The closest I’ve ever been to getting scared in a Star Wars game was probably wandering around the Haunted Hovel in Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, but even then, the creepiest thing to happen was a quick sighting of the strange C-P30 doppelganger Nobot. Star Wars has never stuck out as the sort of franchise that is particularly scary but, after playing a short demo for Deathtroopers on itch.io, I’m convinced that this needs to change.
Deathtroopers is a short survival zombie horror game by Stefano Cagnani, available on itch.io for whatever price you want to pay. A short cutscene at the beginning sets the scene as you report back to HQ that you’ve finally spotted the Star Destroyer, which has gone dark for some time now. The Stormtrooper can’t hear the terrifying and ethereal music which gets louder as they fly closer: because if they could, I’m positive they would never have landed on this derelict ship.
With blood splattered across the walls and the remains of other Stormtroopers ripped up and scattered around the floors, this place is undoubtedly spooky. But all you can do is helplessly explore a part of this ship to try and find a survivor or figure out what could have happened here.
I’m not very brave when it comes to exploring horror games. I’ve hidden in my fair share of barrels in The Outlast Trials and have even been stuck in the same supply closet in Amnesia: The Dark Descent for over a decade, so walking through the bloody hallways of this Destroyer was more than enough to fill me with adrenaline.
When it came down to it, the actual survival part of this horror game didn’t last very long. After encountering a lone Stormtrooper standing deathly still in a hallway, the action kicks into gear, and you’re left closed into a small section of the ship, periodically gunning down waves of zombie Stormtroopers with the sole objective of surviving for four minutes.
This part wasn’t actually that scary. The third-person over-the-shoulder lens meant I could easily keep multiple enemies in my sightline, and the waves weren’t overwhelming at all. In fact, a good few zombies got stuck on one of the half-closed doors. I just left them be—they weren’t hurting anyone. But after surviving the allotted timeline, everything went black. I just thought it was the end of the demo, so I wasn’t too concerned, but then another cutscene started playing.
This time, I watched on helplessly as hordes of zombies stumbled towards me. I had already accepted death, and then, as if to rub salt in the wound, a door opened behind me, and in walked zombie Darth Vader. A Stormtrooper couldn’t take on the Sith Lord on a good day, and I don’t think mixing the undead into the situation makes that fight easier. But I couldn’t put this to the test as, soon after his entrance, I was cut in half and strung up like some sick office decoration.
Deathtroopers isn’t a horror game masterclass (the AI voice acting is pretty bad), but it is a surprisingly good short experience. The concept is great, and while the game is over quickly, it’s convinced me there’s real potential in the strange idea of a Star Wars horror game.
