A (late) merry Christmas to you, and happy new year! Horror isn’t usually on the mind during the holiday season, but the folks at The Haunted PS1 beg to differ with their third collection of holiday frights, Madvent Calendar 3: Necrosis. Madvent Calendar is a collaboration between various developers in The Haunted PS1 community, with 24 games that unlock each day until the 24^th. There are 30 games to enjoy, with 5 games after the 25th as a bonus. I would like to talk about a game from this collection, but if you want to play them yourself without any spoilers from me, you can download it for free from Madvent Calendar 3’s itch.io page. Have fun! And turn the lights off…

Do They Know by The Bonsai Treehouse and Friends

What I love about Madvent Calendar is that it’s host to all kinds of horror games, ones that are more atmosphere and narrative driven. I don’t dislike horror that has blood or gore, but I found the slow dawning horror of Do They Know refreshing. You play as a child in a winter setting who has to do various tasks to help out with their village’s festival.

You light lanterns, deliver gifts to neighbors, and volunteer to gather wood as the current gatherer is ill. He tells you that the ground in some areas is ‘sick’. Without understanding this warning you venture off into the dead of night, leaving the warmth of your home behind. Throughout the whole village section, I wondered when the scares would start. Some games in the collection are less horror focused than others, so I began to think nothing odd would happen.

That was not the case. The boy wanders off the beaten path and falls through the snow, stumbling upon an abandoned nuclear power plant. It dawned on me that the mysterious illnesses and weather were the result of a nuclear winter. But so much time has passed between whatever tragedy and now, the boy cannot read or understand any of the warnings around the site. The feeling of dread as you explore this place you know will kill you, while the boy is completely unaware. This ended up being one of my favorites in this collection. But that was only one of out 30. I hope you’ll try out some games in this collection for yourself!

Here are some other games we’re playing at Haunted MTL!