The fridge is red is another entry in the crowded space of ps1-styled horror games and unfortunately the charm of that genre did not make up for this short experience. For those looking for a game with scares and thrills wrapped up in the older aesthetic, there are plenty titles out there that fulfill this need with a more interesting story but this may serve as a nice filler once players have burned through the rest of the genre.
Story
There is not much to be said here to be honest. Players can pick two different stories to follow when starting up the game. Fidgeted Sherri has players in a chair in front of a red refrigerator that moves around as if something is inside of it. As they look around the room, there are a multitude of notes that hint at something being inside of the refrigerator. As players solve the one puzzle that this story has, they then greeted with the main menu screen. I believe that this short story is to help build anticipation and serve as an entry point for the rest of the game but this isn’t explained right away so it was hard to tell initially.
Once players solve this little mystery, they can then move on to the next story titled for daddy to work, which revolves around a character being trapped in an elevator before it comes crashing down. After a freak incident, players are thrust into a creepy environment, including having to navigate a hospital in search of their wife. The game features scratchy voice acting from each of the characters, but this wore out its welcome not too long after starting the game.
The fridge is red features 6 of these little stories and while some were more interesting than others, the experience overall was muddied by the weaker stories and unclear understanding of how they all connect.
Gameplay
The fridge is red has players navigating a multitude of creepy spaces in a first-person view with a creepy VHS filter thrown on top to add to that sense of unease. Personally, I would have loved to see a way to turn the filter off as well as the voice acting since both felt more nauseating than creepy, but these features will serve differently for each person.
The gameplay loop revolves around players starting a new chapter and then solving some of the minor puzzles that each chapter offers. Some puzzles require players to seek out additional items in the confined spaces while others require players to utilize the resources in the immediate area. For those looking for a strong puzzle experience, this game fails in that aspect.
Each chapter gives players a new experience to tackle and overcome, whether that be finding a wife in a hospital or avoiding a creepy monster that is chasing them as they drive down a snow-covered road. The chapters themselves are not extremely long and play time may last players around 2-3 hours if they speed from one chapter to the next with no issues.
Final thoughts
Overall, the fridge is red seems like a title that would hit it off well for those who are heavily invested in niche horror experiences but for those who are like myself, the intro did not do enough to get me hooked enough to fully understand what the story was behind the demonic red refrigerator. There were hints of a more coherent story throughout the game but since that interest was dashed on the rocks at the start, it was hard to want to piece everything together. The red fridge may be tempting for some to open, but it might be best that it remained closed.
