Our Lady of Sorrow is a free-to-play role-playing game from indie developer ToothandClaw. This survival horror follows the found footage subgenre, similar to cult classics like V/H/S/94 or The Blair Witch Project, but set in Old Abbey, Ireland. An unmarked tape found in an abandoned church contains inexplicable horror—and you get to relive the experience. 

Its use of atmospheric horror and a flickering effect that recreates an actual VHS footage makes the game all the more frightening. Our Lady of Sorrow is a worthy entry for fans of the genre like [REC] Shutter or September 1999.

An otherworldly horror experience

The first thing about Our Lady of Sorrow is how it commits to the whole found footage experience and the nostalgia often associated with it. It uses low-poly graphics for most of the objects and set designs, making it feel like a game from the 90s when the subgenre was at its peak. Also, as mentioned, the addition of a flickering effect common with old video footage also adds authenticity.

For the story, it manages to do a good job of bringing you into its world. The “footage” feels like something found by the Catholic church, with a sinister element still fighting inside it. This is made evident through the use of prayer screens as a form of intermission as you progress through the story. The erratic displays, like frames skipping or prayers looping, also add to the scare factor.

However, aside from the atmospheric horror from the found footage effect and the use of unsettling images throughout, the actual scare doesn’t quite deliver. Most of the game builds upon the horror that by the time the supposed game monster appears, she’s no longer as scary and her exposure ends rather quickly. Its great environment has diminished the impact of the main monster.

A must-try first-person scare

Considering all the work put into creating an immersive found footage horror, Our Lady of Sorrow definitely deserves your attention. From the concept to the actual graphics, it’s something that specifically caters to players who grew up with the subgenre. It’s actually great, it deserves a sequel. The only lackluster part about this ensemble is that its effective environment takes the spotlight away from the villain.