Review | The Exit 8 - Don't Miss Your Stop

Imagine, you’re on your way to work, strolling through the subway corridors, following your daily routine. Yet, it’s unusually empty. You swear this is the quietest this place has ever been. The only other person who’s crossed your path is one ordinary man. So ordinary in fact, he’s a little unordinary. But as you continue on your path you see him again, and again, and again.

This is the story of The Exit 8. You’re stuck in an endless maze of a subway station and the eighth exit is your only way out. The rules are simple, keep walking and if you see anything out of the ordinary, turn around and NEVER look back. 

This game makes you take the initiative, you’re thrown in without warning and don’t even get the rules of the game until you’ve made it a bit of the way in. Within a few twists and turns, you pass by normal posters advertising businesses and giving warnings telling you to keep left and be aware of security cameras. Once you see the board with the instructions that’s when the game really starts. 

The Exit 8 does an excellent job of luring you in with a false sense of security because everything’s normal until it isn’t. To progress through the different levels you have to recognise any abnormality you come across. These can be things as simple as a change in poster design or noticing if the man you walk past is missing something. If you fail to spot an abnormality your progress will be returned to zero or you’ll be sent back to the very start in dramatic fashion.

You can also be given the option to finish earlier, being tempted by other lower exits to escape through. But these only take you further away from your main goal. 

One of my first experiences with an anomaly was a few minutes into the game. The creepy setting was doing its job so I decided to move forward facing the wall, occasionally looking ahead to make sure the coast was clear.

As I was taking my time, feeling my confidence building, I noticed the commuter I’d passed a few times was moving much faster than normal. It became clear he was making a beeline straight for me and being taken completely off guard I fumbled with the controls until it was too late. The emptiness in his eyes was the last sight I saw until the screen shuttered black accompanied by the heavy sound of a gong.

Sound is an important element The Exit 8 uses to maintain a quiet creepy atmosphere throughout. The first sign of danger is just how little ambient noise there is in what should be a jam-packed subway station. There’s no music but there is continual white noise as a dull hum and the occasional flickering of lights accompany you for most of the game. 

The only sound the player can make with the minimal controls is the march of your footsteps. You use the left joystick to move and the right to look around. If you press B you can pick up the pace by making your character run.

Walking around each corner makes your heart race as you don’t know when you’re going to face the next anomaly. This game does a great job of making moving forward feel extremely daunting, to the point where hugging the wall feels safer than blindly moving forward.

As I made my way through the near identical corridors, the controls would occasionally feel heavy as if some mysterious force was holding my character back. The walls are a clean white tile brick but the straight lines go wavy and loose when you move which heightens the uneasy disorientation you experience playing this game.

From what I can tell there are no jumpscares in The Exit 8 but the deliberate details from sound to visuals set the scene and put you on the edge of your seat for the whole playthrough. You can get used to certain anomalies and act accordingly but you can never predict the order and know what to expect next.

The Exit 8 is a unique blend of puzzle and psychological thriller. It’s not a long game at all, if you’re able to hold your nerve and act quickly you could complete it in 20 to 30 minutes. This is a game that does a great job of getting in your head, the fear of the unknown is just as unsettling as the abnormalities you’ll come across. For £3.99 on the Nintendo eShop this is a short but sweet engaging experience.