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About
Red Lake - horror shooter with elements of quest.
The protagonist works in a department that is looking for a variety of paranormal places in order to hide them from humanity and prevent someone from using them for their own purposes.
There are rumors of a lake not far from the small village somewhere in Siberia, has changed color and became red. At the same time the behavior of animals around it began to change and strange things started to happen in there.
When the forester, the first who noticed these things stoped communicating, then a agent was sent to investigate. His main task - investigate what happened with the forester and the situation around the lake.
Towards the end of the game, when the main character finds a lake, a large open area for exploration. In order to perform the tasks of the scene, the protagonist will have to survive. During the night, dangerous creatures starts creeping arround the lake, you need to find a place to sleep before the sunset.
Some of the enemies you meet in the game:
Dogs - they behave very aggressively. The skin made black slime, as if they are infected with something.
Sphere - flying metal spheres. When they notice around them living beings - immediately emit a deadly electric shock. It is better to avoid them.
Cat-like creature - a creature whose body is composed of bluish crystals. They are very agile and hostile.
Also in the game you expect creatures that cause hallucinations, infected animals and other enemies, you'll need a different tactic to fight or avoid each one of the enemies.
Inspired by the object SCP-354.
The protagonist works in a department that is looking for a variety of paranormal places in order to hide them from humanity and prevent someone from using them for their own purposes.
There are rumors of a lake not far from the small village somewhere in Siberia, has changed color and became red. At the same time the behavior of animals around it began to change and strange things started to happen in there.
When the forester, the first who noticed these things stoped communicating, then a agent was sent to investigate. His main task - investigate what happened with the forester and the situation around the lake.
Towards the end of the game, when the main character finds a lake, a large open area for exploration. In order to perform the tasks of the scene, the protagonist will have to survive. During the night, dangerous creatures starts creeping arround the lake, you need to find a place to sleep before the sunset.
Some of the enemies you meet in the game:
Dogs - they behave very aggressively. The skin made black slime, as if they are infected with something.
Sphere - flying metal spheres. When they notice around them living beings - immediately emit a deadly electric shock. It is better to avoid them.
Cat-like creature - a creature whose body is composed of bluish crystals. They are very agile and hostile.
Also in the game you expect creatures that cause hallucinations, infected animals and other enemies, you'll need a different tactic to fight or avoid each one of the enemies.
Inspired by the object SCP-354.
System requirements for PC
Minimum:
- OS: XP
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 @ 2.2GHz | AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ @ 2.8 GHz
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce 240 GT | Radeon HD 6570
- DirectX: Version 9.0
- Storage: 2 GB available space
Red Lake reviews and comments
Overview
On paper, the premise is intriguing—a mysterious crimson lake birthing strange creatures, and a lone operative sent to investigate a missing guard. Unfortunately, nearly every aspect of this game’s execution fails to live up to its potential. From inconsistent level design and clunky mechanics to technical issues and baffling creative decisions, Red Lake is a frustrating and disjointed experience that leaves more questions than scares.
Story and Structure
The game is divided into six chapters, with a bizarre pacing structure. The first four chapters are short (under 10 minutes each), linear, and somewhat coherent, while Chapter 5 abruptly shifts into a long, open-world survival sequence that lasts around an hour—a tonal and gameplay whiplash that feels like a different game entirely.
The narrative is basic but had promise: a blood-colored lake that spawns hostile anomalies, a crashed plane with zero narrative function, and a dead guard who was supposed to be watching the area. You’re tasked with placing sensors, exploring, and eventually reporting your findings—a good setup ruined by poor storytelling follow-through. The notepad used in early chapters to convey story and objectives was a highlight, offering atmosphere and structure. Sadly, it disappears entirely in the final two chapters, just when it’s most needed.
Gameplay and Mechanics
Gameplay is equally uneven. The horror-shooter hybrid design is underdeveloped:
• Combat: You have only one gun throughout the game, with clumsy shooting mechanics and shockingly bad hit detection—shooting enemies more than few meters away doesn’t work at all.
• Enemies: There are just four enemy types: a dog, a raven, a spectral dog, and a floating blue orb. Variety is non-existent, and their design fails to evoke fear or challenge.
• UI and Stats: The game features two stat bars—one for sprinting and one for flashlight usage. Health is poorly represented by a heart icon that changes color in barely noticeable ways.
The fifth chapter is especially problematic. It's an open-world trek requiring players to find eight locations and rely on bonfires to save progress. These bonfires are single-use, unmarked, and crucial to survival, especially because nighttime spawns dozens of enemies, making survival impossible unless you’re near a save point. If you plan poorly, you may need to replay the entire chapter, which can take over an hour. This is not tense survival horror—it’s tedious trial-and-error pathfinding.
The final chapter takes yet another bizarre turn—a car-racing sequence with awful controls and laughable physics, completely disconnected from the rest of the game in tone and genre.
Technical Performance and Design
• Graphics: Despite releasing in 2015, the game looks like it’s from 2005. It’s outdated, blocky, and lifeless.
• Optimization: Even with sub-par visuals, performance is poor. Frame drops occur frequently, especially in open-world areas.
• Bugs: Critical bugs can halt progression—such as a missing barrel required to continue—forcing players to restart.
• Controls and Settings: There are no in-game settings. Mouse sensitivity is wildly off, requiring players to manually lower their DPI to absurd levels. UI scaling is broken, particularly in 4K resolutions, making menus and interactions nearly unusable.
Atmosphere and Horror Elements
The horror elements start promisingly. Early chapters feature decent scares with visual distortions and ominous music. But this quickly vanishes in the later stages, where horror is replaced by tedious exploration and repetitive enemy spawns. The Red Lake itself is an interesting idea visually and thematically, but like the crashed plane, it serves as more of a backdrop than an actively engaging element.
What Worked
• The Red Lake concept is genuinely intriguing and ripe for horror storytelling.
• Some early audio-visual scare effects are effective (before they’re dropped entirely).
• The notepad mechanic in the early game adds depth and direction.
What Didn’t Work:
• Horrendous pacing and structural inconsistency.
• Lack of enemy variety and meaningful combat.
• Terrible shooting mechanics, especially at range.
• Broken UI and sensitivity controls, especially in modern resolutions.
• No meaningful player feedback on health or progress.
• Awful optimization and game-breaking bugs.
• The open-world survival segment is poorly designed, repetitive, and punishing.
• A final chapter car sequence that’s absurd and jarringly out of place.
Verdict
Red Lake is a fundamentally broken game that squanders what little potential it had. The thematic foundation could have supported a tense and atmospheric horror experience. Instead, it’s marred by incoherent structure, technical failures, and design decisions that seem entirely disconnected from player enjoyment. Even diehard indie horror fans will struggle to find redeeming value here.
Score: 20/100
On paper, the premise is intriguing—a mysterious crimson lake birthing strange creatures, and a lone operative sent to investigate a missing guard. Unfortunately, nearly every aspect of this game’s execution fails to live up to its potential. From inconsistent level design and clunky mechanics to technical issues and baffling creative decisions, Red Lake is a frustrating and disjointed experience that leaves more questions than scares.
Story and Structure
The game is divided into six chapters, with a bizarre pacing structure. The first four chapters are short (under 10 minutes each), linear, and somewhat coherent, while Chapter 5 abruptly shifts into a long, open-world survival sequence that lasts around an hour—a tonal and gameplay whiplash that feels like a different game entirely.
The narrative is basic but had promise: a blood-colored lake that spawns hostile anomalies, a crashed plane with zero narrative function, and a dead guard who was supposed to be watching the area. You’re tasked with placing sensors, exploring, and eventually reporting your findings—a good setup ruined by poor storytelling follow-through. The notepad used in early chapters to convey story and objectives was a highlight, offering atmosphere and structure. Sadly, it disappears entirely in the final two chapters, just when it’s most needed.
Gameplay and Mechanics
Gameplay is equally uneven. The horror-shooter hybrid design is underdeveloped:
• Combat: You have only one gun throughout the game, with clumsy shooting mechanics and shockingly bad hit detection—shooting enemies more than few meters away doesn’t work at all.
• Enemies: There are just four enemy types: a dog, a raven, a spectral dog, and a floating blue orb. Variety is non-existent, and their design fails to evoke fear or challenge.
• UI and Stats: The game features two stat bars—one for sprinting and one for flashlight usage. Health is poorly represented by a heart icon that changes color in barely noticeable ways.
The fifth chapter is especially problematic. It's an open-world trek requiring players to find eight locations and rely on bonfires to save progress. These bonfires are single-use, unmarked, and crucial to survival, especially because nighttime spawns dozens of enemies, making survival impossible unless you’re near a save point. If you plan poorly, you may need to replay the entire chapter, which can take over an hour. This is not tense survival horror—it’s tedious trial-and-error pathfinding.
The final chapter takes yet another bizarre turn—a car-racing sequence with awful controls and laughable physics, completely disconnected from the rest of the game in tone and genre.
Technical Performance and Design
• Graphics: Despite releasing in 2015, the game looks like it’s from 2005. It’s outdated, blocky, and lifeless.
• Optimization: Even with sub-par visuals, performance is poor. Frame drops occur frequently, especially in open-world areas.
• Bugs: Critical bugs can halt progression—such as a missing barrel required to continue—forcing players to restart.
• Controls and Settings: There are no in-game settings. Mouse sensitivity is wildly off, requiring players to manually lower their DPI to absurd levels. UI scaling is broken, particularly in 4K resolutions, making menus and interactions nearly unusable.
Atmosphere and Horror Elements
The horror elements start promisingly. Early chapters feature decent scares with visual distortions and ominous music. But this quickly vanishes in the later stages, where horror is replaced by tedious exploration and repetitive enemy spawns. The Red Lake itself is an interesting idea visually and thematically, but like the crashed plane, it serves as more of a backdrop than an actively engaging element.
What Worked
• The Red Lake concept is genuinely intriguing and ripe for horror storytelling.
• Some early audio-visual scare effects are effective (before they’re dropped entirely).
• The notepad mechanic in the early game adds depth and direction.
What Didn’t Work:
• Horrendous pacing and structural inconsistency.
• Lack of enemy variety and meaningful combat.
• Terrible shooting mechanics, especially at range.
• Broken UI and sensitivity controls, especially in modern resolutions.
• No meaningful player feedback on health or progress.
• Awful optimization and game-breaking bugs.
• The open-world survival segment is poorly designed, repetitive, and punishing.
• A final chapter car sequence that’s absurd and jarringly out of place.
Verdict
Red Lake is a fundamentally broken game that squanders what little potential it had. The thematic foundation could have supported a tense and atmospheric horror experience. Instead, it’s marred by incoherent structure, technical failures, and design decisions that seem entirely disconnected from player enjoyment. Even diehard indie horror fans will struggle to find redeeming value here.
Score: 20/100
Translated by
Microsoft from Deutsch
Microsoft from Deutsch
-not the best Feeling of Play (shaky, Character breathes loudly when he's out breathing (I know is normal, but in the Game it annoys something)-no Checkpoints (spent 20 Minutes in the Game, felt everywhere had been, died and started again at the Beginning)-Opponents bug tightly or are Almost under a + Graphics I find + partly good Atmosphere (Jump Scares) Overall but it is not an outstanding Indie Game. Technically not the best. For currently €0.15, you can buy it and "take" the Collectible cards with you.
Translated by
Microsoft from Deutsch
Microsoft from Deutsch
Red Lake control shit-Plot-Graphic bug-LAGS (Quad core i7 6700HQ runs at felt 20fps)-soundtrack for ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ br> As it looks, it is already stored in the Gameplay video on Steam and on my WI-FI that is certainly not.
The only Horror about the Game is the Prize.
10cent paid for it, of which I should have preferred to buy 2 Collectible cards. (I was all about the Collectible cards at the Game.)
If you want to gray someone buys him that is simply as a Gift The Game is so shit, you would still have had to spend points because 0/10 is not enough.
Translated by
Microsoft from Deutsch
Microsoft from Deutsch
"Red Lake" is a short First-Person horror shooter.
Paranormal Activities. A Lake in Siberia. Red Liquid has spread in the Lake. Strange Happens in the Environment. Animals become aggressive. Floating Spheres Destroy everything they touch. We are ready to examine the Immense and protect Humanity from this Danger.
The Object SCP-354, the Lake from which the Game was inspired, is actually located in Canada, allegedly contains a viscous red Liquids that creates Paranormal ... wers believes is allowed to air His Aluminium hat.
Paranormal also affects the Game. Gameplay from another World, Story from unexplored Spinal Cord Regions and Opponents from An age before Ashe's Invention.
Nothing fits together, everything remains cryptic. Add to that great Gameplay, Shooter characteristics lowest Levels, Opponent Animations of Ridicule, unfair Memory Points, incomprehensible Mechanics. The Spheres, for example, have to be dodged, a sneak passage whose Success seems to be based more on Luck than Skill. The Opponents, sometimes Dogs, sometimes ghost Dogs, sometimes dog spirits, sometimes Cat-like Ones have no Intelligence, storm blindly on you, also like to hang on Air, but manage their own Character when they meet one, to glide into the Air.
In addition, Simpelstgraph, uncoordinated Sound effects, which like to get stuck and Color Games of the stomach-turning variety.
Rating: 2/10 Atmosphere ominousness omin10 Story 2/10 Graphic Feature 10 Sound 2/10 Game Mechanics 2/10 Game Pass Conclusion: Unpretty, unimportant, Unform.
Overall Rating: 2/10