Review
After years of waiting and uncertainty, Silent Hill f restores the popular horror series to its former glory
by Cassie Mammone
Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek – survival horror for kids
29-8-2025
Translation: Eva Francis
Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek is neither a particularly scary nor original survival horror video game. But as a fan of the Goosebumps franchise, I still enjoyed it.
I’m probably a bit too old for Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek. The game’s designed for young people who like the Goosebumps franchise or simply enjoy a scary story. That’s why the survival horror game lacks gruesome moments or highly complex gameplay.
If you fit into the aforementioned target group, are familiar with the novels from your childhood or fancy a light-hearted survival horror game, you’ll have a good time in Little Creek, even if you’re a grown-up.
Monster invasion in a small town
Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek doesn’t come with a long-winded intro, but throws me straight into the adventure. In the role of teenager Sloane Spencer, I’m out at night with my three friends. That’s something we shouldn’t be doing, as the small town of Little Creek’s under lockdown.
Why? Nobody knows – and we four youngsters want to find out. So we set off for the local library to find clues. What our parents are doing in the meantime and whether they find out what their kids are up to is unclear – and it doesn’t really matter either.
Shortly after visiting the library, the streets of Little Creek are invaded by monsters. It’s high time to find out where they came from and chase them away from our beloved hometown.
Simplified survival horror gameplay
The process of uncovering the secrets of Little Creek and its inhabitants is simple and modelled on games such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill.
I navigate through the small town, looking for objects and solving puzzles to unlock new locations and buildings such as the theatre or the museum. My path unfolds gradually, making it easy to find my way. I use a bolt cutter to unlock doors or a shovel to dig up graves and find coins, which I then have to attach to a gargoyle in a certain order. The game covers all the basics of the survival horror genre. Even the typewriter for saving was taken from Resident Evil.
By finding a magic book, Sloane also gets magic powers. During my investigations, I find symbols that correspond to a specific pattern. When I’m standing in front of a symbol, I take out my spell book and copy the pattern. Again, this is a very simple puzzle mechanic.
Unlike with other games from this genre, my brain is hardly challenged. But with the right expectations, I still enjoy the more or less five hours of gaming. The controls and graphics are good. The game won’t win any awards for the most beautiful and elaborate design, but the Steam version runs smoothly on PC without lags or other issues.
I hunt monsters and they hunt me
In a survival horror game, fighting monsters is a must. These fights are also quite easy to win. During my time in Little Creek, I only encounter two or three types of monsters – excluding the three title monsters featured prominently on the cover and in trailers.
I can avoid monsters, sneak away from them, or fight them with Sloane’s reliable slingshot and five types of ammunition. I use the regular pellets to trigger switches, while the powerful pellets kill monsters. The firecracker pellets even fight off entire groups of smaller monsters. If I want to distract them and hide, I use the noise-maker and smoke pellets.
The monsters in Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek are very classic. It doesn’t take me long to realise their AI isn’t the brightest. I can often run behind or even beside them without them noticing me. And even if they do notice me, they can hardly keep up and are quickly outdistanced.
Only the three larger monsters – the phantom, the mummy and a surprise one – are a bit more skilful. They spot me from far away and stay close on my heels. That gets quite stressful, especially in the last major section of the game.
The Goosebumps franchise is horror for kids
One thing’s for sure: as a grown-up horror fan, I’m not the target audience for Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek. With its easy-to-follow mystery plot, simple puzzles and monster fights, it’s mainly aimed at kids. But why develop a horror game for children?
The video game is based on the Goosebumps book series by American author R.L. Stine. In the 1990s, he wrote over 60 short stories that were very popular with children and young adults.
The brand remains present today through series, films and video games, but its heyday is clearly over. Nevertheless, the Goosebumps books have sold over 400 million copies to date, making them the second most successful book series in the world.
The theme song of the old Goosebumps series perfectly captures the nostalgia of the 1990s (including a dog with glowing eyes):
I was a massive fan when I was a child. Back then, the first book I got from the school library was Goosebumps: Checkout Time at the Dead-End Hotel. Years later, I read the book it was clearly based on – The Shining by Stephen King.
I loved the Goosebumps books, so I couldn’t wait to play the Goosebump video game and experience a bit of nostalgia. And I did, even if it wasn’t in the form of familiar characters, locations or stories. Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek strikes a similar chord to the books from many years ago – including the dark twist at the end of the game.
Header image: GameMill Entertainment
In a nutshell
Survival horror video game for children – simple but entertaining
If you’re a die-hard horror fan, you probably won’t warm to Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek. The puzzles and monster battles are pretty basic. Even the storyline is linear and with foreseeable twists – until shortly before the end.
However, that’s perfectly fine. After all, die-hard horror fans aren’t the target audience for Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek. Instead, the game’s likely to speak to kids and Goosebumps franchise nostalgics.
In around five hours of gameplay, you can expect the entire survival horror repertoire. And if you want to share your love for the genre with your little ones without scaring them too much, this game’s perfect. Just be aware that once you start, you’ll be hooked.
Pro
- No entry obstacle in the gameplay
- Simple and charming horror story
Contra
- Basic gameplay, not for genre pros
- Overall experience too simple for adults
Cassie Mammone
Freelance Editor
cassie.mammone.freelance@gmail.comI wrote my first text about video games when I was eight years old. I haven't been able to stop since. The rest of my time is spent on my love for 2D husbandos, monsters, my cats and sport.
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