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Cannibal Abduction

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Escape a cannibal family's farmhouse before you become dinner.

Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Stores: Steam, itch.io
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (95% of 348 reviews); 4.42 of 5 on the PlayStation Store (310 ratings); 8/10 from Rely on Horror
Length: about 2 hours
Players: 1
Made by: Tomás Esconjaureguy
Released: 2023

No. 27 of the farm horror games · No. 26 of the hiding horror games · No. 14 of the VHS tape horror games · No. 23 of the kidnapping horror games · No. 16 of the cannibalism horror games

Get it on Steam itch.io PlayStation Store (PS4, PS5; includes The Night of the Scissors)Xbox (One, Series X|S; includes The Night of the Scissors)Nintendo eShop (Switch; includes The Night of the Scissors)

What frightens Henry's car breaks down and a local tows him to his farm, where a cannibal family means to eat him; a cleaver-wielding killer stalks the house while you hide in wardrobes and shadows, among dismembered body parts and a meat grinder.
Content: gore (pixelated), dismembered body parts, cannibalism, violence, strong language, chase scenes, 18+.

Cannibal Abduction is a short VHS-style slasher survival horror game by the Argentinian solo developer Tomás Esconjaureguy (selewi). Young Henry is towed to a remote farm by a helpful local and finds himself trapped in the house of a cannibal family, hiding from a cleaver-carrying killer while he looks for a way out.

About Cannibal Abduction

Cannibal Abduction is a horror game by the Argentinian solo developer Tomás Esconjaureguy, who publishes as selewi, made after his The Night of the Scissors. It came out on PC (Steam and itch.io) on 13 January 2023. On 8 February 2024 Puppet Combo's label Torture Star Video brought it to PlayStation, Xbox and Switch with The Night of the Scissors packed in.

Henry borrows his father's car for a weekend away. The engine dies in the middle of nowhere, and a humble local offers to tow him to his farm and fix it. The man and his family have other plans for him.

You play in third person through fixed, cinematic camera angles with VHS glitches, in a low-poly PSX style. The killer walks his own house on paths that change from run to run. The static on screen grows heavier the closer he gets, which is your main warning and is easy to miss at first. You stay in the dark with the flashlight off, walk rather than run, hide inside wardrobes and wait for him to pass. Later he starts closing up hiding places, and opening one again needs an item that takes a pocket slot. Your pockets are small and you cannot carry everything, so you plan each trip. Progress is saved by recording to tapes at a television, and the tapes are scarce. A handful of light puzzles stand between you and the way out.

There are two endings that explain why the family behaves as it does, and a hard mode that makes the killer more persistent and cuts your inventory slots. The maker puts a run at around two hours; Rely on Horror found a first playthrough took two to three.

The store warns it is meant for players 18 and over, with pixelated gore, dismembered body parts and cannibalism, and that it may be too scary or grotesque for some. Against its kin it is closer to the mansion of the first Resident Evil than to a pure hide-and-seek game: a small house full of locked doors and items, with a stalker who keeps interrupting. It suits fans of Puppet Combo's slashers and of Clock Tower-style hiding from a stalker.

How to play Cannibal Abduction

Explore the farmhouse from the fixed camera angles, watching the screen for the static that means the killer is near.
Switch off the flashlight, walk instead of running, and hide in a wardrobe or the shadows when he comes close.
Pick up items carefully: your pockets hold only a few things.
Solve the light puzzles that unlock new parts of the house.
Record your progress on tapes at a television, and find a way to escape.

Screenshots

A hooded, masked killer holding a cleaver stands beside a meat grinder in a dark tiled room lit deep red

A high camera looks down a wooden staircase into a decaying farmhouse hall with a US flag on the wall and a shadowy figure in a far doorway

A hooded figure stands in silhouette in a dark, narrow brick corridor with a faint orange light on the cracked floor ahead

Inventory screen in a dark tiled room showing Henry's vital signs as Good, with a flashlight, hammer, key and a selected bandage roll

An old CRT television above a VCR in a dark room shows Recording on a glitchy blue screen, where progress is saved

Tips

Watch the VHS static: it grows heavier the closer the killer is, and you can use it to slip past him.
Tapes are scarce: save after real progress, not before every door.
Know where the nearest hiding place is before you open a new room, and remember the killer can seal them later.
Leave items you do not need yet where you can find them again, so a pocket slot is free when you need one.
Running gets you caught on doors and is loud; walk unless he has seen you.
Play again for the second ending, or try hard mode for a fiercer killer and fewer slots.

Questions

How long is Cannibal Abduction?

The maker says around two hours. Rely on Horror put a first playthrough at two to three hours.

Is The Night of the Scissors included?

On PlayStation, Xbox and Switch it is packed in with Cannibal Abduction, which sells for $11.99 there. On PC they are sold separately, and Cannibal Abduction costs $4.99 on Steam and itch.io.

Is Cannibal Abduction very gory?

It has pixelated blood and gore, dismembered body parts and cannibalism. The maker says it is meant for players 18 and over, and the console version is rated ESRB Mature for blood, strong language and violence.

Is there a harder mode?

Yes. Hard mode makes the killer more persistent and cunning and gives you fewer inventory slots.