When looking at specific horror games and their impact on the gaming community, it’s a good idea to not only look at large series, but also developers who make a wide range of varying games. It’s also important to remember that, despite the new day and age of media, not everything has to be so perfect with amazing graphics that reflect our present time.
In the first two pieces to this serial, Five Nights at Freddy’s and I’m On Observation Duty both have multiple games that come after the first one, continuing the success of the franchise. They both also have graphics that cater to the present world which has become massively developed.
It has become more common in the online world to see smaller developers grow into something big. FNAF had small beginnings, and it has become one of the largest horror franchises in the world. Indie developers have grown to be able to contribute a lot to their communities.
One well-known indie company that has created several different games with different themes and plots, all while remaining horror-based, is Puppet Combo. They are an American independent video game development studio. In a community that has always tried to find new games to broaden its horizons, this video game developer has given so many new opportunities to those who wish to enjoy different types of horror content.
The creator of Puppet Combo, Benedetto “Ben” Cocuzza, originally created the studio in 2012 under the name Pig Farmer Games. Cocuzza has gone on to also create Torture Star Video, a publishing company for lo-fi horror games. Cocuzza was heavily inspired by slasher films, which were very popular among horror fanatics for many years. He started developing games in 2000, having a desire to create a game that reflected the slasher-type thriller.
Puppet Combo has released 17 games in the span of 7 years, and Torture Star Video has published 13. All of the games are available on PC, though some of the larger games are available across all gaming platforms.
All of Puppet Combo’s games include, from first to last: Babysitter Bloodbath, Power Drill Massacre, Meat Cleaver Mutilator, The Night Ripper, Night Shift, Spiders, Feed Me Billy, Nun Massacre, The Glass Staircase, The Riverside Incident, Day Seven, Samhain, Scary Tales Vol. 1, Night Watch, Murder House, Christmas Massacre, and Stay Out of the House. Of these, the most notable ones that helped the developer’s claim to fame were Nun Massacre, Murder House, and Christmas Massacre.
The list may seem long, but some of the games don’t take very long to play. And a lot of them are worth playing through.
Many reviews compliment the games for their contents, and for having other things like psychological horror, gruesome pulp horror, and other things. It’s safe to say that as a whole, Puppet Combo has made a large array of games that have pleased the community for many years, and they continue to publish games as time goes on.
So what has made Puppet Combo so special? Why, out of every indie developer, has this one risen among the top?
One of the biggest things that Puppet Combo has that made them popular is their low-poly, VHS-type styled gameplay. These types of games have always found a love in the horror community. They’re modeled after early PlayStation games, which may bring back nostalgic memories for some. Low audio quality, low graphics, and animations similar to games created a few decades ago have left a resounding impression on the horror gaming community.
If you want to get points from the community pretty easily, low graphics and VHS-style are a good way to go. A lot of people have had a soft spot for games and creations that reflect these nostalgic elements.
Despite each game having similar-sounding names (“massacre” shows up a lot in the game titles), each one has a new uniqueness to it. Some games you’re the slasher, while other games you’re running and hiding from it. They all usually have a similar ending (death, or being caught), though that’s not the case for some of them.
Puppet Combo’s indie origins have led a lot of people to buying their games, and most people are very happy. The development studio has thousands of people pledged to them on Patreon, a social media platform that allows anyone to donate monthly to a person of their choosing for bonus content. The developer is by no means unknown, and they only grow in support and popularity as they continue to release games that are resounding hits among the community.
Another reason that the developer has gotten so big is a lot of YouTubers who’ve played their games have given them millions of views. It’s a popular thing in the modern world of media for people to find new interests because of what others are doing. Gaming playthroughs have become a big thing, and even if you don’t ever intend to play Puppet Combo’s scary games, you can watch from the safety of your screen as someone else does.
Even if horror games aren’t your thing, it’s still evident to anyone that this gaming developer has made a good mark on a lot of people who have a passion for horror. Puppet Combo (and Torture Star Video, by association) will only continue to grow as they create and publish more games, and further their relationship with the gaming community.
As the world has made a dramatic shift to an online presence, it has allowed the surfacing of new gaming to become easily accessible. Even if you yourself cannot play, you can watch others play, and experience things as they did. Video games will likely never go away, and the impacts they leave on their communities may be long standing. As more and more indie developers come out of the woodworks and continue to mold the gaming scene with new opportunities, people will find new things to love and try.
Just remember to keep the lights on. You never know what may be hiding out there.
