2D Game Boy Color-style horror game

Overlooker is a top-down 2D game that combines elements from action and horror games. Made by indie game developer Connor O. R.T. Linning, this survival horror game will have you play as a woman lost in a building. However, her struggles do not end there. The building she’s in is shrouded in darkness. Moreover, there are grizzly ghouls out to get her. It is up to you to get her out of the building by deciphering clues left by someone.

Fight and solve the puzzle

The game introduces you to Ariana, the girl who’s had the misfortune of becoming Overlooker’s protagonist. How she ended up in the dark building is not discussed in the game. But one thing is for certain: she needs to get out of that building before she dies of old age—or worse, get eaten by grizzly ghouls.

The good news is that Ariana will not be left helpless. She will have weapons—albeit rather rubbish ones—that she can use. However, she will have limited health and a finite supply of first aid kits, so you’ll have to make sure that she doesn’t run into trouble much.

To make up for this unfortunate situation, the game gives Ariana the ability to run fast. Combine that with her ability to swing a blade as if she’s been doing it since birth, and it even the odds. Well, not so much—along the way, enemies that can sprint and packs quite a punch will join the fray, so you’ll have to brace yourself.

Alongside the fighting, there are also puzzles that you need to solve. You can do so by deciphering the notes left lying around the building. Be warned, as some of the notes make sense while the others, not so much. But at least the building isn’t so large that you’ll end up lost in a maze.

Technical misses

From the get-go, players will have a lot of questions about the game. There are some parts in the storyline that are left unanswered. But that can be forgiven, as long as the end goal and mechanics of the game are well-laid. However, looking at the technical aspect of the game, some scream a need for improvement.

On top of the list are the pretty terrible controls. And for a game that requires players to fight enemies that lurks in the dark, how your control response can mean life or death for a character. Another issue that players will face with Overlooker is the poor combat feedback. When using a weapon, all you hear is the sound effect. There will be no animation to indicate that you attack.

For players, it is quite frustrating. You’ll just keep attacking without being sure if your attacks are working properly. There are also glitches wherein the characters won’t go into the attack stance, even though they should.

But what would frustrate the players the most is that there is no save system in the game. You’ll have to start from the beginning after dying. It doesn’t help that the game can be painfully difficult to play to some players. And with the messy controls, you will probably die once or twice—or perhaps many times.

Needs immediate patching

All in all, Overlooker seemed to have been released too early. The game, while having a promising premise, is filled with issues that need fixing. If the developer patches up these technical issues, then the game can live up to its promise of providing an enjoyable survival horror game. But as it is now, it is better if players find other games to play. After all, there are lots of indie games that cater to the genre.