The Zhukov Line

"The Zhukov Line" is a FREE and SHORT indie horror like FNAF but the added dimension is what makes it shine. Made by Scottish indie devs, this little project is competent enough but could have been a bit longer to let players stew more in the atmosphere. While I prefer shorter and punchier horror games, sometimes too short can be detrimental. I recently completed another FREE indie horror called "Microbial Sector" which leads to a competent scare. "The Zhukov Line" throws random "Alan Wake 2" jumpscares at you out of nowhere, with no lore reason behind it. The fact that the decay happens no matter if you did all tasks perfectly, makes player think their actions are meaningless. I get it, accurate and calm players would not experience horror that way, but resorting to cheap tricks like that is not nice. Why I believe this is a better take on FNAF is because you don't just sit and stew but actually have to move around to complete tasks. Every time you turn your back, you expect horror. Putting on the welding mask limits your view, which also adds to the horror. Those parts were competently done. Horror games should be shorter as by their very nature they lack replayability. That's just how the genre is. I liked "Microbial Sector" more, but hey both games are FREE and worth checking out if only to compare.