Terror At Oakheart

Review

The town of Oakheart has been on edge for quite some time; Teddy is on a killing rampage. He targets couples, and his killing methods are never the same but always gruesome. Teddy was always an odd fellow, working as an ice cream vendor dressed in a clown outfit with a strange mask, and walking awkwardly. But then something extraordinary corrupted his already weak mind; you know, the usual horrible extraterrestrial monster shooting some sort of membrane that sticks onto faces. It’s scary stuff. Is there more murder in sight, or will Teddy be stopped? If you want to know, then don't miss Terror At Oakheart.

Terror At Oakheart is a pixelated side-scroller survival horror game with a light puzzle element developed by Tainted Pact and published by Assemble Entertainment on the 24^th of February 2024 on the Steam platform.

The game consists of nine chapters, including a prologue, and will take around three hours of gameplay to complete. Yes, it might be short, but what you get for the price point is excellent. As advertised, the game is heavily inspired by the horror movies of the 80s and 90s, and while playing the game, a few titles, such as Friday the 13^th and Aliens, came to my mind.

What impressed me in this game is the way the story is told, and the fact that you play every character. Yes, you'll play murderous Teddy, and you’ll kill a few characters in his eccentric ways. But most of the time, you'll be playing characters who are about to die. For a couple of characters, you'll have to avoid being killed or it will be game over. Ultimately, the character you play the most will be the Sheriff of Oakheart. Most of the combat phases occur as the Sheriff.

Each chapter is based in specific locations, and the story will flow cleverly as you go along. The chapters/level are designed as corridors with doors that you have to explore. Some rooms will have items to collect, such as keys to open locked doors, ladders to reach a house's second floor, and various items you can use during your gameplay. The puzzles are straightforward and provide a bit of necessary variation in the gameplay,

The combat phase is simplistic and suits the game very well. You’ll experience most of the fighting as the sheriff, facing characters who have died and become pretty fun mutants, as well as a few different monsters created by the strange alien. They are not hard to kill - if they are too close to you and you need to reload your weapon, try exiting the room, reloading your weapon, and re-entering. The enemy will reappear on the other side of the screen, giving you plenty of time to shoot at them. The last boss is not hard to kill - it might take you a couple of goes until you understand its pattern, but when you get it, it will be straightforward. When you finish the game, you'll gain access to Mr. Top’s Killing Spree Mini-Game, which is fun and an additional bonus. 

The game runs well, and I like the eerie atmosphere it provides throughout the chapters with its dark areas and scary soundtracks. As the game is quite short and has one storyline, Terror at Oakheart doesn't offer much replayability, but it is really worth playing.

Review written by THE CPT FROGGY for Zeepond.com

Terror At Oakheart Steam Store Page