A slow burn horror that creeps in over time.
QUICK SNAPSHOT
Developer: Langonier
Genre: Psychological Horror / Exploration
Platform: PC (Steam)
Price: Low-cost indie (budget-friendly tier)
Playtime: approx. 1–2 hours
Worth Playing?: if you value atmosphere over action, then yes
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Exploration driven loop with minimal tutorial
- Horror comes from implication, though some jumpscares happen
- Strong use of environmental storytelling
- Audio does most of the heavy lifting
- Doesn’t fully stick the landing mechanically, but the tension works
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
I went in expecting a short playthrough, where I walk around, find items, get chased once or twice, done.
The setup is simple for the most part with isolated station and strange happenings. So, something is clearly wrong with the station.
What stood out early was the tension. Early on, the pacing is slower than expected. There’s space between events. You’re not constantly being pushed forward, which can either kill tension or build it depending on execution.
Here, it mostly builds it.
The first few minutes are quiet, encouraging you to move around and observe the environment, picking up small details.
Then something shifts, which is almost easy to miss like the distorted footage, odd text graffiti here and there, the presence of something stalking, and the subtle pressure of isolation hanging over as you search for your brother.
THE GAMEPLAY LOOP
The loop is straightforward:
Explore > Find items (like tapes, notes) > Trigger events > Move deeper
You’re mostly just exploring which could be described as a walking sim and fetch quest. What breaks this is solving puzzles, making It about movement and observation.
As you walk through areas, interact with key objects, and piece together what’s happening.
The cassette mechanic plays a role in pacing, forcing you to absorb as much information as needed to understand what happened to your brother, what our family was like, and who we are, since we play as Elena.
There are moments where the loop introduces light tension spikes like visual anomalies, sudden shifts in environment, or brief sequences but they’re used sparingly.
Occasionally you encounter jumpscares that are relevant and some that are well… not.
These spikes could keep players interested as they break the repetition but with some jumpscares being unrelated to the game’s plot, it runs the risk of dropping the tension it built up to that point. This leads back to the loop becoming less tense.
As mentioned, the loop can feel a bit thin. There’s not much mechanical depth. Once you understand the structure, you’re essentially repeating the same actions with different contexts or different items at your disposal (e.g., a lantern or walkie-talkie).
Whether that works depends on how much you buy into the atmosphere.
THE ATMOSPHERE
This is where Radiance of Souls does its best work.
Visually, it leans into dim lighting, confined spaces, and subtle environmental decay. Nothing is overly stylized. It feels grounded, which makes the strange elements stand out more to me.
You can get immersed by the environment and soundscape alone.
Objects are placed slightly off but familiar. Lighting changes in ways you don’t predict 100% of the time. These elements allow some areas to feel too empty an others too tight.
Plus, the game uses space well. Hallways stretch just long enough to build discomfort. Rooms feel isolated, like you shouldn’t be there.
One of the strongest elements is how it handles visual interruptions. You’ll catch movement, an odd shape, a flash and then it’s gone. That uncertainty carries the experience.
For full transparency, its metioned on Steam page that AI was used for some images and textures. From my viewpoint, it looks like it was toward a few photos and marine pictures on the wall.
SOUND DESIGN
This is the backbone of the game.
The audio isn’t constant. There are stretches of near silence, broken by ambient noise like low hums and subtle distortions on screen or on the radio devices. It keeps your ears engaged without overloading you.
The radio is especially effective. It forces you into a passive state, making you stop and listen. That’s where tension builds. You’re vulnerable, even if the game isn’t actively punishing you.
There are also moments where sound cues hint at something behind you or just out of view. It plays with directional audio in a way that makes you check your surroundings more than necessary.
This honestly hits on some parts but misses on others with jumpscares unrelated to the plot.
WHEN IT CLICKS
Early on, you move normally. You walk into rooms without thinking, interact quickly, keep going. Then, about a quarter of the game you start hesitating on entering areas.
This hesitation is prime horror as you pause before turning corners, look longer at empty spaces, or double check rooms you’ve already been in because a glass broke or a door closed is now partially open or closed if it was once open.
That’s when it clicks.
You stop playing it like a game and start treating it like a space you don’t fully trust.
That shift is where Radiance of Souls works best.
WHAT DIDN’T WORK
- The gameplay loop lacks depth. Once you understand the structure, there’s not much variation. It leans heavily on atmosphere to carry repetition.
- Some transitions feel abrupt: A few moments jump from quiet exploration to intense visuals too quickly. It can feel less like buildup and more like a trigger.
- Unnecessary jumpscares: This game does use jumpscares where some are done well by allowing proper build up and is relevant to the story like the cat or the stalking entity. Yet, other jumpscares like the bird, sparking machine, or skittering bugs are not it and ruined a tension slowing building.
- Some mechanical issues: During my playthrough, I noticed quitting mid-play doesn’t close the game out. It goes to black screen, but you can walk and hear the game. I had to close the game window to leave it fully.
- Also, my pause screen overlayed on the radio puzzle, and after the lightning strike near the antenna tower, the game’s audio output just vanished entirely while playing and entering areas.
- Ending doesn’t fully capitalize on tension: It doesn’t completely deliver on the psychological pressure it created. Though a nice ending, it lacks some concrete cohesion among the entity, Elena and her brother..
THE ENDING (NO SPOILERS)
It wraps things up without dragging them out, but it feels a bit restrained, not as sharp as the buildup leading into it.
I admit that part nearing the last item to get, the soundscape was lit. No idea what that chanting was, but it was fire!
FINAL THOUGHTS
This is for players who want controlled, A to B horror experience.
If you’re looking for constant threats, heavy mechanics, or replayability then this isn’t it.
If you want something short that builds tension through space, sound, and subtle shifts in behavior, it does a good job and would be better with less irrelevant jumpscares.
And while it doesn’t linger in a big, explosive way, it sticks in smaller ways. The kind where you remember specific moments instead of the whole experience.
Seriously that music and chanting while getting the last item was lit!
WATCH THE FULL PLAYTHROUGH
Check out Radiance of Souls on Steam and experience it yourself. If you’re into indie horror that focuses on atmosphere, this one’s worth your time.
If you enjoy indie horror breakdowns like this, follow Gravenox Horror Gaming, and trust me to explore horror so you don’t have to.
Nero is a writer and lore researcher known for reviewing games on Steam. With years of experience playing horror games, uncovering hidden narrative patterns across indie and AAA titles, and publishing museum catalogs on ancient objects, he blends commentary with psychological horror theory. When he’s not unraveling storylines, he’s enjoying rock music, drawing, working in analytics or obviously playing video games. Check out his latest post to explore the furtive patterns hidden in game lore.
