The once-familiar classrooms and apartment halls now look like scenes from Silent Hill.
This is how the indie video game Scarred turns modern Singapore into a place of nightmares.
KOEX Studio developed the game. Singaporean solo developer Choo Bin Yong runs the studio.
Scarred is a first-person horror puzzle game. Players control a student who explores a grim alternate version of Singapore.
Demo gives taster
The game launched its demo during Steam Next Fest in February.
The free demo gave players an early look at Scarred before its full release.
The game uses detailed 3D graphics. Publisher The Iterative Collective helped bring the project to life.
Players enter an immersive psychological horror experience. They must “piece together a story that will change your understanding of your friends and classmates forever.”
The game also challenges players with “frightening” puzzles.
At the same time, they must avoid a “ghostly presence”.
Players must escape before the horrors consume them. The game takes place in a “dream-like” world filled with fear and tragedy.
Choo discussed the game’s influences in a 2023 interview with Jio Play Game.
He said Scarred took inspiration from “some from real-life events in Singapore and some from Asian horror movies and games.”
“I also took inspiration from my own school days and included them into the game,” he said.
Different from other games
While there are a few local horror lore included in ‘Scarred’, Choo said they are not a big part of the game and the story is “more original and character driven.”
Apart from the game’s eerie environment and puzzles, it also has several cutscenes that Choo said help tell the story.
According to the developer, the cutscenes were made with motion capture technology, “which is quite rare in indie horror games.”
Choo added that the fact that the game is set entirely in Singapore is also what makes it different from other horror games.
“I think there aren’t a lot of first-person horror game(s) set in Singapore, so Scarred will definitely stand out from the rest,” said Choo.
‘Scarred’ is set for a full release on April 17 after being pushed back from the original March 7 date.
For now, the demo is still available to download on Steam for free.
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