Heartworm will have you questioning your sanity this Steam Next Fest

Playing Heartworm’s demo as part of October’s Steam Next Fest was a headache-inducing time, admittedly, but it made me feel that slightest bit closer to the protagonist, Sam. Almost immediately in the demo, we get a sense that Sam is in distress, mourning her loved ones and seeking a cure for her grieving in the depths of internet forums.

With nothing to hand but a camera, a lighter, and some cigarettes, it’s all on you — as Sam — to navigate this haunting place and see whether or not the rumors are true. Rumors of a special place where people can be reunited with their long-lost loved ones, found in the deepest recesses of the internet. Rumors that those who go to this special place never come back. That doesn’t stop Sam, though.

The whirring static of abandoned televisions and lost souls accompanies you as soon as you pass through the threshold and into this strange, otherworldly place amongst the mountains, and you immediately feel as though something is watching you. It’s this feeling that reminds me of recent indie survival-horror, Hollowbody, which similarly had some fine details that had you questioning your sanity.

Heartworm also doesn’t explain what it is or what you’re doing and why. Aside from the first few tutorials, and the opportunity to choose whether you want modern or tank controls, the game leaves you to your own devices, and you’re in for quite the trip if this 20-30 minute demo is a sample of what players should expect. As you explore the streets and the empty homes along them, you’ll come across puzzles and general oddities, from a pile of static-blaring televisions in the middle of the street, to a porch littered with videotapes, to the strange static creatures you’ll end up fighting.

To conquer these, you take photographs, and the shutter of your camera does the damage. It’s all very Fatal Frame, and even reminds me of the Dark and Deep demo I played during June’s Steam Next Fest, in which players have to use photo frames to interact with the environment and expel threats.

You’ll find houses that lead you into completely new areas, hallways adorned with a questionable amount of masks, and a general sense that something isn’t quite right in this world that Sam has found herself exploring in the hope she might just get some answers.

My time with the demo concluded with a timeskip to a boss fight with, unfortunately, a gargantuan spider capable of lifting buses with ease. Not only that, but the creature could spawn smaller, exploding spiders that really tripped Sam up during my first attempt at the fight. This massively felt like a change of pace from the haunting streets that Heartworm had me exploring prior, but it certainly showed me that Heartworm’s boss fights are no joke. Though, once again I am questioning as to how and why Sam ended up here, and why she hasn’t yet turned back and gone home.

Inspired by the likes of Resident Evil, Dino Crisis, and Silent Hill, Heartworm certainly feels very Silent Hill in that it’s hard to discern what’s real and what isn’t, and the fact that Sam doesn’t seem to care about the threats that loom; all she cares about is being reunited with them, once more. Who they are, I don’t know, but I’m keen to find out once Heartworm finally releases.

Heartworm is available to wishlist on Steam now.