September 7th | Review

Publisher: EMIKA_GAMES

Release Date: January 6th, 2023

SPOILERS WARNING!

Introduction: September 7th is a psychological horror walking simulator with jumpscares galore. Now I had my fair share of walking sims during their heyday a few years ago with games such as What Remains of Edith Finch, Firewatch, Go Home and a few others I can’t recall at the moment.

September 7th is psychological horror in it’s purest sense. There aren’t all that many varied locations to explore. However, the game continuously pushes you into jump scares at a predictable rate. September 7th just might be the walking simulator for you if you are into horror and jumpscares.

Presentation: EMIKA_GAMES did a fairly okayish job with September 7th’s overall presentation. The jumpscare strategy here is funneling the player around until a jumpscare happens. I admit, the jumpscares are strategically placed with loud sounds that will get you at least once.

Visuals are pretty good. Controls with the gamepad were a little stiff. It’s much better to play September 7th via keyboard and mouse. Audio lends to September 7th’s creepy atmosphere. Speaking of atmosphere it’s done in a sense of presenting the jumpscares more so than exploring and or telling a story.

Story: September 7th’s story revolves around Dima, a student getting a present from his girlfriend Anya. The present is a creepy looking evil elf doll. After opening the package Dima is thrusted into a world of phycological horror he must escape from.

The story has small bits and pieces along the way as you search for Anya who becomes missing after talking to her on the phone. The story overall doesn’t stack up to other walking simulators. This game is pretty much just a jumpscare showcase in my opinion.

Gameplay: September 7th is a walking simulator at heart. You do mundane tasks around Dima’s apartment complex. You clean, take out the trash. Missions are basic fetch this, do that to funnel the player into a hallway or room for the next jumpscare. Controls were stiff on the Xbox gamepad but decent using the keyboard and mouse. My PC ran the game with no real issues.

Visuals/Graphics Visuals are static but decent featuring okay texture work with bland art. I would say the graphics are just below average when comparing September 7th to the average PC game.

Sound/Music: Sound is designed around the jumpscares September 7th employs. There aren’t any voice acting that I remember. Sound does lend to a creepy atmosphere.

Final Verdict: September 7th is a bare bones walking simulator centered around funneling the player into continuous jumpscares. I admit a few jumpscares did get me. I just wish there was more of a story and voiced dialogue from Dima.

Walking simulators are about telling a story most of the time and not purposely just funnel the player into a jumpscare. With that said, the atmosphere was pretty good and there are phycological horror elements scattered about.

6/10