Incubo by Indonesian indie game developer Hehe Gamez combines horror platforming with cute 2D graphics.

The game begins as a sort of reverse Cinderella story. Our young protagonist has just been saddled with a new stepfather, who is surprise – evil. And instead of a fairy godmother and magical ball, he gets being pushed into the ocean and you, to help to save him from his nightmares.

Throughout the game, you’re trapped in a nightmare world. As you jump around and solve the various puzzles, you also start to uncover pieces of the story from the real world. It’s nothing too deep but it seems that the step father might need some therapy. You’ll also need to allocate some allowance for the English version if you’re playing. You’ll be able to understand what’s going on in the story but if you’re a grammar nazi you’re going to have a hard time.

Incubo doesn’t hold your hand in the game. Like Limbo, it’s a bit of a trial and error situation and it appears the developers don’t mind if you die. So get ready for that. It’s also not too repetitive in its gameplay, so you will find yourself encountering new things throughout the game. The different enemies as well might take some figuring out but nothing too challenging. 1

Gameplay wise there’s a lot of little actions for you to handle the various horrors of the nightmare. Hold your breath when you’re near a vampire. Close your eyes when you see a sign. And don’t move when that creeper girl is looking. The rest of the movements are your standard bread and butter platforming.

Regionally Inspired Mythological Horror

Speaking of the enemies, as cute as the 2D art is there were some pretty creepy moments in the game. Following the really slow girl that may or may not turn around and attack you. Being chased by ghosts. As well as the sudden jump scares, classify this game securely in the horror category. Well, vanilla horror in any case. Also, there’s a clown. Why are there always clowns??

The art and the monsters really differentiate Incubo from other similar titles out there. There’s a great use of regionally inspired mythological horror. Even the vampires aren’t your usual black cloaked wielding ones from the west, they’re the Chinese Jiangshi from the East. And those more familiar with the culture may recognise the ‘pocong‘ ghost.

Incubo is about as much horror as I can take and for those of you looking for a true guts and gory game may be a little disappointed. But for those of you expecting a suspenseful, slightly scary story, with just a hint of nostalgia will be quite happy here.

Incubo is available on Steam for RM17.50 or USD$6.99