Pacify is the newest project from Shawn Hitchcock creator of the popular Emily Wants To Play games, and similar to those its main theme is horror where the objective is to solve puzzles to help you survive. The main innovation of Pacify is the introduction of online multiplayer, which made it stand out on the indie horror games market. Let’s see what the fuss about it is!
Jump scares with your friends
Pacify’s gameplay revolves around running from a scary ghost that haunts an abandoned old house. You must solve simple problems to “pacify” the ghost and eventually win the game.
The formula isn’t anything new, dozens of games have done it over the years ever since Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Slender got popular through Youtube videos. So, all the tropes we have come to expect from such a game are present: scary sounds, lots of jumps scares, creepy setting, etc..
What catches one’s interest about Pacify is that this time you can do all of that with friends in co-op, or, more interestingly, in PVP, where either you must help each other, or screw one another respectively. This is what manages to “freshen” up a bit the gameplay, and make the game worth a check.
Pacify to win
As is often said, something is always better with friends, and Pacify is an example of this, as the game is a totally run-of-the-mill horror story, with nothing of note that stands out from its narrative or gameplay that makes it outstandingly good.
The objective is simple as that, pacify the ghost to win, and if you have all the game aspects nailed down, you can finish it in less than one hour. The ghost isn’t terrifying, and its movement is outright robotic and strange, and the jumps scares are just loud sounds and pulsating “scary images” cobbled together. The so-called horror aspect of this game is much more just surprise than fear or true horror.
