I’m not sure when it happened, but there absolutely seems to be a budget-priced, cheap thrills, not-so-great-design subgenre out there at this point. I’d say calling them horror games is far too generous, since they’re much more about brief adrenaline rush hits than a sustained and disturbing sense of dread, but there’s obviously an audience that enjoys them. In my mind, these sorts of experiences are a product of streamer culture, where people got into them by watching other people play them to enjoy how they would react to the scares, and they’ve just managed to stay alive by continuing to ride some portion of that energy.

Anyway, rather than being set in an abandoned kids’ restaurant, or daycare, or some other kid-oriented setting, this time you’re trapped in a twisted game show, and being stalked by its host Billy. Using your intuition, puzzle-solving abilities, a fair amount of trial-and-error lessons on what not to do, and a fair amount of patience, your goal is to find the three heads hidden about which you'll need to escape. Of course, finding them while avoiding the many deadly traps that have been set, and Billy himself who never seems to be far behind you, can be a challenge.

Even though most people will be able to finish the game in just a few hours, there’s absolutely a learning curve to get you started properly. I think one feature that stands out is the necessity of regularly going back to the three generators that keep the lights on and things powered up. While I could be cynical and say that this simply makes you more vulnerable to being found, and adds a little more length to your ultimate play time, repeatedly doing the same things, we’ll go with the fact that it adds another layer of challenge. More often than not, the stumbling blocks are just tied to odd implementation or design choices, where you’re not quite sure how you’re meant to interact with elements or can’t find the necessary switch, button, or trigger to activate things. You’ll find them or figure them out with a little persistence, but it gives the impression that not everything was thought through very well.

At the end of the day though, this is the sort of game where either you love and appreciate this style of play, or you despise it. I’m somewhat convinced that a healthy amount of jank in both visual design and play isn’t a bug in this subgenre so much as a feature, and it seems like some people find it charming rather than grating. On the whole, I can’t say it’s worse than other games I’ve played in this style, and indeed may be on the more tolerable side than a few of its peers, but it still isn’t the type of game I’d recommend to anyone who isn’t already a fan of this subgenre.