Hello Ghoul Gang,
A game that’s been lurking on my Steam wishlist for a while is Hellmart, from small developer Gaze In Games. I recently downloaded the demo, which lets you play through the first three in-game days…and honestly, it was a delightfully weird ride.
You play the new employee at a 24-hour convenience store somewhere up North, surrounded by snow, wind and a whole lot of isolation. The environment is strange (think The Mist), the vibes are off, and the customers? Even worse, despite the smiles plastered on their faces!
Alongside the usual retail joys of stocking shelves, tidying up and serving customers, you’ll also need to protect the store from anomalies and monsters and make sure you don’t let in the wrong customers who come knocking on the door at night. If you get it wrong? Well… you may just pay with your life. Even monitoring the customers on the security cameras feels unnerving, as you sometimes spot literal wankers.
You earn money by completing tasks correctly, which you can then spend on upgrades like the power generator, locks and additional security cameras. Everything about this demo felt so wonderfully odd, and I’m not ashamed to admit I let out a couple of startled yelps, heart racing, as I wandered around clutching a flashlight and an axe, desperately trying to keep some creature’s freakishly long arms at bay.
The design isn’t groundbreaking, but it doesn’t need to be, it’s effective, creepily charming, and the simple mechanics mean you’ll pick it up quickly. One thing I really loved was the sound design. Even stepping outside to answer the phone, you’re hit with howling winds and ominous noises that keep the tension cranked up.
For a small, relatively unknown developer, it’s clear a lot of care has gone into this. I can already tell it’s going to get more challenging as the days progress. All in all, this was a great demo and I was genuinely gutted when it ended, and I’ll definitely be picking it up on release day… which just so happens to be tomorrow.
Is this one you’ll be checking out? Let me know in the comments.
Stay spooky!
👻SG👻
☽ SpookyGee ☾ 