A symbol of comfort and security, the trusty teddy bear has long since proved itself the ultimate protector against the things that go bump in the night. Developer The Gang use this as the premise for Out of Sight, an immersive psychological horror set to release for PC and consoles on May 22nd.
I recently had the chance to play through the early access build, and I have to say, it has a lot of potential. The game not only features full voice acting – an impressive feat for an indie title – but also delivers solid graphics and maintains a consistently eerie atmosphere. I did a little research and managed to find a shorter, previous iteration on itch.io, and whilst I didn’t play it myself, judging by the screenshots and gameplay videos, this new version is a massive improvement.
Story
Told through the eyes of her teddy bear, Out of Sight follows a young girl named Sophie as she attempts to escape from the large, run-down mansion she is being kept in. Sophie is blind, but she suddenly gains the ability to see through the eyes of Teddy, giving her an advantage that her captors don’t know she has.
The mansion is large and prison-like. Most rooms hide cobwebs, shackles, and scurrying rats, and the floorboards creak and strain with every footstep. Sophie is moments away from freedom when the floorboards give out from beneath her and she falls into the lowest levels of the mansion. With the help of Teddy, Sophie must work her way back through the mansion and escape – something more challenging now that her captors know that she’s out of her room.
We know very little about Sophie’s circumstances at first. She doesn’t know where she is or why she’s there and neither does the player, but we’re slowly able to piece things together through snippets of conversation between her captors when they think she can’t hear them. There are also a series of children’s toys to collect, each of which has a little synopsis about the child it belonged to, which both provides context and further mystery.
When I booted up the game, it advised me to play with headphones, and I definitely think that is the best way to do it. Out of Sight isn’t scary in a violent or jump-scare kind of way, but it does a good job of building an eerie atmosphere that had me on the edge of my seat. From ghostly whispers to the pounding of Sophie’s heart and the heavy footsteps of those pursuing her, everything feels that much more immersive when you hear it through a headset.
Gameplay
In terms of gameplay, Out of Sight makes use of both first and third-person perspectives. When Sophie is carrying Teddy, it’s in first-person. When she sets him down on one of the many pink blankets scattered around, it switches to second-person. Teddy’s field of vision is a little limited, which makes moving around and solving puzzles a little difficult at times, but it works. We’re seeing what Sophie can see through Teddy, so it’s going to be limited.
This shifting perspective is one of the highlights of the game. It’s something that sets it apart from similar games in the genre, and I really enjoyed it.
Final Thoughts
I experienced a few crashes – usually after picking up a collectible – but for the most part, the early access build was pretty stable, and if the developers spend the weeks leading up to release to provide that final bit of polish, I think the result will be great. A demo for Out of Sight is available on Steam. It’s short and sweet but should give players an idea of what to expect from the full release. If you’re a fan of the Little Nightmares series, this might be one to look out for.
