Enter the surreal world in this free indie horror game
Eden is a free first-person horror adventure video game that will take you to a surreal dreamscape journey far different from the usual horror clichés. Developed by Missing Mountain, Eden is considered a cross between the P.T. demo by Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro, What Remains of Edith Finch, and The Stanley Parable. You play as a man invited to come back to his old orphanage and deciding to explore the rundown manor. However, from the moment you begin, everything already seems wrong and things will only get worse the further you go.
Why did you come back?
Jumpscares and gory scenes are a staple when it comes to the horror genre and you can’t really fault people for that since these things are universally-scary subjects. However, these tend to get overused and end up just losing the scare factor altogether. In Eden, these elements are not the focus that will get you shivering. Instead, Eden forces you into a creepy atmosphere that will keep you tense for any jumpscares that you think may suddenly come.
The main point of Eden is curiosity—you’re only given a narrated letter about an invitation back to your old orphanage. After that, there’s not much backstory to be found afterward, even when you start exploring. Unlike in other horror games where the lore is important, Eden keeps you confused and wondering about why things are the way they are—from the severe lack of interactable items that may give you clues to the constant shifting of the world into surreal landscapes.
Eden makes use of P.T.’s looping path, as you will constantly come back to your original starting point. The most interaction here is with a haunted typewriter talking to you about vague beings. The world responds to what you do and won’t pressure you at all with timers or a health bar—save from the peculiar environmental sounds. By the end, the game will break the fourth wall by messing with your computer files and send creepy notes. Eden can be confusing but it’s at least chilling.
