SHADOW MANSION

SHADOW MANSION is a compact, atmosphere-first horror experience that leans into slow-burn tension and environmental storytelling rather than spectacle or combat. Developed and published by NEBULA NOVA GAMES, the title places the player in an abandoned family estate whose oppressive silence and decaying grandeur immediately establish a sense of unease. The premise is straightforward—a summons back to a long-forgotten mansion after a mysterious message—but the execution is intentionally restrained, allowing dread to accumulate through careful pacing, sound design, and the constant suggestion that the house itself is watching. The game’s strength lies in how it cultivates fear through anticipation. Progression is deliberate and methodical, encouraging players to move cautiously, listen closely, and absorb the subtle cues embedded in the environment. Creaking floorboards, distant knocks, flickering lights, and abrupt silences do much of the narrative work, often more effectively than overt scares. Rather than pushing players forward with action, SHADOW MANSION asks them to linger in discomfort, making each opened door or dimly lit hallway feel like a risk. This approach won’t satisfy …

I received this key from LurkIt and played it on stream. While I got the game for free, I can't recommend it at full price for what it is currently. Edited to add, the dev team seems to be very active and responsive, and I love that. You guys did a good job for your first attempt! Pros + Storyline is simple and straight forward - you got a mansion! Go check it out. Weird things unfold. + Atmosphere is overall pretty good! A whistle in the woods was hands down the creepiest part of the game to me. It reminded me of Appalachian legends about strange whistles and voices in the woods. I was really hoping for more of that eeriness. + Puzzles were good - I got stuck at one but that was my fault because I'm pretty mediocre at puzzles 😅 Wish there were more! + Sound design - I know this is a subheading to the atmosphere but I really want to point out the ambient noises keeping me on my toes. Not knowing what was important and what was just background made for some really good tension. + Spoiler, but [spoiler]cute pig. Don't know why he was there, but he was cute. 10/10 pig[/spoiler]. Cons -I know that other reviews prior to December 2025's update mentioned poor optimization, and I think…

got some spooks, and some funny moments

Got this game through Lurkit and I gotta admit it's a kinda raw but has a good foundation PROS - Well timed Jumpscares: The jumpscares were on point, delivered every time - Ambiance: The Mansion is properly creepy, althought the flashlight lighting plays against it CONS - The Writing: The plot is pretty simple, while I was interested due to curiosity I think it needed some polish, specially the dialogue - The Voice Acting: A generic dialogue could be saved by a good voice acting, but this isn't the case. We actually had a bet while streaming on whether it was AI or not - Asset Reliance: It is a short game but at the end, around the part you go the library to retrieve the code, it's pretty noticeable that the game relies on store assets (the ritual room's door is a subway door, seriously?) - Performance: It wasn't terrible, game played smoothly on stream but I couldn't get over the fact this game seemed to fully utilize my CPU and GPU (I blame Unreal for this) VEREDICT: - The game has great ideas, but kinda lacks polish. It's not Great but not Terrible either - Then again it's an Indie Game and it's pretty cheap - Recommended if you're into indie horror games

Was Gifted this game on Lurkit. Does the game have hiccups? yes Does the game have good jump scares? Yes Does the Dev have passion for horror games? Absolutely I believe this game is the Devs first game and in all honesty It's really not that bad. A little context about myself, I am a Vtuber who's main niche is horror games, and I can tell by the way the Devs write about their games that they have great passion for the horror Genre. This by no means is a triple A polished game, but playing games from this studio has really caused me to fall in love with indie games. I was normally a type of person that only liked triple A game titles that had a lot of money and huge teams that made the game. But I have really been enjoying this studios games, and each one they make gets better and better. The game is like 5 bucks and made by a small crew, considering that the game is pretty darn good. This studio really has a passion for horror games and I can tell it with each game they make. All in all I really enjoyed the game. It was pretty fun.

Great jumpscares! Had lots of fun playing this! The ambience was set from the moment I got to the mansion. Though I died before I could finish all the way through I really enjoyed this and the story it told with the environment. I look forward to trying the other horror games that Nebula Nova has to offer!