| Rating: | 5 (1 votes) |
| Played: | 134 times |
| Developer: | doublecrow |
| Released: | 2021 |
| Platform: | Browser |
| Technology: | HTML5 |
Upstream is a first-person horror game. The game offers players a haunting and deeply emotional experience.
You play as a troubled character, searching for your missing best friend Jay. However, as you progress deeper, things become more blurry and distorted. Strange creatures like "murmurers" appear, and a talking deer – a symbol of knowledge or fate – seems to be guiding you… or deceiving you.
The story makes players wonder: Does Jay really exist? Or are you just looking for yourself, in a world that symbolizes regret and death?
Players will control the main character through a dense forest, where dim light and sound become tools to enhance the feeling of insecurity. You will have no weapons, no map - only a weak flashlight and the desire to find your best friend named Jay.
The game recommends players to use headphones to better perceive the wild forest space, where every sound can be a sign - or a hallucination. Footsteps, rustling, whispers... all create a creepy sound picture.
As players go deeper into the forest, they begin to notice unusual things: the flow of time is frozen, the terrain repeats, and the feeling of being stuck in an invisible loop. Despite always going against the current, you never reach your destination. Is this no longer the real world?
Time & Space Loops: Evoke a sense of being stuck and disoriented in the human mind.
The Boundary Between Reality and Fantasy: The game constantly pushes the player into a state of doubting their own emotions and memories.
Deer & River: Could represent Death, Fate, or the natural laws of survival. The deer saying that you can’t get lost – because you never had the choice to choose another path – is chilling.
While not using high-end graphics, Upstream utilizes cool tones, dense shadows, and repetitive environmental design to evoke feelings of anxiety, loss, and being trapped. The static yet haunting shots make the game feel more like a visual novel than a typical action game.
Upstream is not a game for those looking for action or puzzles. This is an inner journey where you don’t fight monsters – you fight yourself, your memories, and your invisible fears. A short but profound game, especially if you’ve ever experienced guilt, loss, or loneliness. After hours of breathtaking tension, continue to challenge your nerves with Our Long Walk Home and the mysteries that have yet to be revealed.
horrorPixel Art2D
