Finally, a piece of horror media that understands that the hitchhiker is in way more danger than anybody who chooses to help them out. Rather than a piece that chooses to fearmonger those most in need of help on the road based on what they could “”””””potentially”””””” do if you dare try and help them — an epitome of the capitalistic value of “fuck you got mine” — Fears to Fathom: Norwood Hitchhike hews closer to how the situation is like in the real world: you’re alone, at night, helpless, praying that whatever comes out of the darkness isn’t going to hurt you. You’re stranded, in the middle of nowhere, reliant on the kindness of strangers, hoping against hope that they have your best interests at heart. Even beyond how well it captures its subject matter, I also believe this is a really well-done indie game. The lo-fi, PS1-ish aesthetic, while maybe a bit dime-a-dozen in regards to indie horror, is utilized more… subtly, in a way that doesn’t call attention to itself. It’s an artstyle, rather than the be-all-end-all of the experience, and the framing device of the main character narrating what happened as an r/letsnotmeet style story really helps to add a unique level of character to the whole experience.
It’s also rather effective as a horror game — the way things start mundane and then slowly start to ramp up once you’re on the empty road, the way the game can bait-and-switch you into lowering your guard (and lead you into… honestly pretty effective jumpscares), a climax which was genuinely rather tense even after having already played the game once, and most of all how the sparse landscapes, the off-beat characters, and even the lighting really sell the vibe of being alone, outside, in the middle of the night. Both the bits where you are terrified for your life and just want to get home and the parts that… almost feel comfy: looking out a car window, listening to the hum of a stranger's car, seeing the outlines of the trees and the mountains and the wilderness inbetween, watching the road as it comes under the headlights. I wouldn’t call it perfect — there are moments gameplay-wise that felt finicky and a little broken, and there’s one particular narrative beat I’m a bit ??? on — but this game really does a lot for the 40 minutes you spend on it. It comes, it takes you for a ride, and then it drops you off on the side of the road. And while somebody else might pick you up later, and even despite the danger present throughout the experience, you're never going to forget what it was to be inside that stranger's car, and find yourself inside their world, even if only for a fleeting moment.
It’s also rather effective as a horror game — the way things start mundane and then slowly start to ramp up once you’re on the empty road, the way the game can bait-and-switch you into lowering your guard (and lead you into… honestly pretty effective jumpscares), a climax which was genuinely rather tense even after having already played the game once, and most of all how the sparse landscapes, the off-beat characters, and even the lighting really sell the vibe of being alone, outside, in the middle of the night. Both the bits where you are terrified for your life and just want to get home and the parts that… almost feel comfy: looking out a car window, listening to the hum of a stranger's car, seeing the outlines of the trees and the mountains and the wilderness inbetween, watching the road as it comes under the headlights. I wouldn’t call it perfect — there are moments gameplay-wise that felt finicky and a little broken, and there’s one particular narrative beat I’m a bit ??? on — but this game really does a lot for the 40 minutes you spend on it. It comes, it takes you for a ride, and then it drops you off on the side of the road. And while somebody else might pick you up later, and even despite the danger present throughout the experience, you're never going to forget what it was to be inside that stranger's car, and find yourself inside their world, even if only for a fleeting moment.