My Friend The Spider is a free-to-play adventure game with a horror-forward narrative that revolves around the topics of isolation and depression. This eerie title from markleash creates a suspenseful experience that’s wrapped in a short—yet not exactly sweet—15-minute gameplay package.

Similar to other indie horror titles like The Shopping List, My Friend The Spider relies on its atmospheric elements to further amplify the unsettling feeling that the game wants to portray. It’s important to note, though, that it is still under development so improvements and performance tweaks will continue to be released over time. 

What lies in this small room?

For the majority of My Friend The Spider, players remain trapped in a single room where they can interact with a number of different items. What remains in the corner of your room, though, is a seemingly friendly yet unnerving spider. Paired with the retro-style 3D graphics, this game creates an immersive experience that truly brings out the chilling atmosphere.

Although the plot only stretches to a maximum of 15 minutes, the symbolism and other small details further add to its enchanting nature. With this, players can enjoy a haunting storyline that leaves them feeling the familiar uneasy feeling they would get from a psychological thriller movie. However, certain scenes and dialogues also feel relatable enough for audiences to compare their own experience with.

This horror game also makes use of an immersive soundtrack and voiceovers to better set the scene. Players can also follow along with the dialogue thanks to the convenient subtitles provided at the bottom of the screen. Unfortunately, though, certain lines can become pretty difficult to read due to the low color contrast between the captions and the background scenery.

A creepy companion

Overall, My Friend The Spider presents a well-made setting with an engaging plot that players can easily relate to and reel themselves in. The use of vintage-style visuals paired with immersive audio elements creates an experience that feels much like you’re watching a scene from a movie. While the game could benefit from optimizations to its arrangement of subtitles, it’s still a game worth checking out.