Don’t Be Afraid

Genre: First-Person Graphic Adventure / Horror

Players: 1

.

Review:

(Note: This game is included in Dark Theme Bundle, along with Breathing Fear, Dark Burial, Diabolic, and Swordbreaker.)

Don’t Be Afraid is a First-Person Graphic Adventure and Horror game released on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in 2022. Players take the role of an 11 year-old child who has been kidnapped by a masked man named Franklin and brought to his basement filled with puzzles, creepy mannequins, and the corpses of his previous victims.

While it’s not working with much (more on this later), Don’t Be Afraid does boast plenty of personality, thanks to its antagonist. Franklin is voiced in a way that makes it seem like the voice actor was aiming to imitate Mark Hamill’s Joker, which is kinda’ fitting because it matches the character’s personality.

Through most of the game you won’t be interacting with Franklin directly but he’ll be following your progress via video cameras and commenting on your actions through speakers, mockingly congratulating you when you solve a puzzle and gleefully giggling when you encounter a creepy or macabre scene he’s left for you to see using posed mannequins and corpses.

To progress, you’ll be picking up useful items and using them to interact with the environments, fairly standard Graphic Adventure fare, though this does lead to one of the game’s bigger flaws. The game does a poor job indicating what objects are interactive, even when you’re in a room filled with things that you would expect to be interactive. What’s more, early on the game doesn’t even let you pick up items until you find something to carry them in. Are you meant to grab that suitcase? No. The canvas bag? No. That blanket, possibly to use as a bindle? No. This issue combined with a lack of signposting can make for some really frustrating backtracking back and forth until you find what the game has you looking for.

It’s not only puzzles, creepy atmosphere, and the running commentary of a madman you’ll be contending with here. Farther into the game there are elements of Stealth as you try to evade enemies stalking you through the house. It’s not a major part of the game, but it’s enough of a potential threat that it keeps you on your toes while you’re exploring and solving puzzles.

The presentation here is kinda’ a mixed bag. The game’s 3D visuals are mostly sufficient, with plenty of grimy textures to keep everything looking creepy (and unsanitary!). However, some of the visuals just don’t work, particularly blood effects, which often seem more like paint than blood. The same goes for the audio – the creepy sounds as you explore are quite good, and as mentioned the voice actor for Franklin does a decent job, and you’ll also find voice recordings as you explore of past victims that seem pretty good too. However, throughout the game you’ll have flashbacks that feature some heavily-accented and out-of-place narration that’s just not up to the quality of the rest of the game’s audio.

I think overall there is a fair amount to like in Don’t Be Afraid, with plenty of personality and creepy atmosphere. However, this is also mixed in with some frustrating gameplay elements and jarring flashback sequences that aren’t up to the standards of the rest of the game. Also, be aware that this is a game that can be completed within a few hours. However, despite these flaws, this is a game that Horror fans will want to give a look.

tl;dr – Don’t Be Afraid is a First-Person Graphic Adventure and Horror game that puts players in the role of a child trying to escape from the house of a crazed madman. This game has plenty of personality, and it does a good job of being creepy, but this is mixed in with some frustrating gameplay elements, as well as some presentation elements that are somewhat lacking. Despite these issues, fans of Horror games may still want to give this one a look.

Grade: C+

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are Ben, Ilya Zverev, Andy Miller, Homer Simpin, Johannes, Francis Obst, Gabriel Coronado-Medina, Jared Wark, Kristoffer Wulff, and Seth Christenfeld. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}