Horror is, obviously, subjective. Watching a bloodied corpse re-animate can be just as terrifying as seeing the breakdown of a human mind through their actions over time. It can exist in a haunted house filled with ghosts or in a family home ripped apart by infidelity. How we interpret the genre will always make it fascinating to me. It’s a part of why I love watching the entire catalogue of Shudder and playing every game that claims to be a horror. Video games are continually pushing the limits of what is scary, and Static Dread: The Lighthouse is one of those titles.
Its horror comes from the unknown. The anticipation and the tension. It comes from what isn’t seen. Imagining what lurks in the shadows is always more delicious than seeing its claws. Static Dread: The Lighthouse makes most of its runtime with what cannot be seen. It’s never outright scary, but it paints a picture of what is slowly destroying the world you’re a part of. You’re manning a lighthouse after a global cataclysm. It was never going to be easy, was it?
Looking after that lighthouse sees you completing daily jobs to keep it running. The generator needs to be kept on, as does the radio antenna. The beacon of light cannot go out. While all these tasks are important, you’re also responsible for directing ships to their intended ports. It feels like Papers. Please in this sense as your boss has laid out rules for you with each night, and going against these are going to piss him off. It could also lead to disaster for you, but it’s hard when your conscience plays a role.
You’ll hear how something isn’t quite right on one of these ships. A sickness has ripped through the crew, with a sighting that’s left them scared. As troubling as this is, you can’t let them dock where they want. Or can you? This is the test of your morals battling with the rules at play. With every passing day, things start to get weirder. Strange broadcasts threatening you. Passers by knocking on your door and asking to come in. What do you do, and how do you manage the dangers that become more intense with every new dawn in Outsmouth.
Speaking of those knocks at the door, you’ll meet plenty of different characters who appear at first to offer no threat. Your chief has told you not to let anybody in, but some of these poor strangers just need a bed for the night. It would be inhumane to not help them out, surely. That’s up to you, and I won’t spoil anything. These interactions, along with the need to stay awake and not let the light go out adds constant tension to the two in-game weeks, with things getting gradually worse.
The lighthouse is dank and depressing, feeling like a prison with nothing to act as beacon for your own sanity. Thankfully you’re kept busy, and while it’s never going to make you scream in fear, the uneasy feeling in your stomach never quite dissipates. The Lovecraftian horrors are represented well with Static Dread: The Lighthouse wearing its inspirations comfortably on its sleeve. The horrors I saw, however, came from my own decisions to be a decent human in favour of doing the right thing.
Static Dread: The Lighthouse won’t be for everyone. With a title that sounds scary, the thing is that you’re never really terrified. Instead, that uncomfortable feeling in the pit of your stomach is where the tension resides. The repetition of keeping things running never gets boring because you never know where it might lead. Guiding ships and freighters to port always has its variables which you need to follow, but whether you should is up to you. This is an enjoyable game that never outstays its welcome.
