Oh lovely, another horror game with mannequins who move when you’re not looking

Hey, fancy doing something unpleasant for the next ten minutes? Download Mannequin for free, a new little horror game. I don’t think it’s ruining any surprise to tell you that it’s one of those games with horrible, horrible mannequins which can move when you’re not looking. I hate this type of monster! It’s a very good type of monster! And I hate it! And this little game is a decent one of these. So that’s a short bit of fun for you.

I like it! The game is built mostly from familiar parts (I’m leaving one a surprise) and a little technically janky (struttering nastily for me at times) but it executes the idea plenty well enough. It looks fine, it ends before it wears out its welcome, and the voice acting was a surprise bonus. Here’s something terrible to enjoy a few minutes, have fun! I was perfectly happy with that. I played in a sunny room with my window open to the busy street outside yet was focused on this horrible experience and very happily unhappy with it, jumping and swearing at every noise.

Hie thee to Itch.io to download Mannequin for Windows. It’s pay-what-you-want with no minimum. It’s made by Elvis Medeiros and Ivan Garcia F. with voice acting from Thaís de Ávila. It does have a clear ending, mind, and will make you restart if you, ah, fail to reach it.

I really enjoy hating encountering this sort of ‘only moves when you cannot see them’ monster. They’re probably best known in games from jumpscare ’em ups like Five Nights at Freddy’s, and in pop culture at large as Doctor Who’s Weeping Angels. I’ve been unhappy to start encountering them more in mainstream big-budget games. Ghostwire: Tokyo recently added a new mission with a horrible, horrible human anatomy mannequin lurking in a school. I hate him! And Resident Evil Village’s Shadow Of Rose expansion had a horrible, horrible doll stalking you, with the absolutely horrible discovery that no, several of them are after you at once. I hate them! I hate them all because it’s such a good monster type.

It’s a simple trick yet wildly unnerving, and leaves lingering fears once you close the game and head back out into the world. Surely the mannequins watching you shop aren’t alive. Surely nothing would happen if you went shopping after work. And absolutely you’ll always be fine around those dolls in your aunt’s house.