Free indie horror experience

Lights Off! is a free-to-play horror experience from TheDollarGameStore team. This short adventure experience builds on a simple yet relatable premise—turning off the lights before going to bed. By capitalizing on a universal human experience and turning it on its head, you get a game where you no longer know what to expect.

Basically, Lights Off! uses low-resolution 3D graphics reminiscent of the original Half-Life game. It also features a camera mechanic similar to Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water. The game deserves attention for such effective use of gameplay and atmospheric horror, despite the poor graphics and short playthrough.

Survive the nights and go to bed

The objective for Lights Off! appears easy and repetitive, but don’t let it fool you. Sure, you only need to turn off the lights and go to bed, but the game introduces a paranormal element that makes the game challenging halfway through. The first few levels were intended to get you to drop your guard, and it works. Here is where the horror starts.

Once the paranormal events start, the game keeps you on your toes for the rest of the game. With the mentioned camera mechanic, it’s up to you to piece together the horror that lies within your home. The graphics are dated and the game uses the same location all throughout. However, it makes up for it with good use of lighting, especially the jumpscare factor from the camera.

Lastly, get the full experience by playing the game with headphones. The sounds also help retain the unsettling atmosphere across the game, leading up to the rather slow-burn and equally disturbing ending. It’s actually hard to believe that playing this horror game is something that only takes ten minutes on average, with little to no replayability value since it only has a single ending scenario.

Just sleep with lights on

Lights Off! is one of those short video games with a low production value that somehow manages to pull off what it aims to do. It reignites the primal fear that humans have against darkness, set in the modern context of turning lights off before going to bed. Its good use of lighting and audio manages to create an increasingly disturbing environment, leading to an unsettling ending.