Kids is a horror game that doesn t look like a horror game
Kids is a horror game that doesn't look like a horror game Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Kids is a horror game that doesn't look like a horror game Augh. Feature by Christian Donlan Features Editor Published on 3 Jun 2019 38 comments Kids looks like a physics toy, an arty, knockabout playful thing. There are cartoon crowds. There's a cartoon black hole. You run a finger or a cursor over the stuff on the screen and see what happens. But "cartoon" isn't quite right and Kids isn't a physics toy. It's one of the most interesting horror games I've ever played. It's not about spooky hospitals or old mansions where dogs might dive in through the window. It's about crowds and complicity and bad decisions and how consensus is created. It's not a toy because its scenarios are there to be solved, as it were. Dozens of people gathered around that big hole in the ground? Have a fiddle about and - yep! - they all go into the hole. Done. Next scenario. Bodies falling through space? Touch them to slow them. Crowds filling the screen? Run a hand over them to trigger a sort of volumetric wave of applause. Run a hand over them to get them to scarper. To run away from you. To point in the direction they think we should go in, and then to change their minds. To give in. To do it all over again, subtle variation but the same outcome. Kids is not remotely subtle, but it doesn't have to be. It's about the big obvious things that we all ignore, and that make us lean on each other, wittingly or unwittingly, so we can ignore them together. It's about bullying and cowardice, about going with the flow, even if the flow leads to a big black hole in the ground. It looks sweet, at first glance, but it made me feel absolutely grim. And to call this thing 'Kids' is quite the conceptual nailbomb. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Features Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. 15 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Feature What games get wrong about horses And what they could do about it. 34 Feature Shout out to all the Overwatch supports - where would we be without you? Merci. 55 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Sennheiser's legendary HD 599 open-back headphones are just £70 at Amazon in the Prime Early Access Sale Comfortable with neutral sound and a wide sound stage. Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. 1 Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store