Fright Chasers: Dark Exposure – Review

You and your photographer arrived at the Kilbourn Observatory to work on a new piece for Fright Chasers, a paranormal journal. The trip quickly turns into a horror show when your friend is kidnapped by otherworldly force and you spot sightings of the late Anne Kilbour. Is your mind playing tricks on you or is the observatory really haunted?

We had high expectations for Fright Chasers. As we all know, Mad Head Games is a HOPA mastermind and each of their new series has been stellar so far. While Fright Chasers is still an extremely solid offering, it does not live up to Mad Head’s usual sky-high standards. First of all, the storyline is full of overused clichés, even the supposed “twists”don’t even feel surprising. Nonetheless, Mad Head still finds ways to keep things fresh and engaging by incorporating the storytelling into the mini-games. For a game titled Fright Chasers, there is very little “fright” to go around. Sure, there are sprinkles of horror elements here and there, but they are hardly any frightening.

The gameplay in Fright Chasers: Dark Exposure is a little simpler than what we are used to from Mad Head Games. The game is well-made all-around, although it could have been more complex. The hidden object scenes are creative, but objects are too easy to find. Similarly, the mini-games often have low challenge level and some of them are a tad tedious. The Spirit Camera is a nice extra feature that enhances the experience – the camera allows you to reveal supernatural elements through mini hidden object puzzles.

If there is one department that Fright Chasers: Dark Exposure absolutely excels in, that would be the production. The high-quality graphics are complemented wonderful visual effects and terrific scene designs. Moreover, the excellent background music rises and falls where it needs to be and the voice-overs are mostly flawless.

The main game of Fright Chasers: Dark Exposure has a typical length of around four hours and the bonus chapter comes in at around the hour mark. The Collector’s Edition includes plenty of extra features; a strategy guide, concept art, wallpapers, soundtracks, case files, replayable hidden object scenes, achievements, collectibles, and morphing objects.

Fright Chasers: Dark Exposure might not be as innovative as we had expected, but it is a very well-built game regardless.