September 99: the quickest horror game you can play

copyright: SEP 1999 is property of DEMAKE 98

 story:

disclaimer: I finished the game and wrote the review before the recent events that happened on demake98's twitter. While i do not support abuse, i do believe people can change for the better and that demake sees professionals for help.

update: we have received word that demake98 has sadly ended their own life. we hope his family can mourn in peace.

 second update to this review: Demake98 is alive, while he did contemplate suicide, he did not and his account was suspended due to posting that he thought about it,  

September 99 is just as advertised, an atmospheric horror game that perfectly encapsulates the atmosphere and mood of its name. Let's dissect the game piece by piece. It's a first-person experience, where you play an unknown character, whose identity is only revealed toward the end. Most doors are locked and blocked off, leaving the hallway littered with garbage and booze bottles. Once you enter the room, the story begins to unfold in earnest with a sense of dread and terror.

The lights flicker and suddenly you're back at the beginning again, a jarring experience reminiscent of P.T. This time, the lights are out and the atmosphere is filled with an unnerving sensation of dread and horror. You retrace your steps through the hallway, exploring the floor once more. Once you enter the bedroom, a body wrapped in a mysterious covering catches your eye, filling you with a profound sense of unease and fear.

The discovery of the body wrapped in a mysterious covering is the catalyst for the penultimate stage of the game. As the lights flicker yet again, the atmosphere becomes even more fraught with tension and unsettling implications. Without being able to see their face, it's hard to know exactly who it is, but the flashing lights and sirens point to it being a police officer of some sort. In this segment, you retrace your steps again through the hallway, but now with a new and pressing sense of urgency.

The game resets once more, this time presenting a much more ominous and macabre scene with almost all the lights out except for a few. The atmosphere is now completely doused in a thick layer of blood and splattered with gore and garbage. You have no choice but to follow the trail of blood as all other routes are blocked off. Upon entering the room where the blood trail ends, your worst fears are confirmed as the body is in pieces and blood is smeared all throughout the room. Once you've explored the body, you can leave and the game will transition into the cutscene sequence.

The cutscene doesn't give away much, with mostly offscreen sounds that give some sense of what's happening behind the scene. The revving of a chainsaw can be heard, with the implication of something rather gruesome and macabre beyond the confines of the room. The use of the chainsaw sounds would definitely please the legendary Fred Durst, adding to the creepy and unsettling atmosphere of the game.

Gameplay:

the gameplay itself is a simple walking simulator.

The graphics give a real uncanny valley effect. Usually when games try to be realistic it comes off as bad and when games get newer graphics, they tend to come off as trying to hard. The graphics look almost photo realistic. And its really surprising how good it looks

overall

its definitely worth playing at least once and I hope demake98 continues to make beautiful art in the future.