What We Play in the Shadows looks beyond the big hitters in the horror game genre and champions its underappreciated and underexposed gems.

When it comes to the world of horror video games, players certainly aren’t lacking in options. There are literally hundreds of choices to satisfy every type of gamer, from slow-burn puzzle titles to the latest AAA franchise shooter. However, much like in the world of streaming content a lot of interesting games are getting buried under the waves of bigger, louder series. Let’s dive deep into the abyss of online stores and find some horror titles that aren’t as well-known as the likes of DOOM, Silent Hill, Castlevania, or Resident Evil, but offer spine-tingling entertainment in their own way.

First on the slab: Eversion.

Heads up before reading any further: don’t look too deeply into this game before playing. There’s a quote from H.P. Lovecraft prior to the title screen and it soon becomes clear it wasn’t chosen randomly. Yes, the big twist that it’s a horror title has long been spoiled (actually, having it appear on this site is kind of a clue), but there’s still plenty of smaller moments and weird obstacles to surprise anyone new to the game.

The long and short of it is that things start off as your standard retro-styled platformer, with lighthearted chiptunes and an almost sickeningly cute aesthetic. Your flower person character, Zee Tee, has the ability to “evert” the environment around him at key points, which means that things go from adorable to mellow to melancholy to weird to… well, things change quickly and alarmingly with each level completed, to say the least.

Developed by a small independent team based in the UK, Eversion began as a freeware game that could be played in a web browser. Sadly, developer Zaratustra Productions’ website has been down since 2018 and the original freeware version is no longer available there as a result. On the upside, an upgraded edition later arrived on Steam and added achievements, sharper graphics, and time attack modes, as well as the capability to create and share custom levels with others. If you do some digging, you might even find a secret level…

On the surface, Eversion looks and plays a lot like classic Mario games. There are a number of pixel-perfect jumps that can irritate, and playing with a USB controller cannot be recommended enough. This thing is dang near impossible to finish with keyboard controls. The game’s greatest strength is its art direction, as the obstacles, enemies, and music all mutate whenever Zee Tee everts things. The custom chiptunes, in particular, go from happy and cheerful to unsettling, which helps the overall vibe of the experience immensely. It can become a little repetitive after hearing the same loop for ten minutes when stuck on a cruel platforming section, but then suddenly it’s over and the princess is safe. Or is she?

For achievement hunters, Eversion offers a couple of reasons to replay and reach that 100% completion. Even then, most gamers will be finished in an hour and change. So is it worth it? I would have to say yes. The blend of nostalgic platformer and cosmic horror is a tasty brew, and despite its short length and one or two irksome jumps, the ending(s) leave an impression that lasts long after the controller is put down.

Eversion is currently available on Steam for Windows, OS X, and Linux.