Don’t Let Him In – Review

With how many indie games come out each week on Steam, it can be easy to miss hidden gems. Don’t Let Him In is a short horror game by solo developer jonniemadeit and also their first paid project. With its retro style and clear inspiration taken from Silent Hill, the game could have easily slipped by us in the avalanche of similar titles. But that means there’s all the more reason to check it out now, over a year after its initial release. And we’re happy to report it serves up some pretty decent scares!

Story

Have your parents ever told you not to pick up hitchhikers? While not everybody looking for a ride is a deranged serial killer, horror games probably would have us believe otherwise. Don’t Let Him In starts with a cutscene showing three friends on a road trip in the dead of night. The trio decides to pick up a hitchhiker, much to the hesitation of Todd who is the only one cautious enough to object. The hitchhiker does act suspicious and talks in vague threatening words, but doesn’t end up hurting the main characters in any way. Rather, he takes out a gun and shoots himself in the head. Disturbed, the trio stops the car at the first building they come across to look for help. But as soon as they step into the abandoned diner, it becomes clear something strange is going on. Blood everywhere, mysterious notes, and no people. With reality itself turned into a world of horror, the friends must struggle to make it out alive.

Graphics

Don’t Let Him In leans heavily into the retro PlayStation game aesthetic, with various visual modes to choose from. You can play with glitchy graphic effects such as light distortion and static, giving the same feel as playing on an old console. If you’d like to take it easier on your eyes though, you can also turn all these effects off. If you’re into this retro look like us, we can say this game pulls it off more convincingly than some others, managing to make characters and locations look good without things getting too dark and low contrast to see. On top of that, the messy gore was great since it’s rare in modern games. We also appreciated the awkward animations on some of the characters, as it really sparked certain nostalgic feelings in us.

Sound

We weren’t really impressed with the music in this game, or should we say lack thereof, though. There is almost no soundtrack to speak of aside from the cliché shrill horror chord here and there for a jumpscare and some ambient at such a low volume that it’s hardly noticeable. The sound effects hit that same retro feel as the graphics, which is great, but we would have liked to have a bit more music too. The game doesn’t have any voice acting either, and this combined with the lack of music left us feeling a tiny bit dissatisfied.

Gameplay

Don’t Let Him In is a pretty typical third-person survivor horror game. You control your character through several locations, often in search of items that will progress the plot. Sometimes you need to solve simple puzzles. There’s nothing groundbreaking, though things get harder as the game introduces monstrous enemies. With a gun and some finicky aiming, you can take them out. But ammo is in short supply, so sometimes running might be easier. Another thing you need to manage is your sanity. Even just walking around will drain it and seeing horrific gore and other atrocities drains it quicker. You will find pill bottles scattered throughout the game to restore your sanity. Running out is an instant death sentence.

This pretty much sums up the majority of the gameplay. We’d say that Don’t Let Him In is more of a narrative horror game than anything else, and the story is quite fun with creative twists and lots of shock factor. The gameplay is simplistic but enjoyable enough once you figure out the aiming controls. The entire game will run you about an hour at most, though that’s also the perfect length for a short, creepy experience such as this.

Conclusion

Don’t Let Him In is easy to miss when so many indie horror titles come out constantly on Steam, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth a visit. While the gameplay isn’t complex, we found the retro vibes enjoyable, the graphics a nice treat, and the story certainly had us hooked. For a small price, horror fans should certainly consider getting this one.