Coming Soon: Secrets Of Suburbia

The kid-left-home-alone trope has been mined a few times recently, most notably in this Fears To Fathom episode. Secret of Suburbia’s developers have warped their version back to 1997, recreating an authentic late-Nineties internet experience alongside its dense, oppressive atmosphere.

There are a few nice touches: Night Of The Living Dead is playing on the TV at the game’s start, and the internet search engine is delightfully quaint, albeit running a lot faster than ‘97 dial-up speeds!

We like the idea that you can explore the neighbourhood at your leisure, and there promises to be many more chills in the finished game, as Rowan explores the mystery behind the disappearance of fellow student Sophie Walker.

As an aside, it’s been noted on Steam that the developer is using Generative AI without disclosing it within the platform. While its usage seems to be limited to minor pieces of artwork, the dev decided against maintaining this declaration due to a negative reaction from users. The discussion does make us wonder how many other games avoid using this facility to prevent accusations of ‘AI slop’.

You can download the Secrets Of Suburbia demo now from Steam, and judge for yourself. The full game is slated for release in September.