Low poly. High tension. It’s a weird combo that shouldn't work in 2026, but here we are. When Puppet Combo dropped the Murder House video game back in 2020, people sort of expected another quick-hit indie horror title meant for streamers to scream at for ten minutes before moving on to the next jump scare. Instead, we got a nasty, grime-covered tribute to 80s slasher films that feels like a cursed VHS tape found in the back of a rental store. It’s gross. It’s clunky. It is absolutely terrifying.
You play as a news crew investigating the abandoned home of Anthony Smith, a notorious serial killer known as the Easter Ripper. It sounds like a generic setup, right? The "spooky house" trope is older than most of the people playing the game. But Puppet Combo understands something that AAA developers often forget: fear isn't about high-resolution textures or 4K ray-tracing. It’s about what you can't see in the flickering shadows of a CRT filter.
The game forces you into these awkward, tank-style controls that make every hallway feel like a death trap. You aren't a super-soldier. You're a frustrated intern named Emma just trying to get through a shift without getting murdered by a guy in a giant, blood-stained rabbit suit.
The Puppet Combo Aesthetic: Why Ugly is Better
Most modern horror games try to look "real." They want the skin to look like skin and the blood to look like liquid. The Murder House video game goes the opposite direction. It embraces the jagged edges of the PlayStation 1 era. This isn't just nostalgia bait; it's a specific psychological tactic. When a character's face is just a smudge of pixels, your brain fills in the gaps. Your imagination is always going to be meaner than a rendering engine.
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Think about the first time you saw the Easter Ripper. He doesn't move like a person. He jerks around with these stiff animations that make him feel alien and predatory. If he looked like a high-def 3D model, he’d just be a guy in a suit. In this low-poly nightmare, he’s a demon.
The sound design is where things get truly oppressive. There is this constant, low-level hum. It’s an industrial drone that grates on your nerves. Then, the music kicks in—a screeching, distorted synth-wave track that triggers a fight-or-flight response before you even see the threat. Honestly, the audio is probably 60% of why this game works. It’s loud, it’s distorted, and it never lets you feel safe.
Survival Horror Mechanics That Actually Punish You
We’ve been spoiled by auto-saves. Most games today let you retry a section five seconds after you die. Murder House doesn't care about your time. It uses a limited save system, similar to the ink ribbons in Resident Evil. You find pencils. You find a stationary set. If you haven't saved and the Ripper catches you? That’s it. Back to the start of the floor. Or worse.
This creates a genuine sense of stakes. You’ll find yourself standing outside a door, sweating, because you haven't saved in twenty minutes and you can hear the faint thump-thump of boots nearby. You have to make a choice: do I push forward to find a save point, or do I backtrack and risk running into him in the dark?
The inventory management is equally stressful. You have very few slots. You’re constantly juggling keys, tools, and health items. It’s frustrating. It’s meant to be. It keeps you in a state of perpetual vulnerability. You never feel like the hunter; you are always, unequivocally, the prey.
Breaking Down the "Slasher" Logic
What makes the Murder House video game stand out from the sea of "mascot horror" games is its commitment to the slasher genre's rules. It’s not about puzzles that make sense; it’s about the logic of a bad horror movie. Why is there a complex locking mechanism in an abandoned house? Who cares. It’s there because it forces you to explore the basement.
The story is told through notes and environmental cues that paint a pretty grim picture of Anthony Smith’s crimes. It’s darker than you’d expect. While games like Five Nights at Freddy's play with a sort of "spooky for kids" vibe, Murder House is firmly for adults. It deals with child abduction and gruesome murders in a way that feels dirty. It’s "Video Nasty" cinema in digital form.
Some players complain about the "Quick Time Events" (QTEs). Usually, I hate them too. But here, they serve a purpose. When the Ripper grabs you, you have to mash buttons to escape. It’s frantic and messy. It mirrors the panic Emma is feeling. It’s one of the few games where a QTE actually feels like a physical struggle rather than just a Simon Says mini-game.
What People Get Wrong About the Ending
Without spoiling the specifics for the three people who haven't played it yet, the ending of the Murder House video game is divisive. Some think it’s too sudden. Others think it’s a perfect homage to the "final girl" trope.
The reality is that the game is designed to be a "one-night" experience. It’s short—maybe two to three hours for a first playthrough. But that’s the point. It’s a concentrated dose of dread. Stretching it out to ten hours would dilute the fear. The ending lands the way it does because the game knows it’s a B-movie. It’s not trying to be The Last of Us. It’s trying to be The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
The "True Ending" (yes, there is sort of an extra layer if you play through the prologue and pay attention) adds a bit of context that makes the whole experience even more cynical. It’s a game that doesn't want you to feel good when the credits roll. It wants you to feel like you need a shower.
Technical Performance and Platforms
You can find the Murder House video game on pretty much everything now—PC, Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox.
- On PC, you get the most control over the filters. You can turn off the CRT warp or the scanlines if they give you a headache, though I’d argue you’re losing the soul of the game if you do.
- The Switch port is surprisingly great. Playing this on a handheld in a dark room under the covers is probably the intended way to experience it.
- Console versions generally run smooth, which is funny considering the game is meant to look like it’s struggling to run on 1995 hardware.
How to Survive Your First Night in the House
If you’re just starting, don't play like it’s an action game. You cannot fight back effectively for most of the game. Your best bet is to learn the layout of the house immediately.
- Listen to the floors. Different surfaces make different noises. You can hear the Ripper coming if you pay attention to the Foley work.
- Don't waste pencils. Only save when you’ve made significant progress or solved a major puzzle.
- Check every corner. Items are often hidden in spots that the fixed camera angles intentionally obscure.
The Murder House video game is a masterclass in "vibes." It’s a reminder that horror is about atmosphere, not polygons. It’s a game that understands the specific fear of being in a place you aren't supposed to be, hunted by someone who isn't supposed to exist.
If you want to dive deeper into this specific sub-genre of indie horror, your next step should be checking out the rest of the Puppet Combo catalog, specifically Stay Out of the House. It takes the mechanics from Murder House and cranks the complexity up to an almost unbearable degree. Otherwise, go back into the settings of Murder House and try a "No Filter" run just to see how much of the horror was actually just your brain reacting to the fuzzy, distorted graphics. It’s a fascinating look at how art direction carries an entire experience.