Ah, Goosebumps – a frequent library pick in middle school when school forced me to read a book each month, and I was too young and stupid to consider anything more serious. And, well, why would I? I always liked horror, and these bite-sized adventures were fun and easy reads, with just enough spooks to satisfy a kid like me. Various video game adaptations have been made throughout the years, and here’s the latest: one that puts you in a stealth horror adventure where choices matter and puzzles are surprisingly tough at times. This is Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek, reviewed on Xbox Series X.
Kids shall stay in at night.
In the game’s original plot, which nods to various Goosebumps books while offering new locations, characters, and storylines, a curfew is in place. There have been some mysterious events in town, with some residents of Little Creek who swear they saw some peculiar monsters, but none of them could really prove it. Still, the mass hysteria caused by this was enough for the cops to impose a curfew, which means our adventure-loving protagonists can’t go out at night. Meet Sloane Spencer (no relation to Phil Spencer), a smart and young girl who, with the help of her friends, will sneak out one night to try and figure out what this monster scares all about. Spoiler: there really are monsters.
The gameplay in Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek boils down to two phases, essentially. Exploration/puzzle solving, and stealth horror mechanics. Let’s start with the former. We get to explore an initially quite linear town that slowly opens up, as we get to unlock new doors, shortcuts, and pathways, with the consultable map coming in handy to keep track of where to go and how to get there. Acute observers can find various collectibles, lore drops via newspapers, and even useful items, all while trying to figure out some of the game’s puzzles. Because this game absolutely loves puzzles – sometimes to a fault.
That’s puzzling
Ever since the opening areas, where we run back and forth between the library, the graveyard, and a church, there have been various brain teasers to get through. These can range from rotating two statues in the same direction to reveal a number, all the way down to more complex ones where we really need to observe our environment. Mechanically, I wouldn’t say either of the puzzles is too complex, which is fair, considering this game seems to target kids aged 12 or so.
Yet, there’s a lot of backtracking, with many of the tasks requiring going back and forth through previously explored areas, with the game’s rather glacial walking or running speeds. This can lead to some frustration, as rushing through the same area the 10th time may make us less susceptible to some later puzzles’ hints and elements, with the game not at all disliking the idea of throwing a lot of challenges at the player from the get-go, only to later reveal that the solution to most of them is literally unobtainable as of now. There are some hints you can find, at least, but more on that later.
Can you outlast these creatures?
Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek absolutely takes cues from more “grown-up” horror games, such as Outlast, in which players often need to hide from monsters. Indeed, the player can crouch under a table, jump into trash bins, and more, as combat isn’t really what you’re supposed to do when encountering a creepy monster. Well, sort of. You see, on top of a map, a shovel, an endless flashlight, and some other convenient tools, the players get a slingshot, allowing us to shoot everything from pebbles to fireworks to cause distraction and create diversions on the fly – or to solve some puzzles, even.
But interestingly, while most resources are finite, the pebbles are actually infinite – and they actually do damage. So, rather often, I’ve found myself spamming shots against the mysterious alien-like creatures, which would effectively eliminate them permanently. With a fairly generous health pool for the player, a braindead AI, and the hiding spots being rather OP, this solution feels in stark contrast with how such a horror game should be played, with entire stealth segments easy to bypass via sheer brute force. Clearly, the developers realized that this shouldn’t be the strategy, so they gave the enemies quite a large HP number. But… it still works, and it’s hard to resist the temptation to just cheese some of the encounters at times.
An unraveling mystery
I feel no reason to be harsh about the game’s difficulty, given that it’s a title aimed at kids, but it’s still a weird compromise of wanting the thrills and spooks of a horror game, while also giving them cheap ways to cheese them. Still, underneath all that lies a decent adventure. The decent banter between Sloane and her friends, ranging from savvy to extremely shy, gives more than enough character to the dialogue and encounters, and there’s a decent enough variety of locations to get through with several different puzzles to boot. When the solution ain’t too obvious, hints can be asked via a magic sphere, there’s a convenient map, and exploring all corners can give extra hints and lore dumps that help understanding what to do and where to go. You can probably skip the more fancy edition of the game, as it only features a few barebones cosmetic additions, such as wearable Halloween masks.
And in the end, all that is more than alright in my book. Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek is a kid-friendly adventure with a few weird design choices related to the puzzles and combat, but ultimately, it’s quirky and charming enough to be blasted through, whether you’re a pre-teen or an adult who has fond memories of the iconic book series by R. L. Stine. I certainly had my fun with it, and would recommend it to those seeking a horror game that’s ideal for a younger audience.
Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek
Played on
Xbox Series X
PROS
- Fitting atmosphere
- Solid banter between the protagonists
- A surprising amount of tools and gadgets
- Perfect for a younger audience
CONS
- A bit too many puzzles at times
- Not much tension
- Oddly exploitable enemies
