Anthology Of The Killer threads a very delicate needle, managing to somehow be incredibly funny while still making you fear for your life.
BB runs a zine on spooky-goings-on in her town. Thankfully, there is no shortage of material where she lives. No matter how mundane a place might sound, wherever BB goes, you’ll find some unsettling thing worth writing about afterwards. And honestly, there isn’t anything mundane about any of the places she’ll visit across the various episodes of this anthology. Every location is filled with surreal visuals, eye-grabbing sights, and unique creatures. Exploring this world is rearding enough on its own.
The visuals are rewarding, but they also create a base feeling of discomfort as you explore the world. Things don’t sit quite right. Frightening creatures flit about or outright grab onto you. At the same time, outright hilarious interactions happen. The dialogue is sharp and funny, yet also vivid and discomforting. This game slips through scary interactions that somehow make me laugh about my own likely demise. Horror and humor often go hand-in-hand, but this connection is often lopsided. This game does something incredible by always keeping these things in balance, creating this strange sensation that I’m laughing to keep myself sane while trying not to die just so I can write something to make rent.
Anthology of the Killer is exceptional as a game to make me laugh while simultaneously giving me that sense of dread I enjoy while playing a horror game. I’ve just never had these feelings coexist in the same moment before. This mingled sensation, as well as the incredible skill with the writing and visuals it took to bring me to this strange place, make this game into something you really need to experience at least once.
Anthology Of The Killer is available now on itch.io, GameJolt, and Steam.
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