Camp Sunshine is a very cool survival horror game set in a summer camp. It is a retro-inspired indie game, and it looks very good! The gameplay is excellent, and the graphics are beautiful.
The story reminds me of the 1980s slasher movies. You go off to a summer camp, and it is attacked by a crazed killer. It feels a little like Sleep Away Camp or The Burning. I would’ve said Friday the 13th, but that isn’t a good comparison.
I really like the way the story is told to the player. Your main character is a fish out of water, and you learn about the camp’s past alongside him. There is a bit of a mystery that you’re going to solve, which is always fun for a game like this.
TLDR: Beautiful Graphics, Great Story, and Good Gameplay
Narrative
I like the story a lot. It feels like a lost 1980s slasher movie from the brief time when Hollywood made summer camps scary. There are several winks and nods to other horror films, which is always cool to see.
You play as a kid going off to summer camp. The character is less than enthusiastic about it, and he is going to be there for a week. He gets settled in and goes to sleep. Then he gets woken up in the middle of the night, and most of the kids have been killed by someone wearing a bear costume.
The rest of the game has you exploring the camp. The backstory is given to the player through diary pages that are scattered across the camp. It is a fun way of doing things.
You learn about the previous camp owners and their son, Issac. There is something demonic going on with voodoo, a cult, and a Native American shaman (for lack of a better term). This all ties into how you’re supposed to stop the killer.
You need to collect all the diary pages and the items they mention. This is all leading up to a final battle, and I’m assuming a class action lawsuit against whoever owns this camp. Maybe the spoiled rich kid you meet along the way will have their parents sue.
There are a few things in the story that I think could’ve been explored more. I might’ve missed some stuff, which probably impacted the amount of the story I saw. For example, the cult wasn’t explained too well in my playthrough. It was kind of there, and their goals didn’t make much sense.
I like the story quite a bit. All of the little winks and nods to other horror films are wonderful. I really like how they set up the story and make you work for every bit of information on what happened with Isaac and his father.
Gameplay
The gameplay is pretty simple. You wander around the camp and solve problems for random people who happened to survive the initial attack. Sometimes, when you finish a quest, the person who gave it to you ends up dead.
There are a lot of fetch quests in the game. This doesn’t bother me that much, and it is a good way to have the player to explore the map. You need to collect the standard things, such as:
- Food – Increases your health
- Drinks – Increases your stamina
- Batteries – For your flashlight
- Keys – Unlock specific buildings
You also collect diary pages to advance the plot, as well as some key items that you’ll need to beat the game.
The game gives you plenty of visual cues to help you find the locations where items are. The maps aren’t too big so that you can get around them quite easily. The only enemy you need to worry about is the killer, and he’s easy to avoid.
Finding the items you need wasn’t too hard. I wasn’t too sure what I needed to do with them at first, and I eventually wandered into the swamp to bring them to the shaman character. I should probably mention the locations here:
- The Camp – This is the main area, and is divided into four sections
- Forest – This is where the Toolbox is, and a Diary Page.
- Swamp – The necklace is here, along with Bigfoot, and the shaman who tells you what items there are and purifies them so you can beat the game.
Instead of explaining where everything is, I’ll give you a link to the walkthrough I used for this. It is on Steam, and the user made some very helpful maps (Link). The only thing I needed this for was the three maps that aren’t given to the player.
Everything in the game is very easy if you explore the map. Everyone tells you what you need to do and where you need to go. The developers set the player up for success in this game.
Camp Sunshine has very good gameplay. The few puzzles aren’t too difficult, most of the buildings are easy to identify, and you’re given plenty of healing and stamina items to get through the game. There are no weapons, so don’t expect any action in this game.
Visuals
This is a great looking game! It’s dark enough to make you use your flashlight, even though it will attract the killer. The character sprites all look great, the camp looks good, and I like that there are two additional locations to explore.
There were a number of references to horror movies from the 1980s and 1990s. Here are a few I noticed:
- Halloween III – The Silver Shamrock Masks
- Puppet Master – You can see the toys
- Nightmare on Elm Street – You can see Freddy’s sweater and hat in the boiler room
- Friday the 13th – Isaac’s face looks a little like Jason from the first movie
I’m sure there are others that I missed, or can’t remember.
The map is very detailed, and most of the buildings are easy to identify. The corpse sprites are creepy, and the few cutscenes are very good. I only had two issues with the graphics.
The first involves two keys. You’re given keys to the storeroom and the freezer. These aren’t labeled on the map like the other buildings to which you’re given keys. This isn’t a big issue for the freezer since there are icicles on the building, but the storeroom didn’t have anything that I can remember.
The second has to do with the lack of maps for the Swamp and Forest. These two areas aren’t very big, but it is a little odd that they don’t have maps. They can get a little confusing at first, but you’ll eventually get through them.
I don’t have any big issues with the visuals. The graphics look very good! The developers did an excellent job with the in-game graphics and the cutscenes. I will say, I wish there were more cutscenes in this game.
8.5/10. I would’ve given this game a higher score if it had been a little longer. It is a fun game with beautiful graphics and a great story.
Pros
- Great Story
- Good Gameplay
- Beautiful Graphics
Cons
- Short
- A small game
- Not much replay value
Conclusion
I think a good comparison for this game is Silent Hill or Fatal Frame. There is less of a focus on fighting and more on avoiding the killer. It has a creepy atmosphere, and I like the idea of exploring this summer camp and finding the aftermath of a slaughter.
Camp Sunshine feels like the final act of a horror film. You’re trying to set things up so you can defeat the killer, while discovering their origin along the way. There is less character development going on, so you don’t feel much when you find these people dead.
This is a simple and fun adventure game. Camp Sunshine has a great story and beautiful pixel graphics. I didn’t think it was too hard, and it wasn’t all that scary. What I did like was how many horror films were referenced in the game.
If you liked this post, please check out my other horror reviews like Grizzly Man or Blue Stinger.