The horror gaming scene is as vibrant as ever, and indie projects like the recently released Luto have played a big part in that. But for as well-crafted and innovative as Luto and its contemporaries are, they don't exist in a vacuum; they are following in the footsteps of their ancestors, most notably Amnesia and PT.
Luto has gotten rave reviews since its release on July 22 of this year, currently sitting at a comfortable 82 Metascore on Metacritic.
When it released in 2010, Amnesia: The Dark Descent took the gaming world by storm. A quaint and straightforward experience by modern standards, Amnesia's approach to terror—namely its underpowering of the player and emphasis on tone and storytelling over gameplay—has been endlessly replicated over the past decade and a half. Without Amnesia, there might not have been an Outlast, Layers of Fear, SOMA, or Still Wakes the Deep. But when discussing horror walking simulators, it's impossible to omit mention of PT, perhaps the best of the genre. PT took the concept of the walking simulator and condensed it while also somehow expanding it, injecting the experience with a sense of true horror. Indeed, the games industry has yet to see a horror game with the peculiar, one-of-a-kind flair of PT, and that's where the likes of Luto come in.
PT was directed by Hideo Kojima as a "playable teaser" for the next Silent Hill game at the time. Sadly, when he parted ways with Konami, the Silent Hill project was scrapped, and PT was wiped from digital storefronts.
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Luto Might Be the Perfect Horror Fix for PT and Amnesia Fans
Luto Has the Psychological Horror of PT and the Scale of Amnesia
Naturally, nothing will ever truly live up to PT: not only was it incredibly well-crafted, but it has the benefit of a mythological legacy. No one knew what it was, or who produced it, until the first player managed to finish it (no easy task, considering the obtuse nature of its many puzzles). To complete this enigmatic game only to discover that it was a teaser for the next Silent Hill, and created by one of the most legendary developers of all time, was satisfying and thrilling. Then, the emotional rollercoaster ended with the news that Kojima would not, in fact, be working on the next Silent Hill, and that the game would be scrapped entirely.
This was sad, but it also meant that PT could assume a sort of legendary status: it never had a chance to wear out its welcome. Well, Luto doesn't have that luxury, as it's a full game with a beginning, middle, and end, and it's not free—there's a lot more riding on it, in some ways, and it has more chances to lose its grip on the player. But if Luto's initial reception is anything to go by, this isn't much of an issue, as the horror indie manages to stay engaging and captivating all the way through.
Many critics agree that Luto draws heavily from Kojima's body of work: it's a game laden with metaphors and symbolic meaning, where nothing is quite what it seems. Perhaps it learned some lessons about longevity and traditional storytelling from the Amnesia games, which are similarly symbolic and dream-like, but over a longer period than PT. By all accounts, Luto is idiosyncratic, strange, bizarre, and emotionally evocative, drawing clear parallels between its fantastical world and very real, all-too-common struggles like anxiety and depression. There's a solid chance that Luto won't be for everyone—precious few games are—but for fans of PT, Amnesia, and similar titles, it might just be a can't-miss experience.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 80 /100 Critics Rec: 78%
- Released
- July 22, 2025
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Broken Bird Games
- Publisher(s)
- Broken Bird Games, Selecta Play
WHERE TO PLAY
Luto is a psychological horror experience where you take on the role of someone unable to leave their home. Every attempt to escape will lead you deeper into the unknown, where nothing is as it seems and everything will test your senses.
What lies behind loss: feel the void left by the absence of a loved one, where despair grows, fed by anxiety and depression. Day after day...
Between reality and fiction: delve into an enigmatic place and explore its labyrinthine paths full of secrets. The truth has many faces, and you might not like the one you find.
Will not let you go: experience unsettling terror that envelops your senses, with fears lurking around every corner. Darkness does not only dwell in shadows.
Never.
- PC Release Date
- July 22, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- July 22, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- July 22, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- How Long To Beat
- 3 Hours
