunting, oddly cozy, and one of the most memorable indie horror experiences I've played this year.”

“Static Dread: The Lighthouse employs a brilliantly unsettling art style and threatens to go to interesting places before disappointingly settling into monotony”

“Static Dread is one of the most unique indies that I’ve played this year. The game takes analog horror to heights never imagined before while ensuring the story is interesting enough to keep players hooked.”

“With Static Dread, SolarSuit Games offers a game that abandons the typical monster-shooting approach to deliver a suffocating and deeply disturbing Lovecraftian experience. A title that abandons the generic monster-shooting approach to immerse us in Lovecraft's work in an original and different way, in a disturbing and constantly deteriorating environment.”

“Static Dread: The Lighthouse is a disappointing attempt at combining the suspense, dread, and worldbuilding of Lovecraftian horror with the gameplay of Papers, Please. With what little this game does right, such as its incredible character designs and art, it is sadly overlooked by its tonal inconsistencies and its diabolical mediocrity, from its poorly implemented sanity and energy mechanics to its horrendously easy and repetitive gameplay loop. It's an easily forgettable and thematically incoherent narrative, lacking any genuine horror elements, and revealing its eldritch threats too early on. Few games capture the essence of H.P. Lovecraft, and Static Dread falls flat at every turn.”

“The game offers a great mix of dread laced with unknowable horror. Because there are different choices you can make, the game has many very different endings. Can you successfully complete your job? Can you make the right choices, even if they go against your morals? There’s only one way to find out.”

“While Static Dread: The Lighthouse sets a compelling tone with its Eldritch horror setting and an eccentric cast of characters who each come to our doorstep with their own branching story to tell, it's massively let down by its tedious gameplay, which relies too much on repetition and not enough on generating actual horror.”

“Atmospheric but not scary or interesting.”

“Static Dread: The Lighthouse was a small case of mistaken identity for me. In my haste to look it over before reviewing, the screenshots made it seem like”

“Static Dread: The Lighthouse might wear its influences on its sleeve, but it delivers a unique horror experience that is worth checking out if you like ethical dilemmas and Cthulhu mythology. This very well may be the next hit indie horror game.”

“Its low-fi, contained horror isn’t going to scare the pants off of you, but it is unsettling, and it will keep you guessing until the end. Just… do yourself a favor: when the night rolls in, stay in the light.”

“Dripping in Lovecraftian and Papers, Please! inspiration, Static Dread: The Lighthouse forgoes the generic focus on monster shooting, instead drawing you in and challenging your sense of reality with difficult moral decisions, stress-inducing gameplay and an unsettling, ever-deteriorating environment. Few games capture the essence of H.P Lovecraft's particular blend of madness from unknowable knowledge, but this Old Great One does.”

“Static Dread: The Lighthouse proved to be a refreshing break from the usual parade of cinematic AAA releases, offering a more contained yet no less gripping adventure. It draws players in with a mysterious world steeped in evocative Lovecraftian atmosphere, and a narrative that urges you to explore, to uncover and above all.. to doubt.”

“Static Dread: The Lighthouse is an excellent resource-management horror game that excels with its fantastic storytelling, incredible art, and hypnotically immersive setting. I have no doubt that this excellent piece of horror storytelling will soon explode in popularity, rightfully winning over fans with the sea-dredged gold it has to offer.”