Goosebumps and R.L. Stine has never really been all that popular here in the U.K. I understand that the IP is massively popular in the U.S. though. You see, the Yanks had R.L. Stine, but here in the U.K., we had Roald Dahl. Still, Goosebumps does seem to be getting a bit more traction in recent years. The Jack Black films from a few years ago helped with that. Anyway, the point is that the franchise looks like it it getting noticed a bit more outside of America these days and there have been several videogames based on IP in the past. Developer PHL Collective and publisher GameMill Entertainment are the most recent to attempt to adapt the popular book series into a game with Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek.

“Enter the chilling world of Goosebumps in Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek! Step into the shoes of Sloane Spencer, a young teen caught in a town of nightmares, as you unravel eerie mysteries, confront sinister monsters, and navigate haunted locations inspired by R.L. Stine’s legendary book series. Solve puzzles, evade creatures, and uncover the dark secrets lurking in the shadows—all while experiencing the Goosebumps signature blend of spooky adventure and playful twists that has captivated millions of fans both young and young at heart.”

The main thing to keep in mind with Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek is that, much like the books, it is aimed at a younger audience. As a result, you do get a very uncomplicated title that is fine for the youngsters to follow, but one that is way too easy for us older gamers. Thankfully, I am a father of two young children, so I can see both sides for this review. Think of it as Silent Hill, but with a far less intense horror vibe. This is not a scary game, but it does have a kid-friendly creepy feel. You play as the teenager, Sloane in the titular small town of Little Creek. There’s a strict curfew in place with nobody allowed out after dark. However, Sloane, along with several friends, believe that something strange is going on and want to know why there’s a curfew in place to begin with.

The basic gameplay in Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek features exploration, some combat, plenty of stealth and large dose of puzzle solving. You get to freely explore smaller/semi-open world hubs of the town. While there is always one specific location that you need to go to, you are free to walk around and see what you can find. The combat in the game is in the form of a slingshot. This slingshot comes with various different pellets (ammo) to find and use. You have a basic and unlimited pellet that does very little damage. Then there are other pellets that are in limited quantities, but offer various attributes such as fireworks, smoke and harder hitting ones.

The stealth game mechanic pretty simple stuff. You can squat down and hide behind the scenery. You can also hide under tables, in wardrobes, trashcans and such. If you are spotted by one of the game’s various enemies, you can choose to stand and fight with the slingshot, or run and hide. It’s all very uncomplicated and familiar if you have ever played a similar stealthy game, but things have been simplified for the younger audience. The puzzle elements of Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek really is the game’s strong point. Once more, very much simplified for kids, but the puzzles don’t insult the intended audience by too easy. The old grey matter will have to be used, so don’t be surprised if your little ‘un hands you the controller now and then and asks “Dad, can you help me?”. Honestly, even I had to think for a minute or two when dealing with some of the game’s puzzles.

I have a few niggles. First, the slingshot combat is dull. Even with the various pellets to find and use, hitting enemies with slingshot ammo never gets any more interesting that that. It’s also rather awkward and unfair. You have to hold down the button for the slingshot to do any real damage (like a real slingshot) but by the time you’ve done that, the enemy would got a hit or two in. You’re better off just running away and hiding instead of fighting, which makes the combat element of the game utterly pointless. I think a melee option would’ve been nice for close combat. You have to manually save via a typewriter (Resident Evil style, but without having to worry about ink ribbons). There is an auto save feature, but only after you have done something major to advance the story. The issue with the manual saving is… this is a kids’ game and kids aren’t going to remember to save, they just want to play. So a death here can send you back quite a ways if you haven’t saved… and kids won’t.

Other niggles include the fact that Sloane is quite slow to control and there is a ton of walking around to do. There is a run button, but the run is more like a very, very slightly faster walk than a run. There is a fast travel system… kind of. You’ll eventually gain the ability to use special runes to open up tunnels that work as fast travel… kind of. The issue is that you can’t freely fast travel and the tunnels only work as one very specific location to another very specific location. You have to know where the tunnel will lead before you use it, and try remember which tunnel leads where (as the game doesn’t tell you). Again, kids’ game and kids aren’t going to remember any of that.

With a price tag of around £35, I think that’s a wee bit too much to hand over for this one. Goosebumps: Terror in Little Creek is a pretty decent game and a great introduction to the horror genre for a younger crowd, but it’s not £35 good. The creepy atmosphere is very well done. How accurate it is to the Goosebumps IP, I could not tell you. As I said in the introduction, R.L. Stine and Goosebumps are just not that popular here in the U.K., so I have no basis for comparison. I can only tell you that the world in the game is done very well and you’ll be exploring dark neighbourhoods, creepy museums, mysterious churches/graveyards, and so on. The tone is great and while not outright scary, the mood seems perfect for a “horror” game aimed at youngsters.

The combat is the game’s major downside, but the pretty great and varied puzzles more than make up for it. There’s a pretty fun story too. I do have one thing to ponder on. Why was this released in August instead of holding back for a couple of months and releasing it in October, ready for Halloween instead? Still, this’ll probably come down in price by then and if you have a young gamer, I reckon this’ll be a great title to play over the spooky season for some family fun. Available now on PC and all of the consoles… but maybe wait until October before buying it.