You wake up one day in a flat that
you’re unable to escape from, and
where a TV set plays ancient
propaganda films on a loop. Films
about the dangers of masturbation, or
the threat of homosexuality, before a
mysterious stranger
provides you with
viewing matter that’s
less ridiculous, and
more unnerving. Tapes
posted through the
letterbox contain
footage of your
apartment, footage
spliced into a series of
prophetic short films resembling the
deadly videotape in The Ring.
These freaky videos are unsettling
artifacts in their own right: Evidence
that someone or something has been
in the flat before you, or worse, that
they’re in it right now. But they’re
also a clever tool to guide the player
from room to room, as clues to your
next objective are hidden inside theW
hile every other game with a mysterious story sups
from the damn fine coffee and delectable cherry pie of
Twin Peaks, Somewhat’s SPEK.TAKL is the rare game
to explore the territory of The Fly director David
Cronenberg. In the body horror of Videodrome,
technology and flesh become intertwined—just as the apartment setting of
SPEK.TAKL morphs to resemble the inside of a human body.footage. You’ll spend your half-hour-
ish with the game following hints
from one bloody thing to another, as
more tapes arrive, and as the fabric of
the world slowly shifts around you.
Contrary to many horror games,
which terrorize you
with zombies, or with
one persistent ghost,
your home is your only
enemy in SPEK.TAKL.
The game resembles
PT, but in reality it’s
closer to the under-
appreciated Silent Hill
4: The Room, which
memorably took place in a messed-
up apartment. As you investigate
further—as you obey the videotapes,
but also puzzle-solve by using items
found in the environment—you’ll
finally reach its beating heart, where
brick walls have transformed into
pulsating flesh.
You may have noticed that
Somewhat’s game is extremelylow-resolution, with great jagged
pixels obscuring everything in sight.
Partly, I think this was done to
obscure the primitive 3D models, but
it also gives the world an unreal,
queasy quality that enriches the
paranoid atmosphere. As you delve
into its fleshy core, the walls begin to
shudder, to warp horribly around
you, as in an early PlayStation game.
It’s an arresting, unnerving visual
effect. There are some wonderfully
creepy sights, especially in the latter
part of the game.ITEM PUZZLES
The adventure-game-style item
puzzles I mentioned earlier are
appreciated, adding a welcome
sprinkle of complexity and
engagement with your environment.
However, I found the menu a little
buggy, causing me to become
hopelessly trapped within the
inventory a couple of times. That’s a
small complaint about one of the
freshest horror games in ages.NEED TO KNOW
WHAT IS IT?
A first-person horror
set in the world’s
worst AirBnB
EXPECT TO PAY
Free
DEVELOPER
Somewhat
PUBLISHER
In-house
REVIEWED ON
AMD [email protected],
6GB RAM, GeForce GT
610
MULTIPLAYER
None
LINK
bit.ly/SpektGame84
Home is where the heart
is in this paranoia-
drenched horror game
that knows how to get
under your skin.VERDICTSEEING IS BELIEVING
Terror hits at home in the body horror of SPEK.TAKL. By Tom Sykes
These freaky
videos are
unsettling
artefacts in
their own rightSPEK.TAKL
FREE GAMES REVIEW
Well, it passes the
flushable toilet test.It’s a nice enough flat. Though it
doesn’t stay that way for long.There’s backstory, but it’s
sparing, and actually interesting.