"I need to get home before it gets dark" is a small project I worked on to help develop my familiarity with Unreal Engine 5's systems and various design disciplines like texturing, modelling, and character animation, and as such I limited the scope of the project to complete the full development loop and release it as a cohesive vertical slice of my technical ability.
The core gameplay loop is intentionally very barebones and straightforward, as I wanted my design focus to be on using a simple underlying mechanic that facilitates the atmosphere of horror that I'm particularly interested in, that being; an overwhelmingly powerful cosmic horror with a strong sensation of inevitability and dread.
The fundamental premise and theme of the game is the inevitability of the character's fate, and the emotive atmosphere that is formed out of the understanding that there's nothing you can do when faced against a power vastly greater than yourself.