Massacre At The Mirage was one of the many games shown off during this year’s Indie Horror Showcase. The game, developed by Tainted Pact, was released on October 28. The short experience takes players on a journey through a story full of tension, bloodshed, and scares caused by a demonic killer clown. As a bonus to the game’s spooky story, it all takes place on Halloween night. What kinds of tricks does this clown pull to get his treats? Well, some of them aren’t for the faint of heart. Without further delay, it’s time to dive into Massacre At The Mirage.
The Petrifying Pros
Horror With Style
This indie horror game combines the classic trope of killer clowns with an anthology-like story set in 1988. Massacre At The Mirage follows multiple working people as they try to get through their Halloween night shifts. The game takes players to locations such as a car dealership, movie theater, radio station, and more. The employees in these stories set out to do their mundane tasks without knowing how much danger they’re in. Of course, things do end up going bump in the night.
The settings and simple art style of the Massacre At The Mirage do the game a favor. Even for players who didn’t experience the late 80s, it brings on a sense of nostalgia. This holds especially true for the movie theater setting, which is where a large portion of the story takes place. It makes parts of the game feel straight out of a classic horror movie from that period. However, the premise of this game feels more like the far more recent Terrifier movie series.
A Sinister Antagonist
Speaking of Art the Clown’s metaphorical sibling, the demonic clown in this game is quite the menacing presence. While the scares in this game aren’t exactly fast-paced, they do feature a menacing foe. Just like art, this clown takes great joy in terrorizing average people until it’s ready to strike. Whether it’s taunting them with an eerie ice cream truck or getting right to the gory point, this clown means business. It takes a sinister role in each of the character’s individual stories. Specifically, it causes the end of their stories. Even with scary clowns being abundant in horror, the demon clown in Massacre At The Mirage still manages to stand out.
For the horror buffs reading, this indie game does feature an array of devastating deaths. Some of them are certainly not suited for the ones not into seeing gore. However, for the ones who find it fun, the death scenes featured in the game are both diverse and creative. Without getting too much into spoiler territory, certain scenes in the game might just even make certain slashers feel shocked.
The Creepy Cons of Massacre At The Mirage
While the kills shown in Massacre At The Mirage are entertaining, for lack of a better word. A couple of moments in the game feel a bit too drawn out. At the end of certain stories, players may be left in near-complete silence while waiting for the inevitable. For some, this could cause the tension to only grow. However, for others, it might make these sequences feel longer than they need to be. It’s a good thing the twisted art form of crafting creative casualties makes up for them.
Final Thoughts
Massacre At The Mirage is a Halloween dark treat of an indie horror game. Tainted Pact and everyone else involved did an incredible job bringing the premise of slasher movies into this short single-player experience. Combining supernatural horror and a bit of retail simulation helped make this game feel unique among all the games to feature killer clowns. While not the scariest game out there, Massacre At The Mirage is still a wicked good time. The game is currently available only on PC.
Score: 4/5
Spooky Score: 3/5
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