Developer Alessandro Guzzo is continuing his cosmic horror series of video games with Cosmic Fear, the third game in the series following on from The Land of Pain and The Alien Cube.

Cosmic Fear continues with the themes and gameplay stylings of the first two titles, throwing our heroes face first into confrontations with Eldritch, otherworldly horrors and the uncompromising nihilism of the universe, compounded by mankind’s woefulness in the face of it all. In this third game, you take on the role of an investigator who looks into strange cases the world over, looking for proof that mankind’s history hides more than we know.

An invitation to a remote location promises to provide all the proof you need that the universe isn’t what we think it is. Without hesitation, you set out to see what the fuss is all about and are dropped straight into a nightmare that will not only test your sanity, but may also just rend you limb from limb.

Cosmic Fear expands upon the universe created in the prior games. It fuses a heavy dose of X-Files style atmosphere with pure, Lovecraftian terror. More than that, it takes a dive into the Cthulhu Mythos, linking the return of the Great Old Ones with the mysterious phenomena of alien abductions. The truth, of course, is far more horrifying than you could ever imagine.

Played from a first-person perspective, Cosmic Fear falls into the adventure, horror walking-sim genre. That, and the sprinting sim genre when you’re being chased by something big and nasty. Mechanically, this feels similar to other games in the genre but, thematically, it plays out much like a weird tale in which you’re the investigator driven from one momentous, life-altering reveal to the next, a journey slowly counting down to a terrible end.

Cosmic Fear‘s main driving force are the revelations themselves. Revealed in notes scattered across the world, they’re a slowly escalating nightmare leading to reality-shattering conclusions. The bulk of the world building, story and lore are told through diary entries and bloodstained notes. The rest of it is told through environment design and the awful things that happen around you.

This is where Cosmic Fear excels: atmosphere and visuals. And you certainly can’t have one without the other in this case. There’s an escalating sense of ominous dread as you travel across the games locations. From your cozy office to a sunny forest before been plunged into the forest at night, the game excels at building up tension slowly while transforming everyday locations into unrecognizable, sinister zones.

Usually this is where I’d say that the games visuals are the standout star of the show, but this is definitely one time where it’s the entire package doing all the heavy lifting. Neither the visuals nor the audio could standalone here, yet both of those combine to create some truly atmospheric moments. Of course you’ll notice the visuals first. They’re sumptuous, simply put, with wonderfully modelled and rendered locations. And they’re brought to life by some really unnerving audio as the light fades from the sky and the forest around you becomes home to something far more sinister and alien.

Blowing wind, lightning split skies and the inhuman screeches echoing across the valley really brings the terror. That you can’t fight back but only run from what’s pursuing you really puts the adrenaline into your legs.

One element that I really do believe needs to be mentioned explicitly is the games use of cinematic lighting. It’s on par with a high-budget Hollywood production in my opinion and, in many cases, puts many alien abduction movies to shame with how the developers have used the Unreal Engine 5 lighting tools to illuminate the world. From the torches marking your path through the darkness, to those terrifying moments when the sky is lit up in an unearthly blue hue, it’s simply stunning. This is certainly some of the best use of lighting in a game I’ve seen this generation.

That does mean Cosmic Fear comes with some beefy requirements on the RAM and VRAM side. In short, if you have anything less than 16gbs of RAM and 8gbs of VRAM, you’re gonna be putting some strain on your machine. Sadly, I did encounter a number of crashes, lag and resource errors until I dropped the games resolution and settings to a manageable level. The one nice thing though is that, even at much lower settings and resolutions, this is a title that does DLSS right, providing a still stunning image at medium and lower settings.

So does Cosmic Fear do everything right? Mostly. If the game has any flaws its that it includes instant death chase sequences that rely on trial-and-error gameplay to survive. I’ve never been a fan of these kinds of moments in games, and I’m not a fan of it here.

Cosmic Fear doesn’t try anything new in the adventure/walking sim genre. There are no momentous puzzles to solve or enemies to route. Instead, this is a game whose sole purpose is to tell a sinister story while building up tension and dread. And at this, it succeeds wonderfully. Fans of the walking sim genre who want a little more bite in their usual strolls should certainly check it out. Fans of Lovecraftian, cosmic horror who want something that captures the feelings instilled by their favourite stories should certainly put this on their list.

Pros:

• Wonderfully conveys the feeling of growing dread and tension
• Great Lovecraftian story
• Superb visuals
• Some of the best lighting I’ve seen in a game
• Great audio design

Cons:

• Trial and error instant death sequences are never fun
• Lag and a couple of crashes

Score: 8/10

Cosmic Fear was played on PC using a code provided by the publisher.