#like obv its not poppy playtime or FNAF but thats an incredibly high bar

[existentialcrisisetcetera]

i think it's bc its straight up just not that scary. and i dont mean that in a bad way! i love dark deception dearly, and i love what it does, but the focus is definitely on pacman-esque gameplay rather than really trying to scare you.

tldr: dd just isn't as scary as a lot of other horror games bc there isn't much dread, that's on purpose, and it's absolutely good for what it is.

sure, if you get surprised by agatha teleporting behind you or a gold watcher just being There around a corner, youre gonna be a spooked. but it doesnt try to make you Dread the enemies in the same way as, say, outlast or resident evil. like they build up an atmosphere, a tense one at times, but not one that makes you dread to move forward. thats why the whole thing at the end of mascot mayhem hits so hard, its the first time the game really makes you feel afraid what's ahead of you through the near-complete darkness and use of sound+small lights that dont reveal much to lure you on.

of course i may be a Very biased source, horror just kind of bounces off me unless they go in very hard - not in a badass way, in a "local man accidentally totally desensitized themselves to horror imagery bc they just thought it was neat" way. but we KNOW glowstick entertainment would not have an issue if they really were trying to scare the shit out of you: nixson is doing the coding, and he made joy of creation, and joy of creation is scary as shit. it builds dread through environment and sound, it creates enemies you really fear rather than just obstacles. sure, nothing could really be like The Corridor (you know the one) but dark deception being not even slightly as pants-shittingly terrifying makes it very clear that the lack of dread is on purpose.

and i think this lack of dread is good! dark deception may have a very horror-themed set dressing, and uses a lot of references to popular horror settings/media, but the ganeplay itself doesnt really try to be scary beyond the inherent conceit of being chased and jumpscared if you die. it's tense, but in the way that makes you think tactically rather than the way that makes you panic. or that might just be me haha

anyway yeah im a very biased source but i do love this game, it's very rare to see a game that adores its references so much while still doing its own thing. it's not ripping off anything besides maybe pacman, and the first-person perspective makes them play quite differently anyway - it's at least a little more threatening to not know where the enemies are, and makes you plan differently. and the spooky setting dressing is fun, sue me