One of my favorite things about the horror genre is that fantastic gems seemingly come out of nowhere and take the genre by storm. For example, in 2023, Lethal Company, created by one developer, became one of the most popular games of the year.
And The Exit 8 – one of my favorite games of the year – remixed the I’m on Observation Duty formula and sparked an entire subgenre of first-person spot-the-anomaly games.Â
And I’m certainly not saying that Terror at Oakheart will reach the same heights of popularity as these titles, but it definitely deserves more attention as a fantastic indie horror gem.
Terror at Oakheart – A Stylish and Bloody 80s-Inspired Indie Gem
Terror at Oakheart is a side-scrolling pixel adventure horror game heavily inspired by 80s and 90s slasher movies such as Scream, Halloween, and Friday the 13th. Story-wise, the town of Oakheart is terrorized by a sadistic masked clown named Teddy. You play as several different characters – including the killer clown – through scripted scenes that usually culminate in brutal, Mortal Kombat-style executions.
When booting up Terror at Oakheart, the first things I noticed were the gorgeous pixel art graphics and those nostalgic 80s synth chords. From start to finish, both of these two aspects were absolutely faultless. The art style took such a nostalgic and colorful approach, both through the character and environment design and especially during the boss fights. Speaking of boss fights, trust me when I say that you’ll want to reach the final boss just to hear that fantastic music!
Clocking in at around 2.5 hours, Terror at Oakheart managed to fully grip me with its simple yet effective story. Throughout the story, you play as a variety of characters and see what fate has in store for them. Playing as multiple characters helped to make the storyline so exciting, as you never stayed with one character for too long. Once your character inevitably dies, you then pick up the story from another perspective, seeing the aftermath of the previous character’s death and progressing forward in an entertaining chain reaction of deaths.Â
My favorite chapter had you play as all the different camp counselors, splitting up to investigate different areas of the campsite. Once in their positions, the perspective then suddenly changes to the killer, and you play out the chapter as Teddy. It’s such a unique and satisfying way of telling a story, rather than just sticking to one perspective, and kept the game feeling fresh.
In terms of gameplay, the game features light combat mechanics- your typical Shoot, Dodge, Reload, and Repeat formula. There’s also an inventory system, which is just a glorified way to store and use your Med-kits.
Even though the combat was fairly simple, the game provides you with a variety of guns that spice up the combat. The pistol is faster but deals less damage, whereas the shotgun is powerful but leaves you vulnerable with its long reload time.
Plus, the literal last thing I was expecting in this game was two intense boss fights. They were fairly challenging, and the final boss fight took me a couple of retries to properly get the hang of it.
Probably the main downside of the game is that it’s not super replayable, but that’s to be expected with its low price point. After finishing the game, I replayed a few chapters to find all the collectible plushies, and I briefly dipped my toes into the bonus game mode – Mr. Tops Murder Mayhem.
Final Verdict
Terror at Oakheart: 5 Stars!
Overall, I had an absolute blast with Terror at Oakheart. I think it achieved everything it set out to do – create a camp, nostalgic, and gory adventure game – and more. The shifting perspectives turned the linear plot into an engaging storyline, and the impeccable art style and score were the cherry on top.
Check out the awesome trailer for Terror at Oakheart below:
