Detective Zeke Reynold receives a distress call from Marianne Lambert, an elderly woman who has not heard from her friend Eleanor Robertson in almost two weeks. When Zeke goes to investigate at Eleanor’s farmhouse, what seems like a simple missing person case spirals into something surreal and horrifying. Strange growths, distorted reality, and eerie signs suggest there is more at play than just someone vanishing. As Zeke explores the environs, he becomes bound to the mysteries of Lake Haven haunted by memories, visions, and whispers that hint at a darker underlying secret.
Lake Haven: Chrysalis was both developed and published by Encrypt Games. It released on January 18, 2023 for PC (Windows) via Steam and itch.io. The game serves as a prologue or foreword chapter to a larger upcoming title called Lake Haven. Designed to evoke PS1 era survival horror, it blends atmospheric exploration, puzzle solving, and mystery rather than intense combat. Players are invited into a dark, psychological world where every detail visual, narrative, environmental matters for uncovering what went wrong in Lake Haven.
Gameplay
You play as Detective Zeke Reynold as he investigates the farmhouse, searching for clues about Eleanor’s disappearance. Gameplay is focused on exploration and investigation, finding items, solving environmental puzzles, and interpreting notes and documents to piece together what has happened. There is minimal combat; the emphasis instead is on vulnerability, suspense, and the dread of the unknown. Inventory is limited and every item feels meaningful. The fixed camera angles and occasional backtracking add to the sense of tension and uncertainty. You must navigate both the familiar and the uncanny as reality begins to warp around you.
Visuals & Style
The aesthetic strongly channels the look and feel of classic PS1 horror games. Environments are low-poly, textures are deliberately rough, lighting is moody and shadow heavy, and design leans into the uncanny disquieting geometry, unsettling growths, and subtle distortion of familiar places. Sound design is atmospheric: echoes in empty rooms, distant creaks, ambient hums, and muted environmental noise keep the player uneasy. Fixed cameras and predefined viewpoints enhance a cinematic, voyeuristic sense that something unseen may be observing you. The style is retro but thoughtful, using nostalgia to enhance horror rather than simply mimic it.
Importance in Survival Horror History
Though modest in scope, Chrysalis exemplifies an important trend in indie horror: the resurrection of survival horror’s core mechanics and mood. It puts vulnerability at the forefront, minimizes combat, uses puzzles and environmental storytelling as its spine, and builds dread through design more than jump scares.It feels like a love letter to Silent Hill 1, It also shows how a developer can draw inspiration from classics like Silent Hill while starting to carve their own identity through atmosphere, mystery, and surrealism. As a prologue, it lays groundwork not just for its sequel but for how small budget horror can still be deeply immersive and frightening.
Reception vs Historical Value
Player response to Lake Haven: Chrysalis has been strongly positive. Reviewers praise its atmosphere, art style, and how well it recreates the feeling of old school psychological horror. Some criticism emerges around occasional pacing issues, somewhat vague puzzle directions, and the short length. But overall, for its price it is considered a high value and compelling prologue. Historically it may be remembered less for its scale and more for its contribution to the indie survival horror wave especially as an example of doing more with less and keeping tension alive in minimal environments.
Availability & Collectibility
The game is available digitally on PC. It is inexpensive and intended as a prologue, but its design, art, and narrative promise make it of interest to collectors of indie horror and retro styled games. Chrysalis itself may become a cult favorite among those who cherish PS1 horror aesthetics and atmospheric mystery. For those who follow horror games’ evolution, it stands as a steppingstone to what Lake Haven promises to become.
Get it on:
Steam: Lake Haven – Chrysalis on Steam
Trailer: