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When it comes to survival-horror games on Steam, it can be difficult for indie creators to stand out from the crowd and define what makes their take on the genre unique from the plethora of alternative experiences on the storefront. Midnight Forge’sNowhereis the latest game to attempt to carve out its niche in a hyper-competitive market and, if the demo is anything to go by, it could have a profound effect on players. Unfortunately, the preview build is incomplete and barebones, makingthe idea ofNowherefar more compelling than the actual game.
Nowhereis a psychologicalhorror set in a remote Norwegian forestwhere players are tasked with tracking down a group of missing campers. While wandering through a spooky woodis enough to appeal to most horror fans,Midnight Forge goes the extra mile by leaning into Norse mythology for a creative twist,resulting in a theme that’s closer to the underrated filmThe Ritualthanthe more mainstreamBlair Witch Project. Initially walking into the area is daunting given the oppressive atmosphere and feeling that something is lurking just out of sight but upon closer inspection, the demo is unexpectedly tame.
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A Gumshoe Simulator
The Proof Of Concept
Nowhereis clearly an ambitious project, one that’s trying to spin many plates. Perhaps the most appealing part of the game is thatit aims to provide an authentic detective experience that requires players to discover their own clues and make connections themselves. Awkwardly holding down a button brings up an “Evidence Board,” an interactive element that can be used to place photographs and write notes about hypotheses and potential solutions. Trusting the player to engage with the game is appealing from a puzzle perspective, but it’s difficult to know how it’ll be realized in the final version.
The early build ofNowhereshows glimmers of the system in action but without any kind of guidance or tutorial, it’s impossible to know whether it’s effective.The preview version feels incredibly unfinished with the Investigation Board often not working at all or failing to recognize any kind of input. This incomplete state is evident everywhere in the demo, right down to the fact that the character model is still the default Unreal Engine stand-in.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, early builds are essential in testing ideas and establishing the scope of a project. Having said that,a demo should beillustrativeof the final product, providing players not with a glimpse of what will eventually be but a slice of what to expect. Demos are meant to, well, demonstrate an experience, andNowhere’s demo is missing so many key components that it’s difficult to discern what exactly it’s trying to sell.
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Nowhere’s Haunting Highlight
A Red Light To Hell
Bearing in mindNowhere’s unfinished state,it’s worth noting that the game’s atmosphere is already chilling. An eerie forest coated in a thick mist is easy fodder for a horror-stricken game, something Midnight Forge plays with even further by adding instances of spooky encounters with strange monsters leering out from behind distant trees. Despite the current lack of mechanics, it’s an effective display of what could ultimately prove to be a haunting experience when more systems have been layered over the foundation.
Undoubtedly the highlight ofNowhere’s demo is the arrival of what appear to beundead hordes, or draugr, as an ominous horn echoes throughout the forest. The trees are plunged into a thick red light and players are forced to take refuge in a structure or keep running to avoid the gathering creatures.It’s an effective moment, one that doesn’t come as a jumpscare but rather a terrifying payoffto slowly building terror.
Unfortunately,Nowhere’s preview once again shows what initially seems to be a strong hand but ultimately bluffs on the play. The creatures that chase players down are slow and easy to avoid, diminishing their initially stressful presence into a simple game of holding the sprint button and moving in any direction. Swift players can simply scale a tower in the central hamlet (which is just a quick teleportation to the top) and wait out the hunt since the creatures can’t climb. Again,it’s difficult to evaluate something based on a promise, but it could, eventually, turn into a harrowing experience.
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Nowhere’s Demo Is Very Rough
Looking For the Diamond
What’s perhaps most disappointing aboutNowhere’s demo is that while its promotional trailers show off gameplay that looks polished, the preview build didn’t reflect any of that. The teaser trailer demonstrates a fun moment where a crime scene is played out in reverse, recreating an early state of the destroyed room in what appears to be a pivotal moment in the story. Having replayed the 20-minute demo for just under 2 hours, such a moment never came to pass andit’s unclear whether something was missed or if it simply wasn’t included in the early build.
As mentioned above, it’s difficult to evaluate something on what it promises to eventually become.Nowherecould turn out to be a massive success, one that delivers a memorable survival horror experienceheld together with nuanced detective mechanics and a haunting world. Yet the demo isn’t reflective of this, providing a glimpse at a work that’s so early in its development cycle that one has to question the very existence of a consumer-facing demo.
At the very least,Nowhereis one worth watching. The ambitious nature of a project that aims to provide a hardcore take on a genre that’s largelyfallen prey to hand-holding puzzlesis exciting for those who want to embody theprotagonist of a moody Nordic horror.The demo is currently free on Steam so those who have a fondness for psychological horror should at least check it outas long as they’re not hoping for something more advanced than a pre-alpha proof of concept.
Screen Rantwas provided with a Steam code for the purpose of this preview.
