Horror games continue to be one of the most popular genres of gaming, and the last couple of years has proven to be a great time for games of this ilk. With remakes such as the likes of Dead Space Remake continue to reinvigorate interest in IPs once thought to be lost to the past. Even the future is also looking to be a very promising time for horror games, and titles such as the likes of Alan Wake 2 are set to keep fans of the genre entertained for the foreseeable future.
But amidst all of these anticipated releases, there’s a slew of lesser-known horror games that are definitely worth keeping on your radar. This feature series is dedicated to putting a spotlight on such releases, and today we will be taking a look at Luto. We’ll be looking at each aspect of the game, analyzing what makes it tick, and discussing why Luto could be one of the biggest surprise hits of the near future.
Luto is currently in development at Broken Bird Games which is a small development studio based out of Spain, and this is the studio’s debut project. It definitely looks pretty ambitious for a small studio, and the team seems to have done a great job of using its resources in an efficient manner and realizing that ambition to a great extent.
Coming back to the game itself, Luto is a psychological horror game that puts you in the shoes of an individual who finds themselves unable to leave the boundaries of their own home. The reason behind this situation isn’t exactly known at this point, but according to the game’s description on Steam, it’s all related to coping with the loss of a loved one. As such, a lot of the narrative details remain shrouded in mystery but Luto claims that it will tackle heavy themes like anxiety and depression with its story – which has us excited to see how it will all play out with the final release.
Switching gears from the narrative aspect of the game, Luto’s gameplay is definitely the star of the show. As can be deduced from the gameplay trailers, the moment-to-moment gameplay involves exploring the many nooks and crannies of the titular haunted house as you try and find a way out of this living nightmare. In between exploration and being treated to jumpscares, you will be solving puzzles to progress through the game and unlock new rooms and areas. These puzzles don’t look to be as complex as something like the older Resident Evil games, but they are engaging enough to keep things fresh and break the monotonous flow of gameplay.
Of course, it’s clear that PT is a pretty big influence behind Luto which can be seen from the spooky house to the titular ghost that dons white clothes and plenty of other similarities. While some might not like that Luto is sticking too close to Konami’s offerings, we have to consider that Silent Hills was a project that never actually came to fruition. As such, Luto is doing what P.T. couldn’t – and if it plays its cards right, it could end up being a spiritual successor to PT that we well and truly deserve.
Establishing a compelling atmosphere is crucial to the success of any horror game, which was one of the strongest points of PT. And the team behind Luto has done a fantastic job in that regard. Right from the onset, players are treated to weirdly unsettling imagery that would immediately unnerve them to the core. Take for instance, the starting section of the demo – where you have to make your way through a long hallway lined with all sorts of weirdly deformed statues and paintings that look to be drawn by an infant. And as you continue to make your way through the house, such instances continue to get weirder and weirder with each new room.
There’s a very palpable sense of tension pervading every step of your journey in Luto, and the developer has done a great job of keeping that tension consistently high throughout. The house where the game takes place looks pretty simple on the surface, but the layout continues to change and get weirder as you make your way through these corridors. As can be seen from the trailers, an ordinary-looking layout leads to a long series of rooms which leads to the first encounter with the titular ghost figure, which then transports us to a basement lined with empty rooms and lots of rubble. Like any good psychological horror game, Luto has a great understanding of how to blur the lines between fact and fiction – which is what makes it such a terrifying experience.
When talking about the atmosphere, it’s impossible not to mention how important the sound design is for crafting that sense of tension. And suffice it to say, Luto does a great job in this regard as well and it does so by continuing to be minimalistic in its approach. The background music is almost nonexistent, and the only things that are creating a semblance of sound in these environments are your footsteps. As such, even a small disturbance like the ringing of a telephone or the crackling of a door lock is enough to terrify you to the bone which is the true mark of a good psychological horror game.
And we’d be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to talk about the visuals. Broken Bird Games has done a fantastic job with Luto’s visuals that manage to strike a great balance between simplicity and realism. The environments look crisp with great use of high-quality assets, but the house itself looks pretty simple in terms of design which adds to the terrifying vibe of it all. Furthermore, the lighting also looks fantastic – especially when you only have a flashlight to illuminate your immediate surroundings. The developer is using Unreal Engine 5 for this project, and the engine’s feature set has been utilized in a very efficient manner which makes for some astonishing results. Even the animations and post-processing effects look great and it’s rather surprising that a small team is able to achieve such high production values.
While Luto is looking like a pretty competent game, for the most part, there are some concerns that will have to be addressed with the final release. Since Luto doesn’t seem to have any combat encounters or progression systems as of yet, how will the developer create an engaging experience that would keep a player hooked on to the game right through to the end? Will we have branching narrative choices, set piece-driven gameplay, puzzle boss fights, or something else entirely? These are the pressing questions that need to be answered as we inch toward the game’s imminent release.
And coming to the topic of release date, Luto doesn’t have a confirmed release date at the moment. We know that it is set to release for PC, PS4, and PS5 – but details other than that remain scant for now. As it stands, a release date of 2024 seems like a fair guess for Luto – but do take that information with a grain of salt. In conclusion, Luto looks like a promising game that could be worthy of being a spiritual successor to PT – and we genuinely hope that it manages to surpass fan expectations and realize its full potential.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.