Murder House
Games review
As of Aug 18, 2026, Murder House is rated 95% positive on Steam (2,334 reviews).
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Is Murder House worth it in 2026?
A 95% positive rating from over 2,300 Steam reviews is hard to argue with, and the praise is consistent: Puppet Combo's PS2-era aesthetic delivers claustrophobic, suffocating horror that channels a genuine slasher-film atmosphere. The real weakness isn't the mood, it's what sits underneath it, where repetitive backtracking, confusing navigation, camera problems, and easy, derivative puzzles expose how little mechanical substance the game actually offers. If the lo-fi aesthetic hooks you, those flaws read as retro roughness; if it doesn't, you're left with a game that one reviewer flatly described as having 'no real gameplay to speak of', not thin gameplay, but absent gameplay. The split in reactions isn't a matter of taste around the edges: it's a binary outcome where the PS2 horror aesthetic either does all the work or does none of it, and the 95% score reflects the people it worked for.
Horror fans already sold on lo-fi PS2-style aesthetics who want a purely atmospheric slasher experience and have no expectation of mechanically demanding or substantial gameplay.
One reviewer noted the game runs just past two hours, right at the Steam refund threshold, and found nothing but backtracking and easy puzzles waiting on the other side of it; if the atmosphere fails to grab you early, there is no gameplay layer to salvage the experience.
ReviewPond's conclusion, drawn only from the verified scores and review themes on this page. Not a paid or editorial opinion.
Pros
- atmospheric horror experience3
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- Puppet Combo is the pioneer and, in my head, what started the PS2-like graphics revival horror genre. This game feels so claustrophobic and suffocating. It’s a really well-made exp...
- pros - captures the vibe, cinematically great, pretty scary! cons - like old games, its a bit confusing where to go at points. 4.0/5
- Great game and atmosphere! Recommend!
Cons
- repetitive backtracking2
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- Sometimes, it's too far. I think, after this, I'm done trying random scary indie games. The puzzles are somewhat interesting, and pretty easy. There's a lot of running back and for...
- no real gameplay to speak of, not tense or scary, boring and easy puzzles, juuuust long enough to make you play for more than 2 hours. do not waste your money on this game.
- derivative puzzle design1
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- Sometimes, it's too far. I think, after this, I'm done trying random scary indie games. The puzzles are somewhat interesting, and pretty easy. There's a lot of running back and for...
- camera problems1
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- 5.6 This is quite a mixed bag overall but I did enjoy the tension a lot more to outweigh a majority of the negatives I had. It's majorly split into 2 parts, the prologue port...
Themes and quotes are drawn from 9 sampled reviews with text; the scores above reflect all 2.3K ratings. Counts are how many of the sampled reviews mention each point.