Camp Sunshine is a game that stands out for its atmosphere, its visual style and its obvious love for 80s horror. Developed by Fossil Games, this independent title immerses players in a chilling and bloody adventure, where the homage to classics 16 -bits gets involved in a story of a summer camp transformed into a real nightmare.
A night of horror at Camp Sunshine
You play as Jez, an ordinary teenager who wakes up at his summer camp to find that his classmates have been massacred by an evil force. The camp, once warm and full of life, has been transformed into a veritable theater of terror. The killer lurks in the darkness, and it’s up to you to uncover the mysteries of this haunted place while trying to survive his bloody attacks.
What is striking from the first minutes of play is the oppressive atmosphere that emanates from every corner of the camp. The use of a graphic style reminiscent of 16bit games from Nintendo or Sega gives Camp Sunshine an undeniable retro charm, while accentuating the contrast with the darkness of its universe. It’s always something that works, like in Corpse Party for example. The game plays skillfully with this duality, using bright colors that clash with the macabre, and chiptune melodies that add an extra layer of tension.
The true strength of Camp Sunshine lies in its ability to evoke memories of 16-bit games while reinventing them through a horror lens. The pixel art graphics are meticulously crafted in an artistic style perfect for the genre. This choice is not only visual, it also influences the way the game plays, reinforcing this feeling of reliving an 80s cinema classic with a new intensity. How can you not think of Friday the 13th?
The developers have managed to create a nice balance between retro and modern elements, introducing more modern gameplay mechanics while maintaining a presentation that will appeal to fans of the 16-bit era. The soundtrack plays a central role in this experience, with each note heightening the suspense and creating a heavy atmosphere as we explore the camp plunged into darkness.
Camp Sunshine is also distinguished by its non-linear narration, which encourages exploration and the progressive discovery of its story. The clues are scattered in the form of notes, diaries, flashbacks and visual elements which, put together, gradually reveal the past of this cursed place. This method of storytelling pushes us to be attentive, to search every corner of the camp and put together the pieces of a macabre puzzle. Unfortunately, the game remains in English, which will prevent it from reaching a wider audience in our latitudes. Personally, I find that it reinforces the 80’s Slasher side, but that’s force of habit!
The story is not content to be a simple pursuit between a hero and an antagonist, it reveals narrative qualities which unfold gradually, which gives a little more… body to what could not have been than a simple bloody manhunt.
However, despite its undeniable qualities, Camp Sunshine suffers from some flaws in its gameplay. The pattern of puzzles, while initially entertaining, eventually lacks diversity and can make the experience somewhat repetitive, especially for players accustomed to more complex adventure games.
Moments of tension, meant to be the game’s most memorable moments, too often rely on predictable jumpscares. While this type of effect may be surprising at first, their repetition ends up making them less impactful and easier to anticipate. Fans of psychological horror games may find this approach a bit simplistic. Like in a Dark Pictures Anthology, we end up guessing what might happen to us, and the startle becomes annoying.
The orders of Camp Sunshine constitute another sensitive point. Although they are generally responsive, they can become clumsy in situations requiring rapid or precise movements. Moments where you have to run away from the killer or avoid traps sometimes become frustrating because of the rough precision of the controls. And about that, we can complain.
Camp Sunshine presents itself as an imperfect but very endearing experience for fans of horror games and retro-gaming. It doesn’t revolutionize the genre, but it offers an adventure full of thrills reminiscent of the 80s, with a gripping story that deserves to be discovered.
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