DaRmaZat P1: Anchor Light, now available on PC and coming soon to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, isn’t your standard horror game. Instead, it mixes memory tests, reflex-based survival, and eerie audiovisual tricks into a run-based challenge set in an extravagant lighthouse. Behind its opulent façade lies a corrupted beacon, one whose light no longer guides sailors to safety but threatens to unravel reality itself. Your task? Shut it down—quietly, cautiously, and before its madness spreads further.
A Game of Memory…
At its core, P1: Anchor Light is a memory-driven anomaly hunt wrapped in a tense survival loop. Each run begins with a clear baseline: the first floor of the lighthouse as you first encounter it. You’re instructed to memorize every detail, because on each higher floor you must decide whether what you see still matches your memory. If even a single room remains unchanged, you step through the door marked with a green light. If you sense an anomaly, you choose red. String together nine correct choices and you’ll reach the top, shutting down the beacon. Get it wrong, though, and the punishment is immediate—collapsing staircases, murderous mannequins—all ending in a sudden reset back to the lobby.
Of course, Anchor Light‘s sound is crucial to the experience. A soundtrack that seems borrowed straight from BioShock’s vinyl era sets the mood, but its true weapon is unpredictability. The music can cut mid-track without warning, instantly freezing your blood as you scramble not to move. Doors rattle, whispers bleed through walls, mannequins click their wooden jaws as you pass—each cue a hint, a distraction, or both. At its best, the audio aligns perfectly with the tension on screen, and you learn to listen as closely as you look.
… and Fast Reflexes
Adding to the tension is the infamous “don’t move” mechanic. When weird voices start counting or yelling, or when the vintage lounge music abruptly cuts out, you must freeze instantly—hands off all controls—or a wooden arm will snatch you from behind, ending you instantly. The system is simple but ruthlessly effective, forcing you to stay hyper-aware. Wrong moves, even something as small as stepping on unstable flooring, mean a restart.
What makes it fascinating is how much the game blurs the line between atmosphere and mechanics. Anomalies aren’t always obvious: sometimes doors rattle with unseen hands tugging at them, sometimes entire rooms appear wrong, other times nothing gives itself away at all. The real challenge is that not every “strange” thing counts; only differences from your memorized baseline matter. It’s a haunting twist on spot-the-difference that requires both patience and razor-sharp focus.
Screams, Frightening Mannequins, and Other Tricks
Visually, Anchor Light strikes a bold balance. Its lavish architecture feels almost too grand for a horror setting, which makes the distortions and intrusions stand out even more. Mannequins, Greek statues, and odd distortions jolt you when least expected, and stairways that collapse beneath your feet reinforce the unpredictability of every step. The user interface, meanwhile, is responsive and modern, offering generous options for resolution scaling and frame generation. Yet even with its sharp image quality and stable framerate, the speed of camera rotation—especially on tight staircases—can feel overwhelming and will take fine-tuning for many players.
P1: Anchor Light also runs extremely smoothly, with high framerates and sharp resolution scaling. Actually, the only consistent issue with the controls is the twitchy feel of camera rotation on spiral staircases, which might frustrate someone sensitive to fast motion.
Final Thoughts
P1: Anchor Light is a small, strange, but memorable game—an oddity in the best sense: a hybrid of memory puzzle, survival reflex test, and audiovisual mind game. It’s original, creepy, and occasionally maddening, especially when anomalies are nearly impossible to pinpoint. Since the rooms don’t change drastically, runs can feel repetitive once you’ve mastered the lighthouse climb, and long-term replayability may lean heavily on leaderboard competition. Yet for players willing to embrace its eerie rhythm—observe, memorize, freeze, decide—it delivers a singular horror experience.
Additional Information
Release Date: Sep 10, 2025
Reviewed On: PC. Download code provided by the publisher and PR agency.
Developer: Deadbolt Interactive
Publisher: Perp Games
Website: P1: Anchor Light
Relevant links: P1: Anchor Light on Steam
