Locked in my Darkness 2: The Room (I will be calling it LinD2 for short) is a slow burn, psychological horror. Developed by a solo developer for three years at Blusagi Team and published by indie.io, LinD2 was released on February 11th, 2026. With a focus on atmosphere, exploration, and puzzle solving, LinD2 is a narrative psychological horror. LinD2 creates tension with its dark, grim and warped settings that blur the lines of reality. Players play as Yuki Tachibana, a Japanese high school student who recently moved to New York with her parents. However, the darkness of her parent’s past follows them to their new apartment, and it is up to players to uncover the truth.
LinD2 is actually the finale to a trilogy of games by the same developer. The first Locked in My Darkness released in December 2022, and the second installment, Blue Maiden, followed in December 2023. As a trilogy, these games feel designed to be experienced together, especially if you want the full narrative. Admittedly, there isn’t a whole lot to discuss for this review, as gameplay is quite simple. Players can expect to spend 2-3 hours in total with LinD2, potentially more as there are multiple endings, but not by much. Puzzles are straightforward and I never felt completely lost in what I needed to do. It is a walking simulator, which isn’t a bad thing, but also doesn’t lead to me having much to say.
As a psychological horror, LinD2 is on par, but doesn’t really wow me. It might be a bit biased, but I have a love/hate relationship with indie horror games. I absolutely love the creativity and story-telling that developers do with indie horror. I spend most of my YouTube time on channels that analyze and review indie horror games. Ironically, I rarely play them myself; I scare far too easily to enjoy the experience firsthand. I thought that LinD2 was quite effective in it’s horror and jumpscares, but can also see how they might be a walk in the park for the less fearful. I think LinD2 knows what it is and hits the mark, but unfortunately doesn’t leave a lasting impression for me as a player. So, watch out for collectibles, because it’s time to discuss Locked in my Darkness 2: The Room!
Locked in my Darkness…Literally
Let’s jump right in to the horror elements. As the name implies, LinD2 is literally quite dark in some areas. To give you an example, the next two images show the same view, with the second one taken after I turned the in‑game brightness all the way up.
Darkness plays a major role in building tension and shaping the horror atmosphere. The game gives players tools to navigate it, including a night‑vision camera that drains batteries as it runs. You can find extra batteries throughout the world, but you don’t always need to keep the camera powered on. The camera overlay gives the game a ‘found footage’ feel, like players are watching Yuki’s final moments before the monster man gets her.
Speaking of the monster man, this thing is both creepy and a bit underwhelming. Early on, Yuki can find a police report of multiple murders and mutilated bodies. Next to this report is a CCTV feed of various cameras and as you scroll through them, players can get their first glimpse of the monster man. When I first saw him, I was quite creeped out. In another feed you can view the back of him—a hulking man bathed in red, wielding a large weapon. As a design, I liked this. He’s quite creepy, and the jumpscares he gives later on made me pause from playing for a bit.
However, I did feel a bit underwhelmed at times. For example, there are many occasions where he’s just sort of standing and doing an idling animation. When down in the sewers, you get a pretty good view of him as he stands idle down a hallway. As you walk towards him since there is no other way to go, his loud breathing can be heard. And I mean loud too—I had my in-game volume turned down pretty low (again, I scare easily) and it sounded like it was at normal volume. Once Yuki crosses the threshold, the light snaps to black and he vanishes. The moment is unsettling on its own, but the buildup leading to it feels a bit bland. Again, he’s just standing there, idling. It reminded me of that SpongeBob quote, “He’s just standing there…menacingly!”
It would be creepier if he was actually doing something, like peering from behind a corner, beckoning Yuki closer, or brandishing his weapon at her. Another moment like this appears later in the street. He is standing behind a fence, but the scene gets cut short by one of those in‑your‑face, somewhat cheap jumpscares where he practically presses himself against the camera’s view.
Many moments of horror are created through the use of warped reality that has a grim and gory settings. In the sewers, Yuki can find reports in a greenhouse lab of toxic plants. Visions occur with vine-like tendrils, bathed in red. Body bags hang betwixt vines along a hallway and disappear as Yuki walks past. Be sure to get quite comfortable with it, as later on Yuki finds herself trapped in this altered reality and players need to find a way to escape it.
Overall, the psychological horror works well, though that’s coming from someone who scares easily. The tension builds effectively for me, and the scares avoid feeling repetitive. However, I also don’t think LinD2 is trying to do anything out of the ordinary when it comes to the horror genre. I think it hits on par with what I might expect, which is great, but also doesn’t really stand out from the indie horror genre. I think LinD2 relies more on its narrative rather than its horror elements, but relies on the horror more over its gameplay. It’s a bit confusing to explain, but again, the less fearful may see this as a walk in the park.
Locked in my Walking Simulator with Puzzle Solving
Outside of the horror, gameplay is simple and straightforward. As mentioned, it is a walking simulator with various puzzles along the way. Puzzles are pretty straightforward and not overly complicated. For example, one of the first puzzles you encounter involves pulling fours levers in the correct order. In a nearby room are four pages that inform you the order with messages like “The third was pulled first” and such. There are also a decent bit of numerical codes that players will need to remember, such as for a door code. Puzzles later on get slightly more complicated, but it isn’t anything that will leave players stumped and confused.
Yuki can piece together bits of the story by finding notes, such as the police report mentioned earlier and the lab report about the toxic plants. Yuki can pick up, examine, and read the notes. She can also find other items, including extra camera batteries, keys, and collectibles like pink dolls. The game stores these items in her inventory, which expands whenever she discovers new backpacks scattered throughout the world. I suppose there is a slight inventory management factor, but it never posed as a serious element in my playthrough. In fact, I’m not too sure what the purpose of expanding the inventory was instead of just having an inventory. I suppose its just an extra little layer to the gameplay, but it doesn’t feel like something players will need to be super mindful of.
That’s pretty much it when it comes to the gameplay. There’s a bigger focus on the narrative and horror elements and the simplistic gameplay does its job at driving both of these points forward.
Locked in my Rough Edges
Though I can applaud LinD2 for the work that has been put in by a solo developer, there are a few rough edges here are there. Visually, the graphics are okay, but it does feel a bit reminiscent of an older game. I personally don’t mind, but I can see how other players may not be so enticed to play.
I also noticed a few bugs while playing. At one point after picking up a backpack, the inventory was expanded message got stuck on my screen. It’s pretty small and not too noticeable so it wasn’t a big deal. Another bug was when I went to view the first VHS tape. I found it in an archive/storage room and walked down to where the VHS player and TV are. When I went to put the tape in though, there was already a copy of the same tape on the VHS player. I needed to pick it up in order to play a tape, so I somehow ended up with two copies of the same VHS tape. Not really sure what happened, and again, not a huge deal, but it is something to be aware of.
There are a few moments where the camera will cut to something or play a ‘cutscene’. These feel a bit clunky. For example, the first time it happens is in the beginning. You open a garage to reach the CCTV and camera with night vision. The camera then sort of glides forward and turns towards where the TV is. It takes a second for Yuki to actually say anything during this time. Another moment was when it pans over the hanging body bags after reading a note. Like the graphics, these moments also felt like something reminiscent of an older game in its slight clunkiness. I’m not sure what exactly their purposes are either as they don’t feel all that necessary.
One last thing, and this is more of a personal preference, is that Yuki doesn’t react to much of the horror. Like in my earlier example of the monster man standing menacingly down a hallway, it isn’t until he disappears that Yuki says “Nani?” Why is she not concerned about who this mysterious red man is? Why does she not call out? Why does she not ask herself something like “Who/what is that?” when first seeing him and only reacts after getting halfway down the hallway when he disappears? Again, it’s a personal preference, but when I’m scared, I want to know the character I’m playing is scared too.
Locked in my Review
Overall, LinD2 is just okay. I can’t really say how it fits in as a finale to the trilogy, but all three games receive generally favorable reviews on Steam. From the research I’ve done on the trilogy, I do like the narrative told. I can recommend playing the three games for fans of indie psychological horrors indie. They’re shorter games that deliver the scares (in my easily scared opinion). I think for the work of a solo developer, they deserve at least a look at on Steam to do more inquiring, reading the reviews, watching the trailers, and making your own judgement. A bundle is available if you want to purchase the entire trilogy.
However, as a standalone, I’m not sure if I can recommend this one. There are too many hang-ups for me personally. I think LinD2 hits the mark for what I can expect out similar indie horrors. However, I’m struggling to see what this one does that so many others don’t already do, if not better. There are probably better similar indie horrors out there, even as a non-player of indie horror myself. I know it must be difficult to make something that truly stands out. Simply put, LinD2 is decent for what it is, but I don’t think it will leave a lasting impression.
That’s why I think you should play the trilogy instead of just this one. It will leave a bigger impression. You will have a bigger and better understanding of the narrative. At the end of the day, you will also support a solo developer who has put time and effort into the trilogy.
Yonde itadaki arigatōgozaimashita!
