The Hauntings: Surveillance is a free-to-play simulation that puts you in charge of a surveillance office. In this indie game from warka, you’ll need to go through different surveillance camera feeds and find supernatural activities. Be warned, though, that missing too many incidents or starting to report the wrong ones will be game over for you.

Visually, The Hauntings: Surveillance feels like a darker version of the office from The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe version. Similarly, its horror appeal and the surveillance mechanic all feel similar to Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach, although more muted and subtle.

Take over the cameras

In The Hauntings: Surveillance, you play the role of a new employee at the Directive Seven Bravo surveillance team. There are reports about an office experiencing a series of paranormal events. You’ll be tasked with scanning through the cameras and finding these irregularities. However, you are only allowed five mistakes before the game is over. Missing paranormal events or reporting wrong ones are counted as strikes.

As a horror game, expect a variety of frights and surprises, which makes it fun and replayable, especially if you missed some on your first take. Be warned, though, that the game comes with jumpscares—some more surprising than others. Additionally, the game uses simple and intuitive controls. You can use the mouse or A/D keys to switch between cameras.

For an indie game, it has a short playthrough, provided you can complete it on your first try. An average playthrough to beat the game, however, is good for hours of gameplay. However, it might be too difficult and too fast for some players, especially those who are not used to this genre. Also, the game is still currently limited to a single level, which also limits gameplay opportunities.

A fun one-shot horror

Once you get the hang of it, The Hauntings: Surveillance is actually a fun game. It might take you a couple of tries before you finally beat it, which makes victory all that rewarding. It has a simple yet effective premise aided by its graphics quality. The game also uses simple controls that leave you to focus on the important part of the game: finding irregularities.