In this Tiny Horror Game, it’s Just You and the Apocalypse

It’s a well-worn concept, but it’s true: some of the very best horror is scary because it evokes, rather than fully illustrates some kind of terrifying concept. Hints at a reality too terrible to imagine (which, of course, helps us imagine it). It’s like a subtler “show, don’t tell,” more of a “sketch, don’t paint.”

That’s what Dan Sanderson’s Pacific does so well. It hints at a terrifying, ever-changing space. A bunker, maybe. There was an atomic apocalypse, perhaps. And you wander these halls, opening and closing doors, finding clues about what happened that will forever tantalize, and never tell too much.

It’s a spooky game, in its atmosphere, but a scary game in what it implies: a sort of solipsistic hell, where there are consistent rules, but you can’t really trust reality.

You can download Pacific for free (or pay what you want) on the game’s itch.io page.