The Pale Demo is a free adventure title by indie developer VIDE01. As its name says, it is a demo of a retro horror game designed in the style of classic PS1 titles. In it, players are new keepers of an old lighthouse off the coast of an abandoned island.

Just like Shadow over Normoth and The Keeper, The Pale Demo draws heavy inspiration from the PS1 and 90s 16-bit games. It features low-poly graphics and is presented in the 4:3 aspect ratio to remain true to its looks and presentation and offer a more authentic experience.

Pale lighthouse

In The Pale Demo, you play as Arthur, a newly hired keeper for an old lighthouse located on the Pale, an abandoned island off the coast of Maine. The dilapidated building is worse for wear and has not been maintained in a long time. It will be up to you to start restoring and repairing whatever you can little by little as you navigate this unfamiliar place.

You will be maintaining not just the lighthouse, but also its wide surrounding areas by the coast, forest-like greenery, and hillside. As you slowly familiarize yourself with the landscape, you will also discover various iconic locations, as well as various items such as a journal left behind that gives you know more about the island's history. Things are not as simple as they seem and something dark and sinister permeates.

You won't be alone through all of it, though, as you have a fellow keeper and other visitors to talk and interact with. Now, this is still a demo and will let you play the first act, serving as a preview of what the full game will be like. Development for it is still ongoing, and the developer is eyeing a 2023 window for the official release.

Dark secrets lie hidden

If you like PS1-style horror games, then The Pale Demo is another interesting title that's worth keeping an eye on. It features the characteristic low-poly graphics of that era, coupled with a dark and atmospheric presentation to great effect. There is plenty of exploration to be done and the story itself is intriguing. Hopefully, the full game gets an official release date soon.