The concept of a family vacation can be stressful enough on its own. But imagine if, during your precious getaway, your family members became possessed by malevolent entities? Trapped: Family Vacation plunges you into this terrifying scenario, confining you to a dimly lit, peculiar hotel as you attempt to unravel the unsettling mystery behind it all. This game delivers a diverse experience with high replayability, all for a price that’s less than your average coffee. What better way to virtually escape the chaos of family life, or perhaps, embrace a darker side of the family vacation theme?
Eerie little sister's room in a haunted hotel during a family vacation game.
A Blend of Suspense and Spot-The-Difference Gameplay
Each room in this unsettling hotel presents a unique challenge, initiated by a QR code on the door. Scanning it offers a fleeting glimpse into the room’s interior, allowing for a preliminary assessment before stepping inside. However, the room you enter is never quite the same as the preview. Depending on your chosen difficulty, the task is to identify four or five discrepancies from the initial image while evading the room’s specific, often terrifying, gimmick.
One particularly unnerving room places you in the company of your ‘little sister’, an unsettling figure perched on her bed. Looking away for too long, or even raising your camera to scrutinize the room’s details, triggers her distress, marked by unsettling cries. Hesitation leads to a sudden, terrifying lunge from the bed, ending your run abruptly. The jumpscares, while a classic horror trope, are undeniably effective in ratcheting up the tension.
Beyond the jump scares, each room exudes a palpable sense of dread. This is ostensibly supposed to be a family vacation, but the setting is far from idyllic. This hotel, or perhaps motel, would be lucky to receive a single star on any travel review site. It’s grimy, unclean, and most disturbingly, haunted beyond comprehension. Each room possesses its own distinct, unpleasant atmosphere, contributing to the overall feeling of unease and making this virtual family vacation a truly horrifying experience.
Creepy old man figure observing in the 'Trapped: Family Vacation' game, adding to the family vacation horror.
Subtle Differences and Forgiving Gameplay
Having previously explored The Cabin Factory, another spot-the-difference horror game, similarities are apparent, especially in the subtle nature of some discrepancies. Yet, Trapped: Family Vacation distinguishes itself by being more approachable, particularly on the Easy difficulty setting.
Choosing Easy mode is advisable for grasping the mechanics and understanding the room-specific challenges. Failure in a room doesn’t necessitate a complete restart; progress is saved after each successful room, a welcome feature given the complexity of some gimmicks, notably in the ‘Grandma’ room.
Headphones are strongly recommended for Trapped: Family Vacation. Sound cues are crucial for survival in certain rooms, proving to be as vital a tool as visual observation. The game effectively compiles various spot-the-difference mechanics, injecting enough novelty and intensity to feel unique within the genre.
Room layouts are procedurally generated upon restarts, ensuring unpredictability even in familiar settings, such as a room with your ‘father’. A crucial piece of advice: avoid stepping on the carpet in that particular scenario.
Menacing father character in 'Trapped: Family Vacation', part of the terrifying family vacation setting.
Excellent Value for a Spooky Escape
Trapped: Family Vacation is a concise yet genuinely chilling game that justifies its modest $2.99 price tag. It doesn’t aim to revolutionize horror gaming, but it excels at delivering effective scares and engaging gameplay. It’s perfect for sharing scares with friends or for content creators seeking engaging streaming material.
Technically sound, graphically efficient, and with considerable replay value, Trapped: Family Vacation stands out in the crowded field of anomaly-based horror games on Steam. For a project developed largely by a single person, it’s remarkably polished and delivers more genuine scares than many high-budget horror games, at a fraction of the cost.
Verdict: Recommended
Trapped: Family Vacation is available now on Steam. A code was provided by the publisher for review purposes. Reviewed on PC.
