The Upturned

A night at a bizarre vertical hotel turns into a surreal survival trip where simply reaching your room becomes an escalating nightmare. The Upturned blends first-person horror, exploration, and deliberately absurd comedy, placing you in an inn whose elevator opens onto wildly different and increasingly unsettling floors. A storm gathers outside, cosmic danger creeps closer, and the building’s strange residents make it clear that guests are not always welcome. The tone constantly shifts between cartoonish slapstick and genuine unease, making every new hallway feel unpredictable.

Movement and improvisation drive the experience: you hop around cluttered environments, hunt for ways forward, and grab almost any loose object to throw at threats. Furniture is both a defensive tool and a source of chaos, while birds can become unexpectedly useful projectiles when the situation gets desperate. Each monster behaves differently, so survival is not just about running away; some creatures stalk, some obstruct paths, and others require players to read their peculiar intentions before acting. Progress comes through exploring themed areas, solving environmental obstacles, and speaking with Ik, the inn’s unsettling founder, whose conversations can influence whether certain characters survive.

Its greatest strength is how confidently it embraces nonsense without losing its horror-game tension. One floor can resemble a glassworks, the next an aquarium, a deserted mall, or a warped Wild West set, giving the compact adventure the unpredictable variety of a fever dream. The distinctive low-poly visual style, expressive creature designs, and original soundtrack reinforce the feeling of playing through an animated nightmare made by someone with a very strange sense of humor. Fans of indie horror such as Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion, Lethal Company, or other Zeekerss projects should feel immediately at home, while newcomers who prefer strange stories over punishing scares can enjoy its short, inventive ride.