Destructoid’s Indie Gems – Edition 8: In this despairing maze, only the monster can hear you scream

You awake in darkness, only able to see two meters out in front of you. The narrow, bending corridors lead to no exit. You quickly realize you're in a maze, but there's no indication as to how you got here. The design looks man-made, yet it houses impossible things. Did you fall into the backrooms, or were you placed here as part of an experiment? Does it even matter? Escape seems like a faraway dream, and yet, you're not the only lost soul wandering around this nightmare.

The walls feel as though they're screaming, the edges pull closer towards you, looking to consume your every breath. There are orbs laid out in front of you, tiny hopes of freedom, for collecting them seems to do something in this world. Like a twisted game of PAC-MAN, your time in this hellhole will feel endless for the hunt is on and it's your life that's at stake. Your body's flight response is in force for something is sprinting full-speed at you, and curling up into a ball in the corner won't help. Tools are at your disposal, but the horror you face plays its own mindgames. How long will you last?

It lurks, waiting for its moment to steal your breath away

This is IT STEALS, a maze-running indie horror game that makes PAC-MAN feel like a walk in the park. From the brilliant indie developer, Zeekerss, creator of Lethal Company, IT STEALS is a panic-inducing experience that'll keep you on the edge of your seat and never let up. The dark, pixelated aesthetic paired with the perpetual fear of the unknown creates a horrifying atmosphere as you can't identify or process what's after you. Its concept is simple: Collect the orbs and survive. But you can never trust that where you're running to is free from terror.

What's so effective about IT STEALS when compared to most horror is that the monsters are stealthily hunting you. It's as though you're on the receiving end of Metal Gear Solid's Snake or The Last of Us Part II's Ellie. You are being hunted, and there's not much you can do about it. Yes, the premise is always the same, but the threat adapts as you progress. Rather than getting used to the environment and the horrors that reside in it, the rulebook gets thrown out the window with every mode you bravely enter. You have no choice but to run at all times, with few moments given to stop and take a breath. Every mode is a relentless and thrilling experience that offers a unique challenge.

Whatever you do—never stop running

While Dark Deception uses a similar formula to deliver its scares, IT STEALS takes the horror up a notch as you cannot ever get tired or used to its repeated gameplay loop. Achieved in five available game modes, which offer an intense challenge with new rules and monsters, IT STEALS hints at what's to come by their names: Classic, Shutter Mode, Hide and Seek, Living Halls, and The Phantom. Rather than sticking to strict patrolling patterns, the entities' unpredictability resembles that of Puppet Combo's creations and Alien: Isolation's Xenomorph. Their design is a breath of fresh air (albeit suffocating most of the time) as IT STEALS' monstrosities are clever in their approach and erratic design. There's no second chance. Once you're grabbed, that's it, game over.

Each mode feels like you're the monster's plaything, a prey to be amused and entertained by. Like playing with food, you're the meat running off the plate, without realizing that the entire maze is the monster's dinner table. There's no slow burn, no buildup of suspense. Yet anxiety is constantly there because you know you're being chased. The monster will jump out at you at any given moment, so you're constantly anticipating the inevitable. It's like waiting for that jumpscare to hit, the rollercoaster to drop, but it doesn't arrive until your luck runs out. Like holding your breath or covering your eyes as a movie character painstakingly reaching out for the door, your time in IT STEALS will keep you suspended in fear.

There aren't many horror games that make me panic, anxious, or wary to keep playing. Yet IT STEALS ticks all the boxes as a genuinely scary horror game that manages so much while working with so little. It's an impressive indie horror gem that shines bright like the orbs in the maze, a beckon to look at a time where most games recycle ideas and use nostalgia to make a sale.

IT STEALS is available on Steam. Will you become the next trapped soul counting down the orbs to safety?

Ready or not. Image by Zeekerss

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