CAYNE

A good horror experience is usually not based on gore, hordes of monsters or constant jump scares that become repetitive in a rush. Instead, true horror games use atmosphere as a weapon against the players, because it’s a lot more effective to keep them on their toes at all times without actually displaying any monsters on the screen. However, it obviously takes more effort to create the proper atmosphere than it takes to include loud noises.

CAYNE is an isometric adventure game with point & click gameplay mechanics and a focus on puzzles, which is always good news. The story is quite intriguing as well, and you can tell that the designers tried to create a proper mystery and a very scary atmosphere to go along with it. There’s also plenty of gore to gross you out, on the other hand, but its role is to improve the experience, not to define it.

Speaking of which, the story centers around a woman by the name of Hadley, who wakes up in a strange facility somewhere with no idea of how she got there. On top of it all, she is pregnant, and the people at the facility are trying to extract the fetus from her womb for some reason. Naturally, the goal is to make your escape and avoid all the nasty traps along your way to freedom.

The puzzles can be quite tricky every now and again, mainly because they require you to perform certain steps before you can solve them. They are also nicely integrated into the environment, so your actions feel quite normal and in tune with your surroundings. Whether you have to avoid guards or tinker with computer consoles, every puzzle challenges you with something different, which keeps the experience fresh.

Lastly, the graphics are worth a mention as well, because the isometric landscapes are very detailed and quite creepy, not to mention gory sometimes. It can be a bit too dark to see every now and again, but then again that may be by design. The sound effects and the cutscenes are great as well, especially when you consider the small development team behind the game.

Although CAYNE is a bit too short to be considered a proper game, the story and the puzzles are very engaging, not to mention the great level design and enjoyable cutscenes. Hence, it’s a must-play for those who like a challenge and do not back down when faced with disturbing situations.