Developer: Grumpy Rock Studios
Publisher: Grumpy Rock Studios
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Confronted – Preview
If you’ve ever played a horror game where you got annoyed after the protagonist hides in a very obvious place but doesn’t get found, then Confronted by Grumpy Rock Studios will please you. In this Early Access title, hiding from the monsters isn’t enough. You need to fortify your little hiding place with a handmade barricade if you don’t want to be spotted. It’s an interesting mechanic in an overall intriguing game that we just had to check out.
Confronted takes place within the drafty confines of Radu Castle. Our main character is a woman named Dorinela, who receives a letter from her husband, Nicolae. Despite their relationship having taken a turn and the two currently being separated, when Nicolae writes that he has been arrested and taken to the dungeons of Radu Castle, Dorinela feels compelled to find him. However, there is obviously more going on here than meets the eye. A terrifying wolf-man creature roams the castle walls, and even Nicolae’s cry for help might be staged to lure Dorinela into danger. The game will have three chapters over which the slow-burn story will extend, though only the first is currently available in the Early Access version.
What we really appreciate about Confronted is that the graphics steer away from the hyper-realistic look we’ve grown tired of in some modern games, and instead opts for more stylistic graphics. This gives the entire game a retro feel, without sacrificing scariness. The halls of Radu Castle are dark and creepy, since the game has a good grasp on lighting to build the atmosphere and its environments. The monster design is simple but effective for an indie horror game.
Similarly, we can compliment Confronted for its sound design too. The sound effects worked to build up the atmosphere even further, and the game comes with proper voice acting, which feels like a rare treat these days. We enjoyed the overall ambiance of the castle as we explored. The game has little to no music, using silence to further ramp up the tension. But a sound cue will alert you when the monster is around.
Confronted is a horror game that centers fully around stealth and even some resource management. The game has a very straightforward path for you to follow, but rewards exploration both in that it gives you notes that further the plot, as well as materials for building. This building is also where Confronted’s unique mechanic comes in. Unlike in other horror games, where various convenient hiding places just happen to be available, in Confronted, you will have to make your own. Using the crafting materials you find, you can barricade rooms or make a cover that will keep you out of sight, like underneath a table. Hiding without this cover will do you no good, since the monster will easily see you.
This mechanic adds a tactical edge to the game, as choosing where and when to build your hiding places becomes integral to survival. If the monster spots you, you cannot hide before you run away and break its line of sight, since it will force its way through your wooden construction if it knows where you are. However, this does mean you can stall it by barricading doors. Overall, this is an enjoyable mechanic, though as for now, the monster loses interest rather quickly and does tend to get stuck on random decor pieces too, so the chase scenes aren’t as frightening as they could be. This is something we’d like to see developed further as the game progresses in Early Access. Outside of building your own hiding places, Confronted is a pretty standard stealth horror game that is fun enough to play without being groundbreaking. With only an hour of content available now, it’s hard to say what might be added to the game later.
Conclusion
Judging story-heavy games in Early Access can be a bit tricky. Confronted gives us just enough to make us excited for what’s to come, and getting the game now means we can jump straight into chapters 2 and 3 when they do release. If you want something scary and old-school to sink your teeth into, and don’t mind a game that can think outside of the box, this is definitely a good pick with future content to be added.
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