A few weeks ago, I had the distinct pleasure of picking up the Humble Indie Bundle, a limited time offer of five excellent independently produced games at a pay-what-you-want price and you chose how much of your contribution went straight to the developers or to charity. I can say with absolute certainty that the most terrifying game of these wonderful gems is Penumbra: Overture, the first chapter of an ongoing episodic game series. As Philip, you explore a mysterious hatch in the middle of the arctic following your mother's death. Inside the hatch is a research facility with secrets about your father (who left when you were a child and was presumed dead) that you may not want revealed.

Penumbra developer Frictional Games took a large cue from Myst-like puzzle solving games. You walk around the mysterious facility, looking and interacting with objects to move on to new areas where you solve more puzzles to get to your eventual goal. Possibly the biggest parallel to Myst is that the game throws you right into the thick of things with very little explanation of how or why you got there and what, if anything, you're supposed to do. Exploration is paramount in this game, as you must know your surroundings and your capabilities very well in order to succeed. The game does a good job of introducing you to your key items - the light sources, the hammer and a few other key pieces in your inventory that help you on your way.

Penumbra plays very much like Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, a first-person role-playing game, but don't expect any relaxation from this particular game. The biggest difference between the two, in fact, is the lack of combat or weapons. While Philip can pick up certain objects to throw defensively at some of the most terrifying creatures you've ever seen, the main objective is to sneak by them without conflict. Hiding is no small feat as these enemies are smart and they want your blood. They react to noise and movement, and since Philip is pretty squeamish, the only real solution to hearing any enemy is to hide. A lot. Hiding involves crouching, hanging out in the dark and letting your field of vision go blue. If you look at the enemy who's stalking you, Philip will jump up in a panic.

Long story short, this is not a game you're going to want to play in the dark with the curtains drawn in the dead of night. This game's ambiance makes Resident Evil seem like Hello Kitty's Pretty Pony Adventure. Most of what you're doing takes place in the dark and shadows of the abandoned facility. You'll recover lost pages of research to give you a better idea of what went on here. Early on, you'll encounter giant spiders who drag away the bloodied corpses of human beings.

Yeah, it's really not a game for the kids.

Casual gamers may delight in the puzzle element of the game - most of them are actually quite clever and require a massive amount of thought with a healthy dose of ingenuity and quickness. However, the scare and suspense factor may be a major downside. One of the puzzles actually made Philip die multiple times before I even came close to the correct solution. Even then, it took a few more times for me to get it within the time limit. The real strength of this game comes with its ability to tell an interactive story.

Penumbra's writing really sets it apart from some of the other games out there. As you play the game, it compels you to play even more of it, as you really want to find out where Philip is and what he's gotten himself into. Graphically, it's definitely up there in the visual department. The shadows and textures of every object and environment really stand out, but it's the sound design and music that really make this game what it is. You'll hear the skittering of spider legs that will make you jump in your seat as ominous tones play in the background. The growl of the evil dog that stalks you through the early levels will send you into a panic. It's almost as though Frictional Games took every phobia they could think of and made it more terrifying.

As mentioned before, this is not a game for the feint of heart. However, if you enjoy problem solving with a heavy impetus to do it right, Penumbra just might be the game for you - and at a $20 price tag for the full experience, it's definitely one of the cheaper experiences of this caliber.