Enigma of Fear Review — Cute Characters, Gruesome Murder

Enigma of Fear is a small, shockingly adorable yet still mysterious and scary horror puzzle game. With intuitive puzzles, a great combination of pixel and 2D art, and a surprisingly sweet cast of characters, there’s probably something here for everyone. While the game has a somewhat amateurish feel, it’s undeniably charming, and I’d be surprised if you didn’t fall in love with it.

In Enigma of Fear, you play as Mia, a paranormal detective searching for her missing father. With the help of friends, her faithful dog, and a variety of weapons, you’ll fight monsters and solve the case of a cult trying to summon a dark god through a ritual called the Enigma of Fear.

Right off the bat, you have to appreciate how Enigma of Fear actually makes you be a paranormal detective. As a mystery-solving puzzle game, it’s unique for how little guidance it provides. There are no hints, waypoints, or helpful suggestions. Besides your dog’s sense of smell (you can play as the dog, which is adorable!), nothing guides you. Enigma of Fear relies on your investigative skills and intuition.

The game is so against guidance, in fact, that it starts in media res, with very little exposition about the story or characters. You kind of just show up on the job and get to work, hardly even a tutorial prompting you on how to play as you figure out you’re looking for your dad. In a world full of unnecessary tutorials and hand-holding, I really respect Enigma of Fear’s approach to storytelling and mystery.

For such a simple system, Enigma of Fear’s combat feels really good. If you’ve read my other reviews (especially of FPS games), you know I value satisfying combat over complexity. Enigma of Fear delivers. Firearms have a great kick, every shot has satisfying visual and audio impact, and hits feel like they do damage (even if it takes several to down an enemy), making the enemies feel dangerous. I’d compare it to old-school Resident Evil.

The art is fantastic. The hand-drawn character portraits are stunning and highly animated, but the pixel art steals the show. The pixel models are incredibly expressive, with smooth animations and fun silhouettes. The constantly shifting camera angles create cinematic moments, pushing the boundaries of the 2D pixelated plane.

The dialogue in Enigma of Fear can feel oddly cheery at times, with a lot of really cute and comedic moments between characters. For some, this can certainly clash with the horror aesthetic, but I think that the game still managed to be creepy, if not outright scary. The game’s enemy designs were great, and there were surely some creepy concepts in there to latch onto.

While more of a nitpick, Enigma of Fear has a strange audio looping problem that, while most players won’t notice, I certainly did. I picked up on it mostly when I stepped away from the game to take notes for this review. After a certain amount of time, the music and ambience in an area will noticeably cut and then start over, as if it isn’t on a perfect loop. It’s a small quirk that just adds to the game’s amateurish charm.

Enigma of Fear feels as though it was put together by a small, somewhat amateurish, team. It certainly doesn’t look like it, with the art team absolutely knocking it out of the park. However, certain elements feel sort of duct-taped together, forgotten about, or overall less professionally done. The voice acting is the most obvious example of this. While I’m not saying the voice cast is bad, it definitely sounds like it might be their first, or one of their first, jobs, and some characters have voices I personally wouldn’t have picked for them.

Another example is the gaps in the game’s maps, which I certainly found myself wandering into. These gaps can lead you out of the intended play area, and with the game’s visual direction, they can also have you getting a bit lost, making it hard to get back to where you entered.

Again, though, I really admire Enigma of Fear for these amateurish vibes. It makes the game feel wholesome, and I hope the whole team—artists, coders, voice actors—continue their hard work and make more projects together. I will certainly be keeping an eye on this team and studio, excitedly awaiting their next release.

Try Hard Guides received a PC review code for this game. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! Enigma of Fear is available on Steam.