Slasher horror PS1 horror Night shift horror Horror Short horror Puppet Combo

Rewind Or Die

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Work the late shift at the video store while a killer works his own.

Platforms: PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Stores: Steam, itch.io
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (93% of 411 reviews); 4.42 of 5 on the PlayStation Store (570 ratings); 4.8 of 5 on itch.io (21 ratings)
Length: about 2 hours
Players: 1
Made by: Comp-3 Interactive
Released: 2023

No. 15 of the VHS tape horror games · No. 9 of the horror games set in England

Get it on Steam itch.io (Torture Star Video)PlayStation Store (PS4, PS5)Xbox (One, Series X|S)Nintendo eShop (Switch)

What frightens You cover a late shift at a 90s UK video rental store while a serial killer stalks the area: creepy phone calls, someone watching through the front window, then blood-drenched rooms, hanging carcasses and a killer coming for you.
Content: blood and gore, decapitation, violence, sexual themes, corpses, strong language, jumpscares, chase sequences.

Rewind Or Die is a retro slasher horror game by Comp-3 Interactive, published by Torture Star Video. Called into your 90s UK video rental store on your day off, you stock shelves and deal with customers while a serial killer stalks the shop, and then you run for your life.

About Rewind Or Die

Rewind Or Die is a first-person horror game by the UK studio Comp-3 Interactive, its first major release. Torture Star Video, Puppet Combo's publishing label, released it on Windows and Mac in April 2023, and Puppet Combo brought it to PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X|S and Switch on August 16, 2024.

Your co-worker has flaked on their shift again, so you are called into the video rental store on your day off. There is a serial killer in the area, but it is just another day at the shop. You deal with irate customers and a terrible boss, keep the VHS store clean, or clean enough, and try not to worry about the creepy phone calls or the person watching you through the front window.

You play Tony, starting his closing duties when strange things begin, and soon you are trapped inside with a killer on the loose. From there the game keeps changing what you do: menial jobs in an ominous setting, sneaking behind the killer's back, running for your life, puzzles, segments that jump around in time and side characters you meet along the way. The killer, Slaw, waits in crusty, blood-drenched places with over-the-top gore. How you solve some puzzles and side objectives matters: there are two endings and some secrets.

The setting is a grimy UK street in the 1990s, the look is low-poly 3D under a heavy VHS filter, and the co-workers are fully voiced. Rely on Horror gave it 8 out of 10, praising its checkpoints and a killer who does not appear around every corner, with music that moves from jokey shop tunes to heavy metal when you run. Its one complaint was a chapter-long chase where the killer moves a little too fast.

A run of the main story takes about two hours. It is voiced in English; the PC version is in English only, while the console versions add French, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish text. The jokes come from the dead-end job and the customers, and the ESRB rates it Mature for blood and gore, strong language, suggestive themes and violence. It suits players who like Puppet Combo's VHS slashers and do not mind a laugh between the scares.

How to play Rewind Or Die

Open the store and work your shift: serve customers, empty the bins and keep the shelves stocked.
Answer the phone and keep an eye on the front window.
When things go wrong, explore and solve the puzzles in your way.
Sneak behind the killer's back when you can, and run when he comes for you.
Survive to one of the two endings.

Screenshots

The lit Video 2 Go rental store front with a Cinema Style poster, on an empty street at night under stars, in a grainy VHS look

A long-haired customer in a band T-shirt at the rental store counter complains he has waited over ten whole minutes

A dark British terraced street at night with a parked car, traffic cones and a few lit windows

A blood-soaked butcher's room with a skinned carcass hanging by barred windows and a bloody table in golden light

A dim wooden warehouse with a blood-stained white Chop Shop van, stairs and shelves

Tips

Pay attention during the ordinary chores; the store and its calls set up what comes later.
Think before solving a puzzle; the store warns to be careful how you solve them, and some side objectives lead to a different ending.
In the long chase chapter the killer is fast: learn the route, and lean on the checkpoints rather than rushing blind.
There is no native controller support on PC, but Rely on Horror found Steam Input works well after small tweaks.
Replay to see the other ending, look for secrets and unlock the character models.