Before you even know what Phantom Halls is about, it manages to catch your attention with a mere glance at it. The papercraft visual style is certainly a unique selling point for this horror-comedy roguelike. When you delve deeper than that, however, there’s a clear ardor for the horror genre.
You’re tasked with controlling a squad of characters inside a procedurally-generated 2D mansion, and naturally, this is no walking tour. There’s something strange going on here, and your squad must take on a variety of ghouls n’ ghosts as they move around the creaking halls. There are different missions for each character and they lean into the goofier side of horror
You control your entire squad as one entity, using different keys for each of their actions. There’s gunplay, but the more satisfying side to combat is the crunchy melee that allows for some fine brain-bashing. The weapon and item drops are randomized too, so plenty of scope for experimentation in your skull-smashing-related activities.
Phantom Halls looks suitably spooky, as you guide your intrepid squad of ghoul killers through dimly-lit areas, relying heavily on a flashlight to spot the evil that lurks in the shadows, but there are many homages to horror. Not just its heroes, villains, and trendsetters, but also its faults and tropes too. Phantom Halls manages to be a celebration of the silly, the spooky, and the scary sides of the genre.
Developer Incedium is hardly shy about these influences. The game’s creative director (and founder of Incedium) Llexi Leon is clear about where Phantom Halls‘ genesis lies.
”Phantom Halls really draws on all forms of B-movie horror and celebrates the visceral gore and outlandish creatures of the genre in a comical way, whilst also tipping our hat to the narrative staples of the genre and building on those concepts to create unique gameplay mechanics and character abilities,” Leon told Bloody Disgusting.
It’s hard to deny that. Phantom Halls feels like a game made by horror fans who are able to poke fun at the shortcomings and narrative crutches of the genre whilst displaying genuine affection for it.
”The whole game was built around horror movie tropes as the primary objectives. I think the often ridiculous yet comfortingly familiar scenarios for the dozens of missions will give players a good laugh if they’ve spent as much time watching horror and listening to heavy metal as we have.”
Notably, this adoration played a big part in Incedium securing a rather lucrative license for a film that is a firm favorite of the development team as a whole, and a splendid fit for the haunted house comedy horror of Phantom Halls, Evil Dead 2.
”We’re all huge Evil Dead fans and so the officially sanctioned Ash content – drawing from our collective favourite, Evil Dead 2 – is very prominent in the game.” Says Leon.
Yes, Ash himself is a downloadable character for Phantom Halls, made up in the game’s delightful papercraft form. There’s also Evil Dead-themed missions, including a battle against Evil Ash, and the iconic cabin also joins the party. The Sam Raimi classic’s inclusion is a beacon of Incedium’s love for comedic horror in particular, but while the focus is on B-Movies and low-budget classics, the focus isn’t narrowed to just that, as Leon goes on to explain.
”There’s many far more subtle nods and references to the genre throughout, whether it’s the clowns, zombies, killer dolls, or risen gargoyles. There’s a host of undead monsters to face in the mansion that draws inspiration from iconic movies and staples of horror literature like The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow, Frankenstein, and Dracula, all reimagined through our satirical papercraft lens.”
Leon also cites the King of the B-Movie himself, Roger Corman, as an inspiration. So much so that his name pops up a fair bit in Phantom Halls. ”There’s a few tributes to Roger Corman in the game world of Phantom Halls – as he’s arguably the godfather of the B-movie, we had to bring him into the mix, with Corman Valley High being the school where the kids ‘occult studies club’ is formed, and the Corman Valley Crabs being referenced as the cheerleaders squad – a nod to ‘Attack of the Crab Monsters’ for the real B-movie buffs out there!”
Phantom Halls has steadily been growing since its Early Access launch last year into the horror love-in you see today and the future could well be brighter still, with bucketloads of potential for themed tie-in content and plain expansion into more homages. It’s one thing to make a good horror game that nods to its influences, but to make one that’s funny as well is an admirable feat.
Phantom Halls is out now on Steam Early Access and has its full release on October 31st.