Cursed Shorts is a compact horror experience that turns the familiar habit of watching short-form videos into the foundation for an unsettling supernatural scenario. Developed and published by Sea of Ghosts, the game takes place during what should be an ordinary subway ride home. Instead of reaching the destination normally, however, the protagonist becomes trapped in a strange situation involving a smartphone that continuously recommends increasingly suspicious videos. The only apparent way to make the subway reach its station is to identify the abnormal clips before the phone's battery runs out. It is a deliberately simple premise, but its familiarity makes the situation surprisingly effective.
The central gameplay revolves almost entirely around observing videos and deciding whether something is wrong with them. Normal clips should be dismissed by swiping upward, while abnormal ones need to be removed by swiping left. Players can pause a video by clicking the phone screen, allowing additional time to inspect suspicious details. These controls are intentionally uncomplicated because Cursed Shorts is less interested in mechanical complexity than visual awareness. Every new clip encourages the player to pay attention rather than mindlessly scroll, turning a routine behavior associated with modern smartphones into an exercise in suspicion.
This observation mechanic works particularly well because it challenges habits that short-form media has encouraged. Normally, people decide within seconds whether to continue watching something or move to the next video. Cursed Shorts exploits that instinct by making careless scrolling potentially dangerous. A clip that initially appears harmless may contain something strange enough to deserve closer inspection. Pausing therefore becomes more than a convenience because it gives the player an opportunity to examine details before making a decision. The resulting tension is subtle rather than action-heavy, relying on uncertainty and the possibility of overlooking something important.
The phone's limited battery adds urgency to this otherwise straightforward system. Players cannot simply remain trapped in endless observation without consequences. The declining battery represents a deadline and creates pressure to make accurate decisions efficiently. This mechanic complements the subway setting nicely because both elements reinforce the feeling of being stuck somewhere that should only have been temporary. A routine commute becomes an increasingly uncomfortable ordeal as the phone approaches exhaustion and the destination remains unreachable.
Cursed Shorts also benefits from keeping its scope appropriately small. The advertised playtime is approximately 15 to 60 minutes, making this closer to a bite-sized horror experiment than a conventional full-length adventure. There are two distinct endings, giving players a reason to revisit the experience and discover an alternative outcome. Three Steam achievements provide another modest objective for completion-oriented players. The limited duration means there is little room for elaborate progression systems or extensive storytelling, but stretching the concept over many hours would probably have weakened its appeal.
Atmosphere is consequently more important than narrative complexity. The subway is a clever setting because it represents a familiar transitional space where passengers commonly retreat into their phones while waiting to arrive somewhere else. By refusing to let that journey end until the supernatural problem is resolved, Cursed Shorts transforms an everyday environment into a kind of temporary prison. The smartphone simultaneously becomes the source of the disturbing material and the player's primary means of escaping the situation. This creates a neat relationship between setting and mechanics without requiring extensive exposition.
The visual approach naturally places most of the player's attention on the phone and its succession of clips. Because identifying abnormal content is the main challenge, presentation serves a functional purpose as much as an atmospheric one. Sound is also worth considering, with headphones specifically recommended in the system requirements. A focused audio environment can make the experience more immersive, especially for a horror game that depends on concentration and anticipation rather than combat. Language support includes English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Korean for the interface and subtitles.
One element prospective players should know about is the disclosed use of generative AI. Sea of Ghosts states that some short videos and a small number of textures were generated using AI. Since the videos constitute an important part of the experience, this is more significant than AI being used only for an obscure background element. Players who prefer traditionally produced visual assets may therefore want to consider this aspect before playing. At the same time, the developer clearly discloses its use rather than leaving the production method ambiguous.
The technical requirements are relatively accessible for a modern PC game. Cursed Shorts requires a 64-bit version of Windows 10, with the minimum specification listing an Intel Core i5-4460 processor, 8 GB of RAM, a GeForce GTX 960, DirectX 11, and 5 GB of available storage. The recommended configuration lists an Intel Core i7-3770 and GeForce GTX 1060 while retaining the same memory and storage requirements. The game is strictly single-player and includes Steam Achievements, Steam Cloud support, and Family Sharing.
Its greatest weakness comes directly from its minimalist design. The basic loop of watching, inspecting, and swiping clips cannot provide enormous mechanical variety, and familiarity with the abnormalities will inevitably reduce some of the tension during repeated playthroughs. The two endings help compensate for this, but Cursed Shorts is still best approached as a brief experience rather than something intended to provide substantial replayability. Players expecting exploration, combat, extensive puzzles, or a deeply developed narrative may find the experience too limited.
Nevertheless, Cursed Shorts understands what it wants to accomplish and builds almost every element around that objective. Sea of Ghosts takes the mundane act of scrolling through short videos and gives it sinister consequences, combining observation mechanics, limited battery power, supernatural uncertainty, and an endless subway journey into a focused horror concept. Its short duration and simple mechanics prevent it from becoming especially deep, but they also keep the premise from overstaying its welcome. For players who appreciate anomaly-detection games, experimental horror, and compact experiences that can be completed in one sitting, Cursed Shorts offers an inventive variation on the formula.
Rating: 7/10
