Anomaly games have become well known within the horror genre over the past couple of years, currently cementing itself as one of the most popular sub-genres in 2026.
You’d only have to go back to 2023 when they really took off and made a name for itself. In comes The Exit 8, where you’re trapped in an endless Japanese underground passageway and you have to pay close attention to your surroundings, trying to spot any anomalies to escape from the unnerving underground.
Not long after it was released the feedback was overwhelmingly positive and it became a viral indie sensation, being played by huge streamers and amassing many views on social media. If that wasn’t impressive enough, it was announced by the developers and publisher last August that it sold over two million copies and if that somehow didn’t manage to pique your interest, there was even a film released about it last year, debuting second just behind Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, attracting over one million viewers in Japan.
So it was a pretty big success, and there’s no surprise that the anomaly genre has become popular ever since it was released. It truly was a massive influence and you can tell by playing some just how much of an inspiration and impact it has had.
Now not every game of the genre has taken inspiration from the king of anomaly games, some have gone down their own route and stray from the same setting and mechanics, just like The Attic 18th.
In this psychological horror you play as James, a man trapped in an attic with his beloved cat, armed only with a camera to snap pictures of anomalies within the environment as he hunts them down, with each photo taken unlocking a new memory of his mysterious past.
Most anomaly games lack the scare factor to truly make them a terrifying and tense experience, something that The 18th Attic easily succeeded at.
I’ve played my fair share of anomaly games and most of them I’ve never really wanted to continue, purely because they become very boring since the spotting anomaly aspect is all they really have to them. I’ve never actually been anxious or tense when playing any, that was until I played The Attic 18th which I was actually relieved to finally finish.
What made it so effective in the scare department was that each floor had you feeling anxious, whether it was because of an anomaly jumping out at you after successfully capturing one, or getting jumpscared after leaving the floor failing to capture one. The latter really had me tensing up each time I walked up the stairs, especially when I spent minutes searching the floor certain that there was nothing present only to get surprised by a disfigured thing appearing halfway up the stairs.
I always preferred having to deal with an anomaly than not having to. Mind you sometimes they were easy to spot and other times they weren’t, but seeing the message pop up that I detected it lifted a weight off of my shoulders, since I knew I could walk up the stairs without having to worry about getting jumpscared again.
But it worked so well, it had me doubting myself even though I looked everywhere positive that the floor was safe. That feeling never really went away no matter how thoroughly I checked the area, it was always lingering throughout the whole playthrough and I prepared myself each time I ascended the stairs which was exactly why it was so effective in that aspect, something a lot of games within the sub-genre failed to execute.
Make sure to snap the anomalies
You see, something else I really liked about The Attic 18th was how you interacted with the anomalies in the environment, which was using your trusty camera to take pictures of them.
Successfully capturing them would allow you to proceed to the next floor safely, and on some occasions you would be met with some rather horrible jumpscares, which only reminded me of the horrors I forgot lurked in the shadows. Photo cartridges were essentially ammo for your camera, you came across some every five floors, so naturally they were a limited resource which you had to use wisely.
If you happened to find yourself with none left then capturing anomalies was impossible, no photo cartridges was practically a death sentence so you had to pray that you found some on the next few floors otherwise you’d be finding yourself respawning in front of your furry little friend, which is the only comfort and sense of normalcy you’ll have throughout the whole game.
Not only was it a unique way to spot them compared to other anomaly titles, but it just made the atmosphere so much better. If you’ve played any horror games which implement cameras or recorders as your main form of defense, then you’ll know just how much scarier they can make the experience. It’s a mystery how something which simply records/takes pictures can flip the atmosphere within an instant, but I imagine we’ll still be questioning this for years to come.
