Slay Bells is a free action video game wherein, instead of waiting eagerly for Santa, you have to stay as far away from him as possible. Developed by Blake McKinnon Productions, this Christmas-themed survival horror game has you playing as a poor woman who must get away from the clutches of a maniacal axe-wielding Santa Claus. It features old-school 3D graphics and first-person perspective gameplay.

You better watch out

In Slay Bells, a quiet town is preparing for Christmas to arrive. You play as Sally, a prostitute who tries to make ends meet and get a present for her son who had been taken away from her custody by his father. You start off by simply delivering the boy’s present in secret and going home before midnight strikes. However, you soon discover a gruesome scene awaiting you at the subway station.

The gameplay is pretty standard here and your goal is similar to most survival horror games that feature only one dangerous enemy. You have to find equippable items such as crowbars and axes in order to open locked pathways to escape. There’s no sneaking mechanic as the map is usually huge and you can easily wait for Santa to pass by without noticing you. You’ll eventually get a gun for one last showdown.

This game is pretty short but definitely does justice to its inspirations, which are 80's slasher movies and PS1 horror games. Surviving isn’t too hard compared to other games, as this title’s aim is to be more atmospheric rather than truly frightening. This is evident in how your flashlight doesn’t ever go out, unlike in other games. Mostly, the main issue is how tricky it is to figure out where to go with the radar-like mini-map.

Don’t be naughty

All in all, Slay Bells is a great short game to play if you’re feeling like adding some horror to your holiday festivities. While it doesn’t offer much else after you finish, it’s a nice addition to your list of Christmas-themed horror titles to try out. It would be nice if it had other modes or maps, though, to add more variety to the survival horror mechanics. Even different difficulty levels would have been great.