Two years have passed since we last heard from developer Frostwood Interactive, with their last release, ‘Unwording’, back in 2023. Now, the return with a thriller-throwback to the 90s style game, ‘Shutter Story’. Although only a preview/demo is available at the moment, it’s enough to keep the thrills, chills, and Photoshop skills on the cutting edge until the full release.
So, grab your Polaroids, load up your Windows 98 memories, and let’s explore Shutter Story.
After arriving at your friend Eli’s house for dinner, the talk-over-food quickly turns sour, with Eli mentioning various obscure and borderline-supernatural events occurring in and around the house. As quickly as it was brought up, it was shut down just as fast by Eli’s mother, as she denies the stories, claiming her son has a vivid imagination.
But there’s a twist: Eli has photographic proof!
As you boot up Eli’s computer, he asks if you brought the new photo editing program, SpectralAware 2.1, which has been designed to identify and reveal various supernatural entities, ranging from ghosts, shadows, spectres, markings and more.
The majority of Shutter Story has you seated at Eli’s computer/in the editing chair, changing a few sliders and scales to hopefully reveal the next entity. Starting with the basic editing markers (Brightness, Contrast, Exposure, Noise Filter, etc.), which you use to tag and classify which extra-terrestrial you’ve discovered, the in-game program updates over time, unlocking new options and editing features which help to reveal new, stranger apparitions.
The other half of the game will see an editing intermission/story advancement with various situations affecting the household, causing you to leave the in-game edits and attend to Eli, his family, and the developing supernatural shakedown. During the demo, black markings have strained, or possibly been burnt into the family wall, only for cracks to appear, releasing a non-stop cavalcade of earthworms! Creepy!
The game provides you with simple arrow keys/WASD combo keys for movement, alongside on-screen text and prompt key notifications showcasing who, or what, you can interact with. The in-game software is relatively simple to use, relying more on your real-life detection skills than on a built-in feature.
Shutter Story’s graphics are a throwback to the early 2000’s era of gaming, where character expressions were newly implemented, yet heavily exaggerated. Think ‘The Sims 2′ or ‘WWE: Here Comes the Pain’ cutscenes, with eyebrows and facial expressions that are borderline comical, but when used in Shutter Story’s world, they are somewhat suited, keeping both the immersion and fear at an all-time high.
The star of the show is the SpectralAware 2.1 program, with its dated, retro layout and onscreen button display and sliders. Even after unlocking video footage to scan through, the footage itself is grainy, with buffering/frame skips, and alternating audio levels that perfectly reflect some of the trials and tribulations that came alongside real-life video editing during that era.
The sounds are creatively used and injected into the game when needed. As you’re mainly editing throughout the game, a soundtrack does help keep the clicks, slides and the frequent pause button on the footage noises at bay. There are dramatic bass drop beats to help emphasise the story, with foley and other SFXs suited for its designated art style.
With Q2-mid 2026 set for the full release, Shutter Story is already shaping up to be a noticeable, popular cult horror game. Frostwood Interactive are currently running a Kickstarter to help fund and support the development, which you can find here.
With a few touch-ups and some updates to the in-game editing software, the game could stand on its own, even becoming a leader in the investigative horror genre.
