Frozen Friday Night: The Eve

Fun horror game with gory death scenes, quite challenging combat, and nice RPG elements (later on). It starts as your typical slasher but takes an unexpected direction... you'll be hunting crocodiles for money, fighting ghosts, and more..
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Before I begin this review, I want to sincerely thank the developers for creating such an incredible game.
I stumbled across the trailer on YouTube by chance and found it intriguing, so I decided to buy the game. It was only $4.99 USD.
But this game should never be dismissed as just a "cheap" five-dollar game. It absolutely does not deserve to be buried among the flood of low-effort, mass-produced titles that can't even be called indie games in good conscience.
Even now, I genuinely don't understand why more people haven't discovered this game. It deserves far more recognition and a much wider audience.
And if the lack of attention is simply due to weak marketing, then frankly, the developers need to take that seriously and reflect on it.
From the moment I started playing, I could tell this game was something different.
Most games pop up a window saying something like "Use X to attack" when introducing new controls. But here, those hints are seamlessly woven into the environment. You might spot them scribbled on a window or painted on a wall. They don't feel like external prompts, but rather a natural part of the world itself.
Even after the tutorial, the game avoids direct explanation. Sometimes you'll get a brief hint, and other times, nothing at all. You're often left to figure things out on your own. Consider the crocodile encounters. The game never directly explains what to do if one bites you. The only way to find out is by checking the items Ember has for sale.
There are plenty of hidden mechanics like this, and discovering them through exploration feels genuinely rewarding. If you rush through the game, you'll probably miss a lot. But if you slow down and pay attention, you start to see just how carefully and thoughtfully everything has been built.
You could say the developer is intentionally staying out of the player's way, letting you learn and explore freely. Or, to put it more bluntly, it can feel like a parent leaving a child to grow up on their own. Whether that was intentional or not, I personally found it charming.
That said, I do think the game could benefit from just a bit more explanation within its world. Character attributes are another case. There's no in-game explanation of what each one actually does. Unless you go out of your way to read the Steam patch notes, you're left completely guessing. A simple in-game book or a character who explains these things would be a great improvement.
The scale of the world and the depth of the lore are far beyond what you would expect from a five-dollar game.
You can feel the developer's attention and care in every corner of the environment. Even background objects are filled with detail, and at times, you might come across things that feel like Easter eggs or parodies. They may seem unimportant at first glance, yet they quietly invite a closer look.
One particularly memorable moment was the secret boss fight against Gloom Ghost, where a rock remix of "Jingle Bells" suddenly started playing. The contrast was completely unexpected, yet it somehow blended perfectly with the chaotic rhythm of the fight, making the encounter feel both fun and unforgettable.
Another thing that surprised me was how complete the RPG systems felt, even though the game still seems far from reaching its final chapter. That might be the reason for its low price, but the core gameplay is already well-structured and solid.
Suppose you're looking to level up without going through the usual prep, like grabbing the bonfire buff before heading out of the village. Instead, you can just lie down on a bed and drift into a dream world called Nightmare, where the killer roams the dungeon. Since it all takes place in a dream, you don't need to worry about freezing temperatures, death penalties, or running out of ammo. Alternatively, you can hunt crocodiles, sell their hides to the sheriff, and earn a decent amount of money. That money can then be used to upgrade your weapons, creating a satisfying gameplay loop.
There are only two outfits available at the moment, but one of them unlocks for free as soon as you finish the tutorial. It's a great-looking outfit. Maybe it was added for narrative consistency, but either way, it feels like a nice reward.
On top of that, there's already an exciting raid boss with fitting rewards. According to the developers, more raids are planned for future updates. For now, there's only one, but even having this level of endgame content at this stage is impressive. It gives players like me something meaningful to do while waiting for new content, and I think that's incredibly thoughtful of the developers.
As for the controls, I don't have any major complaints.
When sprinting and quickly changing direction, there's a slight delay, almost as if the character is reacting to inertia or air resistance. It actually makes the movement feel more grounded and realistic.
I did miss a few shotgun shots, but I think that was more due to my own impatience or lack of skill than any fault in the game.
One issue I ran into was something I like to call the "ninja crocodile."
Sometimes, when a crocodile bites me and I barely manage to escape, it instantly grabs me again, over and over, until I die.
I'm not sure if this is a bug or some kind of sneaky surprise the devs intentionally added to mess with players. But if it is a bug, I hope it gets fixed soon.
My only real concern, in the end, is the uncertainty surrounding its future.
According to a post from the developer, there's a chance they may not be able to continue making games. The reason wasn't fully explained, but even the slightest possibility is concerning.
It would be genuinely heartbreaking for something this well-crafted to never see its story completed. I really hope the developer is doing all right and that they'll return to finish what they started. The amazing world they've imagined deserves to be fully realized and shared with many more players.

The games being made here are fun time killers with a really cute vibe, but the difficulty needs massive tuning. I can't get past the house part. Landing a single hit on the killer is hard enough with how floaty the controls are. I'd really really like to enjoy this game but being instantly killed by the killer blinking into existing and burying an axe into the back of your skull just isn't that enjoyable. I have no idea how many shotgun shots it takes to down the killer but it seems like it might be the best option, but even in the best case scenario without dodging you get two shots in before you end up in two pieces.
Edit: Changing my review to a positive one. I still feel similarly to my initial review, but after putting in much more playtime, I have found that with some things in this game you literally just need to bang your head against the wall until you win.
Recommendations for devs:
bonfire healing made faster
less floaty controls -- make dashing and sprinting seperate functions
make it more clear where the content of the currently released game is meant to end. I'm still not quite sure where the end of what is done so far is, and I'm concerned I'm dumping hours into a dead path.

Cute Artworks, Dark Tone.

😇🪓🩸🥩❄️🎄🐊👻🧸