‘Camp Sunshine’ Puts a 16-Bit Twist on the Slasher Genre

By Adam Dodd on June 20, 2016

It took a long time for developers to realize how perfect a pairing the slasher film genre is with video games, but to their credit, it’s taken much less time for them to act on it. Supermassive’s sublime supernatural thriller Until Dawn set a high bar back in 2014, and if we’re lucky, we’ll see that bar get raised by a trio of asymmetrical multiplayer games that are coming this year. Dead by Daylight didn’t disappoint when it released last week — our review is incoming — and it will soon be followed by Friday the 13th: The Game and Last Year this fall.

I’d never want to complain about our finally getting slasher-themed video games, but there’s something else that ties them together, and that’s the startling lack of variety in how each game plays. On the bright side, that does leave endless opportunities for future stab ’em ups to explore, starting with retro-inspired Camp Sunshine.

Developed by the three-man team at Fossil Games, Camp Sunshine is a 16-bit horror RPG about a boy named Jez whose time at summer camp turns deadly when he’s forced to fight for his life after a maniac in a mascot costume goes on a murder spree. You could also say the young boy’s plight comes in the dead of night with a genuine fright from a gruesome sight that’s not quite right, forcing Jez into a game of fight or flight where he might survive to greet morning’s light.

It was made possible after a successful crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo where its developer raised nearly $1,200 in April. In the aftermath of the sudden cancellation of Allison Road, it’s games like Camp Sunshine and the many other crowdfunding success stories that should remind us of how necessary Indiegogo, Kickstarter, Fig, etc. are as a resource for many game developers. They’re flawed, but without them, games like this would often go unrealized.