The indie horror genre is one that many question without checking it out. This is likely due to many of them being done rather poorly, but it was a refreshing take in this field when I played through Near Death Experience by indie developer Distorted Games.

Gameplay

This defenseless horror puts you in the mind of a car crash victim as he attempts to recover, but by the end of the game, there is a lesson that would be easily missed if you didn't really understand what was going on.

It is a chase down horror that will keep on your toes as you try to figure out what you have to do or find. The objective itself is a puzzle that isn't easily figured out, but once you get the hang of it, it's rather obvious. But that doesn't mean it is easy.

One of the more interesting aspects to this game was the way you used your flashlight. Unlike most games that have it stationary where it is always pointed straight forward as the player is facing, it moves around on its own. You know, like how a real person holding a flashlight would use it. It would of been nice to have a way to make it stationary for some parts of the game, but I enjoyed the new style use of a flashlight in a horror game.

This game is a rather hardcore horror that will take some time to beat during your first playthrough.

Graphics

The visual of the game is well done, especially being made by the sole developer behind Distorted Games, Davide Camuffo. The scenery matched quite well with the different sections of the game, with plenty of dark areas to make you get the nervous feeling many look for in a horror game.

The monsters you run in to all had their own designs, which was a horrific take when caught by each one of them. No matter how many times you get caught, it is always a disturbing moment when they get in your face!

Overall

The end result of playing through this game is that it provided all the aspects I would hope for in a horror game. I would of liked to see some animations or cutscenes showing off the arrival of each monster, rather than them just appearing on queue when you interact with the start of the chapters puzzle, but it was still a horrifying experience that kept me on edge as I played through each section of the game.