Steam Drops 9/10 Free Lovecraftian Gem, Complete in One Sitting

Christmas isn’t really the time for horror games, but we’ll make an exception for this 9/10 rated PC title available on Steam.

It might be the season of giving and goodwill towards men but we can wholeheartedly recommend Letherfall to anyone looking for something new to play over the holidays, though it’s for Steam users only I’m afraid.

Letherfall is a bite-sized horror title that you can bash out in an evening but despite the short playtime its reviews are positive, albeit limited.

The game’s Steam description says it’s “a first-person horror video game with Lovecraftian elements: the player must make their way through monstrous entities and intricate puzzles while exploring the abandoned village of Letherfall. Some nightmares don’t fade. They’re just waiting for you to open the wrong door.”

When it says Lovecraftian it doesn’t mean Bloodborne-esque tentacle monsters, more so an ever-present psychological horror vibe, and an overwhelming feeling that you’re never quite alone.

Visually speaking it reminds me a lot of P.T, the demo for what would have become Hideo Kojima’s Silent Hills game before he parted ways with Konami. If you’ve still got that demo installed on your PlayStation 4 by the way it’ll fetch a pretty penny nowadays.

Konami

For a comparison with a game that actually came out it also reminds me of Visage, another horror title that also traps players in a haunted house.

We could go on with the comparisons but why do that when the game’s reviews speak for themselves.

At the time of writing there’s only 13 reviews in total but almost all of them speak very highly about the game.

One reads: “It's a small and short game, but polished and powerful. It delivers well on both mystery and horror themes, while also being relatively easy and intuitive to pick up.”

Another adds: “Very interesting! I really enjoyed trying to figure out what was going on.

"I truly appreciate that the tension is built not through jump scares, but through sound design and atmosphere, just as the genre should be. Well done!”

Steam users interested in giving the game a go will also be glad to hear that it’s completely free.

It’s not a demo either, you can play through the whole game uninterrupted.

With Christmas right around the corner it’d be tempting to put on a game that’s slightly more festive, but we can’t deny that we’re tempted to stick Letherfall on for an hour as the day grows dark.