Stowaway

Of all the bad decisions you made in your life, stowing away on the NS Polaris might be the worst one ever, and most probably your last. Stowaway is a first-person horror survival game that puts you in the shoes of a man who finds himself on a Russian nuclear icebreaker that’s ripped apart somewhere near the Arctic Circle.

Right off the bat, Stowaway is a very good looking game as it uses Unreal Engine 4 technology to deliver great graphics and of course smooth game mechanics. Visually, it’s hard to find something that truly bothers or that seems to not fit in with the purpose of the game.

Great horror experiences are delivered by a number of different things and Stowaway seems to have checked the list for nearly all of them. The first and most important aspect of the game that is downright close to perfect is the atmosphere.

As you walk through the narrow corridors you almost never feel safe, not even after you lock a steel door behind you. A room is never fully lit, light bulbs flash all the time, strange noises surround you from every possible angle and even hearing the sound of your own footsteps becomes unsettling.

Stowaway uses fairly simple gameplay mechanics but does so to its advantage. Animations are fluid and the way you interact with objects is made to be intuitive. Being a survival horror game, you will have to closely explore each section of the ship to find tools, clues about what happened and so on.

Apart from escaping with your life, the next most important thing to you will be light. Throughout the game you will find lighters and batteries for your flashlight which don’t last forever. Actually, they last way less than you would expect so knowing when and where to use them is crucial. And yes, they do always seem to run out of juice just as you enter a dark room, the door suddenly shuts behind you and a baby starts to cry in a really creepy way.

Currently, Stowaway is in its early stages of life and development but even so it’s quite impressive. After a few minutes of gameplay we’re pretty sure you’ll be hooked into the story, scared more than you would like and most importantly, wishing to play the entire thing.

If you’re interested in helping the two developers (yes two people made this gem), you can do so by visiting the Stowaway Kickstarter page.