Enigma of Fear

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Find your missing father in a place that does not exist, and keep your sanity.

Platforms: PC
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam (97% of 10,370 reviews)
Players: 1
Controls: Keyboard and mouse or controller.
Made by: Dumativa and Cellbit; published by Dumativa and CriticalLeap
Released: 2024

What frightens Young paranormal detective Mia and her dog Lupi search for her missing father in the Perimeter, a place that does not exist, where the Cult of Fear has made countless agents disappear. By flashlight you investigate dark woods and houses among blood stains and occult seals, and terrifying paranormal creatures and bosses come for you; you fight them or slip past, and must rebuild Mia's sanity after
Content: blood, violence, monsters.

Enigma of Fear is a paranormal investigation horror game by the Brazilian studio Dumativa and the creator Cellbit, set in the world of his Ordem Paranormal series. Detective Mia and her dog Lupi search the Perimeter for her missing father, solving enigmas, reading clues and facing paranormal creatures while holding on to her sanity.

About Enigma of Fear

Enigma of Fear was made by Dumativa with Cellbit, the Brazilian creator of the Ordem Paranormal (Paranormal Order) tabletop series, and came to Steam in November 2024 after a crowdfunding campaign. It is set in the same universe, where the organisation Ordo Realitas investigates the paranormal.

Mia, a young detective, goes looking for her father, one of the organisation's best agents and its leader, who has vanished inside the Perimeter, a place that should not exist. A group called the Cult of Fear is behind the disappearance of many agents. Mia goes in with her small dog Lupi and keeps in touch with partners such as the hacker Samuel and the occultist Agatha, who can help when she is stuck.

It looks like pixel-art characters inside 3D places with dynamic light, seen from above. The Perimeter is open and non-linear: you choose where to go, inspect objects up close, read documents, solve enigmas and order what you know on Mia's mental map. Paranormal creatures and bosses attack, and you can face them with your gun and flashlight or get past them quietly. Encounters wear down Mia's sanity, and time with Lupi brings her back.

The horror is in the dark woods and rooms, the blood and occult seals, and the creatures that come out of them, more than in shock. It suits players who like detective work and puzzles with real danger around them, and fans of Ordem Paranormal.

How to play Enigma of Fear

Buy it on Steam and start Mia's investigation at the edge of the Perimeter.
Explore freely, inspecting objects and documents for clues.
Use the mental map to connect what you have found and decide where to go next.
Solve the enigmas that block the way, such as symbol locks and mechanisms.
Fight paranormal creatures with your gun and light, or sneak past them, and spend time with Lupi to recover sanity.

Screenshots

Enigma of Fear screenshot: Mia fires her pistol at a red, toothed creature in a dark wood spattered with blood

Enigma of Fear screenshot: a tentacled glowing creature rises in a ruined stone circle as Mia and Lupi stand below

Enigma of Fear screenshot: a close-up puzzle of brass gears and a glowing occult symbol in a dim room

Enigma of Fear screenshot: Mia and Lupi with two companions in a dark overgrown camp at night

Tips

Read every document; the answers to many enigmas are written in them.
Call your Ordo Realitas partners when you are lost; they remind you of details you missed.
Do not let Mia's sanity run low before you go into a new area.
The store lets you sneak past creatures as well as fight them; try both.