Review
Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek – survival horror for kids
by Cassie Mammone
Look Outside is 2025’s little-known horror gem
22.10.2025
Translation: Katherine Martin
If you’re a fan of horror games, don’t repeat my mistake and let Look Outside pass you by. This indie gem has shot to the top of my Game of the Year list.
I adore horror games. There’s something about that combination of dark stories, scary monsters and me, controller in hand, in the middle of the action.
So it’s a shame that since Resident Evil 7, no survival horror game has really managed to get me quaking in my boots. In fact, I’m now well and truly accustomed to the genre’s much-repeated gameplay.
Now, at long last, redemption has arrived in the form of a horror game paired with an unusual genre. Look Outside involves turn-based role-playing battles in the middle of a run-down block of flats attempting to survive the apocalypse.
Don’t (!) look outside
In Look Outside, you wake up one morning with the impulse to, as the title suggests, look outside. But following this misleading title – and your urges – is ill-advised. If you go ahead and follow them anyway, you’ll meet an untimely end.
The world is in a state of emergency. Something’s appeared in the sky – and it drastically changes anyone who looks at it. You get a taste of this upon leaving your flat within a few hours of the event. Some people are… different. Strange. When I venture out, it’s not long before the first of my neighbours attacks me. Also: why does he have an eye on his stomach?
Your mission in all this is relatively straightforward – don’t look outside under any circumstances, and survive for 15 days until the unusual phenomenon subsides.
An additional quest lures you away from the safety of your flat each morning. Plus, you can follow clues that’ll tell you more about the phenomenon outside.
Mixing genres keeps things fresh (and scary)
Like well-known survival horror games, Look Outside involves exploring a huge building. Although my character starts off alone and fairly powerless against the horror lurking inside and outside his room, I push myself steadily forwards.
Unlike more action-heavy horror games, this indie title focuses on turn-based RPG battles. This is accompanied by a level system, so instead of running merrily towards your enemies, you’re encouraged to think about whether you really want to let your weak little man go head to head with a giant rat monster.
Every time you win a battle, you gain XP. After a certain amount of time, you can then level up, i.e. get stronger. In survival horror games, enemies are usually tailored to your ability, allowing you to go ahead and fight them. Most of the creatures in Look Outside, however, really put me through the wringer – especially in the beginning.
As you’re moving around the game world, you see all the monsters on your screen. This means you can deliberately avoid them – unless they spot you and come racing after you.
It certainly ramps up the suspense. Again and again, you’re faced with the inner conflict presented by exploring the next room. On the one hand, you might find useful items, allies or even a clue about the horrors outside. On the other hand, death might be just around the corner.
If you opt for the Normal difficulty setting over Easy, you’ll have some extra hair-raising moments in store. In Normal Mode, you can only save the game if you’re in your own flat – and only if you’ve previously explored new rooms. In Easy Mode, on the other hand, you can save at any time. Personally, I enjoyed Normal Mode, as it upped my fear of dying and losing my progress as a result. It increases the stakes any time you take a risk.
I feel downright intimidated during my first few hours playing the game. It’s the first time in ages that I’ve felt afraid of a horror game’s battles. My character’s so weak and fragile that I’d rather not fight anyone or anything. Especially since there are mutated humans behind many of the monsters.
Weighty moral dilemmas
Since looking outside causes things to change, it’s obvious that there are ordinary people and animals behind the monsters. As a result, I feel extremely uncomfortable at the thought of fighting my neighbours to the death. Especially when they’re children or other beings in need of care.
To make sure I don’t give anything away, I’ll keep the exact stories I came across to myself. What I will tell you is that my heart felt heavy on more than one occasion. I’d like to give you one example, so be aware that there are spoilers for a small section of the game in the next two paragraphs.
In one of the flats in the block, you constantly hear a baby crying. The cries sound disturbing and grotesque. It’s only once you venture into the flat and come across the baby’s cot that you find out why. The «baby» is a mutated rat. However, it turns out to be tame and starts following you.
Unable to resist the pitiful creature, I actually take a liking to it. Consequently, I’m blindsided when I end up in a room with a monster demanding a sacrifice. It gives you the option of sacrificing one of your two arms (which would give you a serious disadvantage in battles) or the rat baby. It’s been a long time since I’ve tried so hard to find an alternative solution in a game.
Fearing impending monster battles, I choose my arms over the rat baby. I’m still haunted by my decision.
The block of flats is an explorer’s paradise
There’s a simple reason why I keep on forcing my way through the game despite its difficulty and moral dilemmas. The block of flats you need to kill your 15 days in is incredibly fascinating, as are its inhabitants.
The supernatural phenomenon taking place outside changes the building too. Some floors morph into endless labyrinths. Flats – and the entire basement – are completely bent out of shape by monsters. As much as I’m sometimes afraid of sneaking past nasty beasts, I’m always tempted by the interesting stories on offer as rewards.
I love that I’m forced to overcome my fears in order to satisfy my urge to explore.
The music also strikes just the right mood, oscillating between gross background noises and certified retro bangers. Although I’m not a fan of pixelated graphics, it’s commendable how well done the game’s visuals are throughout.
To sum up, Look Outside doesn’t just play well, it also looks and sounds fantastic.
Look Outside was released on 21 March 2025 for PC on Steam. It runs well on the Steam Deck too.
In a nutshell
Look Outside is the game that’s surprised me most this year
I didn’t expect turn-based combat, RPG elements and horror to mesh so nicely. It’s a combination that makes me fear every encounter, especially at the start of the game. However, the setting, in a state of flux due to an unexplained phenomenon, is so interesting that I simply have to see more of it.
The one quibble I do have with the game also relates to the genre. While the level system initially ramps up a sense of fear around the monsters, towards the end of the 15-day period I’m running through the building like a bulldozer. I kill all the regular monsters in just a few blows, only confronting genuinely scary bosses when I’m on the hunt for more rewards and achievements.
However, since I love both horror games and turn-based RPGs, I’m fine with that. The shivers-up-the-spine moments coexist with my love of the grind, which, in turn, never negates the initial suspense.
Pro
- Plenty of freedom to explore
- Eerie-looking monsters
- Gripping RPG combat system
- Cool retro style in terms of both sound and design
Contra
- Level system reduces the scare factor as the game progresses
Cassie Mammone
Freelance Editor
cassie.mammone.freelance@gmail.comI wrote my first text about video games when I was eight years old. I haven't been able to stop since. The rest of my time is spent on my love for 2D husbandos, monsters, my cats and sport.
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