As a writer, you spend a lot of time in isolation, or attempt it, to write with the silent prayers to whatever divine being that’s out there listening, that you’ll be left the f-ck alone. Well, in Carlos Azuaga’s and Jandusoft’s Yellowcreek Stories-The Cabin Watcher, that’s not gonna happen!
Yellowcreek Stories: The Cabin Watcher follows a writer named Terry, who is staying at a remote cabin in the forest to work on his latest novel. Unfortunately, his calming night is interrupted by an escapee with a bloodlust that knows no end.
Now, onto the game itself. The controls for Yellowcreek Stories: The Cabin Watcher are minimal, which I’ll go into more towards the end. The game’s art is interesting, but I fear it may be AI assets; I can’t confirm as the game’s ending credits were sparse, leading to this concern.
The game’s soundtrack fits the story as it screams 80s synth. Normally I don’t like games that lack voice-overs, but this did it well. The subtitles are to the point, with no long walls of text.
Gameplay is where the game kind of falls off for me. Yellowcreek Stories: The Cabin Watcher is supposed to be a stealth horror game, where you have to try not to be seen by the Jason/Michal-like killer. Sounds intense on paper, BUT, in actuality, what this game lacks is a sense of urgency or danger, as the killer is as scary as a kitten and as blind as Stevie Wonder.
OK, maybe I’m being too harsh; the killer’s AI has it locked on a very predictable patrolling pattern that’s easily exploited. There’s no real challenge.
Overall… Yellowcreek Stories: The Cabin Watcher feels more like a demo than a full game. It’s a short game that I beat in under an hour. That’s not including moments I paused to take notes, or deliberately let myself die to see what happens. I feel the price of this game is too high for what you’ll be getting. Because the game is relying TOO MUCH on horror movie/game tropes, there are no scares, especially if you’re familiar with Slasher films. It was a good attempt, but it kind of falls flat. Given the title, I assume there are plans to make more games set in this universe in the future; I just hope they’ll be a bit better.
On my scale of 1-10, with the lack of scares and challenge, overused plot, and lack of originality, I give Yellowcreek Stories: The Cabin Watcher a 3/10.
