I know Halloween just ended, but we’re still getting some scary games trickling onto Steam, such as Close Contact — an hour-long walking simulator with a sci-fi/horror focus. The game was developed by a single person named Ryan Javanshir. It features a mix of narrative-based walking around and hiding from a creature that will likely tear you to itty-bitty pieces.
Close Contact is set in a very technologically-advanced underground base used by the research team of Abbotsfield Corp. The player character is a brand new employee who is starting work on the planet Cadmus, where a long-forgotten alien race used to live. After being put into cryostasis and dispatched to the research base, it becomes apparent that, shockingly, things have gone amiss. Who could have ever foreseen this shocking turn of events?! I’m no scientist, but I’m going to assume that it all has something to do with the alien stalking the place. Or maybe not.
Keep those eyes open shut
One of the unique focuses that Close Contact offers is that people in this distant future all wear smart contact lenses that display various bits of information. Players will need to use a pair of these to aid them in their attempts to not get horribly mangled by the thing pursuing them. I’m assuming that everyone else in the base was wearing glasses or had regular vision, hence why a bunch of smart people couldn’t figure out how to avoid ze monsta. And to survive, the game offers an interesting tag line: “Close your eyes to stay alive.” When being stalked, you’ll need to hide and keep your eyes shut to survive.
The game features a soundtrack made by one of the dev’s relatives, so I’m assuming it’s amazing and/or the best they could afford. Here’s to hoping they’re a violinist or keyboard player and that they don’t exclusively use bagpipes. Although, that could actually work for a horror game. Close Contact also has voice logs that players can find scattered around. And they’ve got subtitles! Which makes me more likely to play the game than I was before noticing that tidbit. Anyway, what are you waiting for? The game is out now.
