Psychological horror Surreal horror Short horror PS1 horror Horror walking simulators

COLD CITY

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A city at war, a girl in danger, and half an hour to save her.

Platforms: PC, Mac
Stores: itch.io
Price: Pay what you want
Rated: 4.7 out of 5 on itch.io (240 ratings)
Length: 25 to 30 minutes
Players: 1
Controls: WASD to move, mouse to look, E to interact, 1 to 4 to choose dialogue
Made by: Kerineia

What frightens In a city at war you must save the girl you love, moving through dim, bare apartments where a shadow waits at the end of a corridor and mirror shards lie in the toilet bowl. The maker warns of self-harm, suicide, low-fidelity gore and body horror; players call it frightening and very sad.
Content: self-harm, suicide, gore, body horror.

COLD CITY is a short surreal psychological horror game by Kerineia about a city at war and a girl in danger. You explore dim, low-poly apartments in first person, gather what you need and make dialogue choices on the way to an ending players call sad. It takes 25 to 30 minutes and is free to download.

About COLD CITY

COLD CITY is a short horror game by the solo developer Kerineia, made in Unity with Blender and Aseprite, with no generative AI. It is a free download for Windows and macOS on itch.io.

Its premise is four words on the page: save the girl you love. The city is at war, and she is in danger. You walk in first person through cold, bare rooms: a flat with a ceiling fan and an old television, a storeroom, a dormitory with bunk beds, a bathroom where you find a shard of mirror. You pick things up, choose what to say from numbered options, and follow the thread toward her.

Its maker calls it surreal and narrative-driven. The fear is quiet more than loud: dark corridors with a figure standing in a lit doorway, rooms that feel abandoned in a hurry, and the sense that the story is not what it first seems. The content warning covers self-harm, suicide, low-fidelity gore and body horror. Players describe it as one of the scariest short games they have played and, by the end, a sad one.

It takes 25 to 30 minutes. It suits players who like short, story-led psychological horror in a retro low-poly style, such as M-Stain or Midnight Snack.

How to play COLD CITY

Download the game for Windows or macOS from its itch.io page.
Walk with WASD and look around with the mouse.
Press E to examine and pick things up, such as the mirror shards.
Choose dialogue with the number keys 1 to 4 when you are asked.
Follow the story through the city to its end, in one sitting of about half an hour.

Screenshots

COLD CITY screenshot: a black corridor with a dark figure standing in a lit doorway at its end

COLD CITY screenshot: a dim apartment room with a ceiling fan, a desk and an old television by the window

COLD CITY screenshot: a dark bathroom where a mirror shard is found, with the choices Take or Leave

Tips

Collect the mirror shards you find; the game counts them.
Play with headphones: much of its effect is in the sound.
Read the content warning before you start; the ending deals with suicide and self-harm.