Look Outside is the craziest and most unique game I have played all year. The game’s premise is that a strange phenomenon has caused anyone who looks outside to warp and mutate in strange, monstrous ways, and you must survive in your apartment building for 15 days until it passes. The indie survival-horror RPG was first released by Francis Coulombe, the single primary developer, in March 2025; after a string of smaller patches, it received its 2.0 “Final Vision” update this Halloween. The game received new areas, enemies, story content and endings, and feels more than worthy of its title as Coulombe’s “final vision,” especially at a price of only $10.
What stands out most about the game is its incredible visual design and the sheer variety it offers. While pixel art itself is nothing new to the genre, Look Outside’s is cartoonish, grotesque, but also detailed in a way I’ve not seen from any other. The enemy designs tend to lean very heavily into body horror, and have the most variety I have seen in any single game, following themes like “teeth,” “eyes,” or “taxidermy” — no two areas will have enemies that are completely the same.
These creature designs are even better supported by the apartment building itself, where most of the different apartments and areas of the map are given a specific theme, and work as unique set pieces for their fights. For example, there is one apartment that devolves into an entire warzone, and a parking garage with hostile vehicles, and one set piece that’s referred to as “Rat Hell.” In this way, the building itself is used to organize the game’s menagerie of monsters, and facilitate them as parts of a dungeon. From the enemies to the areas, the game just keeps you guessing as to what horror you’ll face next, and its strongest aspect is the feeling of crawling through apartments worrying about how you’ll survive them.
However, just because the people can be monstrous, that doesn’t mean they have to be monsters. Where Look Outside sets itself apart from many other horror games is in its friendly NPCs; humans, but also monsters who have retained their sanity. You can talk to, trade with, and even recruit a variety of weirdos as companions — some examples being an actual living vending machine, a sentient swarm of roaches, and an average social media influencer. The characters, along with your apartment (your home base) and other safe areas, serve as a reminder that life goes on despite the apocalypse outside.
This touches on my favorite aspect of Look Outside: its optimism. Many horror games are darker or more hopeless in their narrative, ending in sad or bittersweet ways. Look Outside has its fair share of darkness, and some equally dark and cosmic horror-filled endings, but it also gives you the freedom to fight for something better. In addition to simply surviving the 15 days, you get the option to save people along the way. You can delve deeper, fight harder, and ultimately find a happy ending for the apocalyptic Earth.
While I do have some minor complaints about the combat — mainly the weapon breaking mechanic, and inability to swap weapons during a fight — there are also truly crazy and memorable fights due to the frequently-used transformation mechanic, where enemies will gain new phases and new art as the battle intensifies. This is something that is helped by the new “Cursed Mode” difficulty, which makes fights and floor layouts tougher, adds new content, and generally keeps the game interesting for players already very familiar with it.
Look Outside’s visual design and writing make it a must-play game for anyone interested in horror games or RPGs. Even for those not as familiar with the genre, with the game costing only $10 or less when on sale, it could be worth a shot. Look Outside is an example of how all you need to make a great game is the right creative vision and the dedication to make it happen, and I look forward to the game Coulombe turns his vision to next.
