Destructoid’s Indie Gems – Edition 9: This haunted hotel is the least of your worries when there’s a killer on the loose

You’ve arrived at the Sea View Hotel long after your friends have checked in. It’s awfully quiet, yet there’s a sense of something else in the air. It’s as if you’re being watched. The walls feel more claustrophobic than usual.

But what sets the alarm bells off in your head is that strange hotel owner, Jimmy Hall. Your instincts were correct. Your friends have been tied up and locked in rooms scattered around the hotel—and you’re next. It’s not your job to save them, not yet anyway.

It’s the middle of the night and phone lines are down. A curious device pulls you towards it. A spirit box. The ghosts from Jimmy’s past are eager to tell you their side of the story. Just what happened at the Sea View Hotel and who exactly is Jimmy Hall—or the Great Hugo Punch he’s so obsessed with? If you want to find the truth and make it out of here alive, you must quickly learn the layout of this hotel and use the tools at your disposal to uncover the past and save your future.

A unique mix of FMV with point-and-click gameplay, At Dead of Night is a sleeper hit in the indie horror sphere

This is At Dead of Night, a horror FMV game that blends realistic graphics with live-action cutscenes. Jimmy roams the corridors in constant pursuit of Maya, the story’s protagonist. Finally playing as a lead who doesn’t crumble under the pressure, Maya must juggle many sets of keys, a spirit box to converse with the ghosts haunting the hotel, and refer to a scrying mirror to help her figure out what to do next.

A surprisingly unnerving title, At Dead of Night creates tension through its claustrophobic setting and panic-inducing gameplay. Most paths lead to dead ends following winding corridors, leading further and further from the temporary sanctuary of the hotel’s elevator. Jimmy’s clever coding means he’s lurking either on the first or second floor, peeking into hotel rooms or hiding around corners, just waiting for you to make a mistake. He can even trick you into a false sense of comfort, pretending to be further away than he actually is.

Sure, you could try to lock him into a room so long as you have the key to it, but do you dare try such a risky play? You’ve got to look out for any moving shadows, listen to his shouts and work out where he is before you leave a room, and hide if the doorknob in front of you starts rattling. The peephole acts as your main way of telling where Jimmy is, as you can spot him walking past, or call out to lure him to you. Stay in well-lit rooms for hiding spots and refer to the scrying mirror whenever you get stuck, for any hesitation will only delay the inevitable. You must complete each ghost’s story if you ever want to save your friends and escape the hotel.

An incredibly impressive anxiety-inducing horror, there’s nothing in the FMV world that’s like At Dead of Night

At Dead of Night peaks relatively early on with its mystery and compact narrative, where you first learn what happened to the young girl, Amy. Every ghost is linked directly to Jimmy and acts as evidence Maya needs to put him away for life. Exploring the hotel floors and its rooms lets you gather clues you can ask the ghosts about. Finding links between what a ghost has said and the evidence you’ve gathered pushes the narrative along, but you mustn’t ever forget about Jimmy’s presence.

The main reason to try this title out is for the stressful environment provided by the constantly pursuing stalker villain. I felt the continual urge to hide away in the safe areas of the ground floor and basement, free from Jimmy’s grasp. Running down the corridors felt like the right move to make because you can’t achieve much by staying still. But Jimmy might leap out from around the corner or peek from afar, making sure you don’t reach the elevator before him. Trust your instincts and move only when you know it’s safe.

Tensions are high throughout this title, but you can very much get used to the horror of navigating around this haunted hotel

Maya suffers from severe head trauma (thanks to Jimmy’s baseball bat) if you’re ever caught and dragged away. Yet she picks herself up, dusts herself off to try again, and searches for the spirit box and items from the storerooms. Thankfully, At Dead of Night isn’t too punishing if you ever fail, but no one wants to get grabbed by Jimmy Hall. You must remember which keys you have, which rooms are dark, which corridors lead to dead ends, and where Jimmy is at all times. It’s a lot to think about all at once, but the game kindly offers hints on where you’re supposed to go next if you ever get stuck.

So, do you dare check in at the Sea View Hotel? At Dead of Night is available on Steam. Jimmy will see you there.

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