Is Simon There? 40 Minutes of Genuine Terror (Review)
Release Date: May 6th 2022
Developer: Stanislaw Truchowski
Platforms: PC (Steam)
Price: $4.99
“Hi, is Simon there?”
These four words will be ingrained into your memory after playing this short indie game developed by Stanislaw Truchowski. After having been released on Steam on May 6th 2022, Is Simon There? Has been given great reviews and an all-time score of Very Positive on Steam.
I was mainly interested in this game as I am really into walking simulators at the moment, the last few games I’ve been playing have been along the lines of What Became of Edith Finch, Gone Home and Firewatch. When I discovered Is Simon There? on Stream, it was a no-brainer for me to purchase - walking simulator AND horror? Sign me up! Stanislaw Truchowski does an amazing job at keeping the atmosphere simply terrifying throughout the entire game. Players are informed before starting the game that it will take approximately 40 minutes to complete. For me, it was much, much longer. Players are also informed that the game is best experienced using headphones, with the lights out and alone. I will hold my hands up and openly admit that I did none of these things, and even so - the game was still terrifying.
The gameplay is in first-person view, and you are not given much context - you wake up to a blaring alarm clock (which is, for some reason sitting on a very high shelf) and as you progress through the game, the protagonist is plagued by phone calls all of which are from somebody asking whether Simon is there. The story takes place in the protagonist's home which is small and can feel claustrophobic, especially when the lights are out. As the narrative progresses the protagonist is convinced there is somebody in the house - the main objectives are to find the intruder. I found the game's atmosphere to be so terrifying that even the tall potted plants that were dotted around the house were giving me jump scares. The game does a very good job at messing with you - quite often as you make multiple trips throughout the house things appear that were not there earlier, and you start to feel as though you’re going crazy right along with the protagonist.
Although it is mainly marketed as a psychological horror walking simulator, there are some puzzles that need to be solved and this was the part of the game that I found to be most frustrating. There is very little guidance or even clues as to how to solve the puzzles. In particular there is a section of the game where you need to find a code to open a safe, and as far as I can tell, there is nowhere that shows any digits or gives any clue as to what the safe code is. It’s entirely possible that I could have missed it, the game did have me too scared to stay in any one place for too long.
Given that the game is set in a single household, in first person view with jump scares, a terrifying atmosphere and cryptic puzzles, I can’t help but compare this game to P.T by Hideo Kojima which famously released on PS4 back in 2014 and later removed due to the cancellation of Silent Hills. It feels, in some way that this game may be a tribute to P.T.
Considering the game didn’t really have much context as the beginning, the story is revealed throughout the game and everything begins to fall into place as you keep exploring. I will admit that I started to feel sympathy for the protagonist as things started to become clearer. Some people may say that 40 minutes is too short for a game, but as previously mentioned, it took me much longer than this to complete the game. There are also multiple endings and achievements up for grabs if you want to extend your playtime and get your money's worth.
In summary, this game was a real gem - I’m so happy that I stumbled across it one day while browsing the steam store. If you love horror games and also enjoy walking simulators and puzzle solving, this game is definitely worth a try.
Pros:
Genuinely scary.
The graphics were nice.
Excellent theme and atmosphere.
Multiple endings.
Well priced.
Cons:
Quite cryptic, some puzzles are difficult to solve.
Some may say it’s on the shorter side (playtime wise.)