Making games in a retro style is most definitely nothing new. I mean, just how many 16-bit-ish games are released every year? How many of those have we seen since 2010? A ton. We’ve seen a ton! One would think that we’d be seeing a lot of games mimicking the 64-bit style too, but no. Those are still rare. They’re not completely unheard of though, and one really exciting project is “Chasing Static.”

Chasing Static is a horror-thriller game made to resemble a PS1- era game. It does a great job of looking the part, especially with the low-resolution textures they’re using. The illusion isn’t complete of course. The frame rate looks a little too smooth for this kind of game, and some of the models are a bit too clean. This could be a good thing since trying to play things at a PS1 era framerate might be a bit too bothersome for modern gamers. At the same time though, it sort of undermines the retro illusion the developer is trying to create.

As for the game itself, it looks like Chasing Static is going for something similar to Silent Hill. Players put on the shoes of Chris Selwood, a man who gets lost in the English countryside near Wales. After taking refuge in a roadside cafe, he witness something horrible and passes out. Once he comes to, he finds himself in the old, dilapidated remains of the cafe. Something is amiss here, and he needs to get to the bottom of it before the lurking terror finds him and meets him out a quick and grisly end.

Aside from the retro-graphics. Chasing Static offers players an audio-driven gameplay experience. Listening closely and learning what sounds mean is going to be critical to making it through this bite-sized, 2-hour experience. What exactly is going on in the woods outside Wales? There’s only one way to find out!

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What do you think of Chasing Static? Think you’ll give it a try?

image from the Chasing Static steam page