Psychological horror Analog horror Haunted house Short horror

I'm on Observation Duty 2

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A whole house on camera this time, and Timothy is back.

Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (92% of 555 reviews)
Players: 1
Controls: Mouse: arrows to switch cameras, Anomaly Report to file a report
Made by: Notovia
Released: 2020

What frightens You watch live security camera footage of a suburban house through the night and file a report for every anomaly you spot, from furniture that moves or shrinks to ghosts and otherworldly intruders. Let them pile up unreported and you do not survive the night, and Timothy, the figure from the first game, is back.
Content: anxiety-inducing atmosphere, mild violence, mild sexual content.

I'm on Observation Duty 2 is the second of Notovia's short camera-watching horror games. You monitor live surveillance feeds of a house, its garage and its yard through the night and report every anomaly, from moved furniture to otherworldly intruders, before too many build up.

About I'm on Observation Duty 2

I'm on Observation Duty 2 is a short horror game by Notovia, released in March 2020 for Windows, Mac and Linux as the sequel to I'm on Observation Duty. Its store art gives it the subtitle Timothy's Revenge, and the store page says Timothy is back.

The job is the same as in the first game. As an employee of a mysterious organisation you watch live security camera footage through a night shift and flick between views of each room. When something is different, you open an anomaly report, say where it is and what kind it is, and send it. Anomaly types range from objects that move, appear, vanish, grow or shrink to camera faults, ghosts and intruders.

Where the first game watched one apartment, this one watches a larger suburban house: bedroom, living room, kitchen, dining room, study, hallway, bathroom, garage and the patio outside. The camera screens also offer a second camera you can switch on. The store hints at secrets to discover along the way, and its screenshots show a second, much shabbier place watched in the same way.

The fear is quiet. Most of the time the rooms are dim and still, and the pressure comes from your own memory and from knowing that too many unreported changes will end the night. Then something appears on a feed that should not be there. It is a small, cheap game that suits players who liked the first one, The Exit 8 or other spot-the-difference horror.

How to play I'm on Observation Duty 2

Start the night shift and look through every camera once to learn how each room looks.
Use the arrows to switch between rooms, and turn on the second camera for another view.
When something has changed, open the anomaly report.
Pick the room and the type of anomaly, then send the report.
Keep checking every room until the night ends.

Screenshots

Camera view of the house's back patio at night, with red chairs, a barbecue and a lit garden path

Camera view of a garage with a white car on a chequered floor and a second camera picture in the corner

A grimy, littered kitchen on a blue-framed camera feed, with a report menu listing Abyss presence, Corpse and Ghost

Camera view of a storage room full of portraits leaning against the walls

Tips

Study each room at the start of the night; that first look is what you compare against later.
Cycle through all the cameras, including the second views, instead of staring at one room.
Pick the anomaly type carefully: a moved object and an extra object are different reports.
If you are unsure, check the same camera again before sending; a wrong report can cost time.