Yellowcreek Stories: The Cabin Watcher

Developer: Carlos Azuaga

Publisher: JanduSoft

Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X/S (reviewed), PlayStation 5

Release Date: Out Now

Much of today's horror has a basis in the slasher movies of the Seventies and Eighties. Think The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, Friday The 13th or A Nightmare On Elm Street, and you've got several of the genre's most memorable villains, gleefully stalking their way through a whole legacy of blood-soaked movies.

Often these villains have no axe to grind; they just like murdering and maiming, preferably as messily as possible. Each also takes on a supernatural tone to their persona, seemingly invincible, albeit until the end of the film... until the start of the next one, when resurrection beckons.

And so to The Cabin Watcher, the first in a proposed series of games under the umbrella of Yellowcreek Stories, from solo dev Carlos Azuaga.

In a plot that'll win zero points for originality, the player is struggling writer Terry Madeson, desperate to finish penning the denouement to his latest novel. Naturally, the only path Terry sees is to hole up in a remote cabin, away from any distractions, save a TV and VCR player. Having arrived and stocked up on junk food at a nearby 7-11, Terry settles down to write his finale, only for a killer madman stalker to turn up.

Alert players would have noticed reports of a missing madman from the local insane asylum. The lunatic has seemingly targeted Terry and it'll take all of the writer’s alertness and cunning to survive. Whether the masked villain is a disgruntled Annie Wilkes-type fan is never explored. Terry just happens to be where it wants to stalk.

The Cabin Watcher is a stealth game, with the player having no means of defending themselves. Get spotted and caught by the stalker, and it's game over. It's set over two distinct areas – the cabin itself, then the store Terry visits early in the game. A brief spell as an investigating police officer breaks up the gameplay slightly; otherwise, in The Cabin Watcher, you'll be doing plenty of skulking in the shadows as the helpless writer while keeping a sharp eye out for the machete-wielding maniac.

There are plenty of nods to Eighties horror that'll have you smirking. The selection of videos for rental in the store offers some stonking titles, while the VHS-style kill screen evokes memories of Freddie, Jason et al. Stealth works mainly on audio, with the player sometimes able to walk right past the killer as long as they're not making too much noise. Together with the stalker's set patrol patterns, this doesn't add up to the toughest game ever, despite a challenging set piece or two.

Nevertheless, The Cabin Watcher is a tense hour or two of game time, augmented by its superb soundtrack. As in Flesh Made Fear, there's an authentic Eighties synth vibe going on, with pounding beats enhancing the player's trepidation as the killer tours around each area. We just hope it hasn't been made using generative AI.

CONCLUSION

 A tense and thrilling slasher movie in indie game form, its atmosphere boosted with a stonking set of Eighties electronic tunes.