Video game ‘Scarred’ turns Singapore into nightmare hellscape

By Bobbie Ysabelle Matias

The once-familiar classrooms and apartment halls have now become a scene straight out of The Silent Hill. 

This is how the indie video game ‘Scarred’ transforms modern Singapore into a place fit for nightmares.

Developed by KOEX Studio, an alias of Singaporean solo game developer Choo Bin Yong, ‘Scarred’ is a first-person horror puzzle game that allows players to take control of a student as they traverse through what seems to be a grim alternate version of Singapore.

Demo gives taster

The game’s demo was featured during digital distribution service Steam’s Next Fest in February, giving the public a chance to try out Scarred before its full release for free.

With its high-quality 3D graphics, created with the help of The Iterative Collective – the game’s publisher – players are guaranteed an immersive psychological horror experience as their character attempts to “piece together a story that will change your understanding of your friends and classmates forever.”

The players must solve “frightening” puzzles while evading a “ghostly presence” in order to escape before they are consumed by the terrors and tragedies in the “dream-like” world.

In a 2023 interview with Jio Play Game, Choo said ‘Scarred’ was inspired by many things, “some from real-life events in Singapore and some from Asian horror movies and games.”

“I also took inspiration from my own school days and included them into the game,” he said.

Different from other games

While there are a few local horror lore included in ‘Scarred’, Choo said they are not a big part of the game and the story is “more original and character driven.”

Apart from the game’s eerie environment and puzzles, it also has several cutscenes that Choo said help tell the story.

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According to the developer, the cutscenes were made with motion capture technology, “which is quite rare in indie horror games.”

Choo added that the fact that the game is set entirely in Singapore is also what makes it different from other horror games.

“I think there aren’t a lot of first-person horror game(s) set in Singapore, so Scarred will definitely stand out from the rest,” said Choo.

‘Scarred’ is set for a full release on April 17 after being pushed back from the original March 7 date.

For now, the demo is still available to download on Steam for free.

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