The Portrait

The portrait is an older world from one of the Spookality 2023 participants. It has some interesting horror elements that remind me of contents from the game “In Sound Mind.” There are jumpscares, but they are more subtle and not of the super loud screaming type.

Most of the horror is psychological, in that it is related to the mental health challenges of the main character in the story. Some of them are unique in that they do things to you that interface with your avatar and your view of the world. There are some puzzles/challenges that are a bit tricky and require outside knowledge, but most can be accomplished by paying very close attention to the environment and props that are intently placed, but perhaps overlooked.

Some of the horror is a little bit graphic, and could be triggering for some people. If psychological horror isn’t an issue for you, then check this world out.

(Rating: 7.5)

It’s one thing to make a general horror puzzle world like so many do. You know the drill: Extremely dark, a barely functioning flashlight, some okay-ish puzzles… This one I’d say is a step above worlds like that. The presentation is nice and I like the jumpscares as they aren’t too in your face or annoying like some worlds are with something just screaming at you and flashing lights (please stop doing this, regardless of seizure warnings it’s just lame). Instead you get mannequins turning towards you while you’re not looking or a slight smile in a painting that wasn’t there before. There’s a subtely here at play that I enjoy.

There’s also a bit of lore too that adds to the experience about an artist with some sort of mental issues. The puzzles were good as well, though we did have to repeat sections to go back and check something you missed a few times over which led to a lull in the experience. I especially liked the end jumpscare – it’s a bit different than most, and I can respect it.

(Rating: 7.5)