Homebody is a time loop throwback to PlayStation horror games

polygon.com:

Horror is a vast genre, ranging from blood-soaked slasher films to strange and cerebral campfire stories. Homebody, published by Rogue Games and developed by Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator studio Game Grumps, tends toward the latter. I assume the role of Emily, a young woman with agoraphobia — an isolating, suffocating fear of leaving one’s safe place and awkward, embarrassing, or uncomfortable experiences.

I’m in an isolated house full of friends, rented out over the years by an eccentric writer, when the power unexpectedly cuts out. After a few jokes about the horror movie atmosphere, I check the power box, which is weirdly empty — there are just two cords, one leading up to the attic and one to the cellar. These are also areas of the house that we’re forbidden from entering by the absent homeowner. Just as I resign myself to checking out the basement, I’m stabbed to death by a mysterious masked figure.

But then the clock reverses, and I’ve just arrived at the house again. I try to bring this experience up with my friends through dialogue trees when we chat, but it doesn’t matter how hard I try to warn them — it’s just filtered into banal small talk. Homebody mixes the primal fear for one’s life with the much less intense (but more relatable) fear of awkward conversations, strained friendships, and people being mad at you.

Homebody joyously draws inspiration from PlayStation-era survival-horror games, with fixed camera angles and polygonal graphics. Emily isn’t gifted in combat, and as such, my best option for dealing with the killer is simply to hide in a closet or run away. Cutscenes and flashbacks punctuate Homebody, depicting Emily’s social anxiety. She has been isolating herself over the last year, and it’s