Captured is an excellent example of how simplicity and creativity can build something unforgettable.
Captured is one of those games that grips you from the very first minute. It takes a simple premise, wraps it in tension, and forces you to stare at every detail until your brain feels like it might crack. I absolutely loved my time with it. What looks on the surface like a quiet walk around a perfectly ordinary American suburban home quickly becomes a psychological nightmare where reality bends, demons lurk, and the only way out is by spotting the impossible.
At its heart, Captured is a looping horror experience that feels both familiar and fresh. You are stuck inside a suburban home with multiple rooms, hallways, and cozy little nooks that feel lived in. The catch is that this house is not stable. Each time you walk through it, small and large anomalies appear, bending the rules of logic and warping your perception. The only way to break free is to capture and identify these anomalies correctly.
Your task is simple on paper: spot thirteen anomalies across multiple loops and you win. In practice, it is much more complex. Each loop of the house might hide up to three or four strange changes. These can be as small as a flickering lamp in the living room or as dramatic as an entire room vanishing or transforming into something completely foreign. The loop keeps pushing you forward, making every circuit around the house feel heavier, more claustrophobic, and more uncertain.
The gameplay revolves entirely around observation. You are given no weapons, no puzzle items, no combat system. All you have is your memory and your ability to notice when something is wrong. Each room in the house contains a set of objects, furniture, appliances, and decorations. On your first few loops, you will find yourself mentally cataloging everything. Was that painting always crooked? Did the kitchen always have four chairs? Was there always a plant on the nightstand?
This is where Captured shines. The anomalies come in many forms. Some are subtle, like a radio quietly turning on by itself or a faucet dripping when you know it was dry before. Others are absurd, like toilets showing up in the middle of the dining room or the office suddenly hosting multiple chairs. There are water-based anomalies too, where sinks and bathtubs overflow or entire rooms flood ankle-deep. And then there are the big ones, the ones that make you stop in your tracks. Entire rooms can vanish, warp, or even lead into bizarre alternate spaces. One moment you open a bedroom door, and instead of a cozy bed, you step into the endless pools of well, Pools. Another time, a laundry room transforms into a neon-lit laundromat, a playful nod to another beloved indie game, Arcade Paradise. These moments are shocking, funny, and sometimes chilling.
Then there are the demons. Unlike the passive anomalies that just sit there, these things stalk you. There are different types of them, one will stalk you, one moves when you don't shine a light on it and so one. If you are unlucky enough to encounter one, you need to run or face a brutal end. They can be quite scary, adding a sudden jolt of panic into an otherwise methodical experience. They are not constant, but when they appear, they make you feel like prey in your own home.
Each loop is a chance to prove your observation skills. Spot enough anomalies, record them correctly, and you inch closer to freedom. Fail to notice them, and the house resets, forcing you to try again. The beauty of this system is that failure never feels punishing. It is actually part of the fun. Even when you miss one, you are rewarded with new sights and strange occurrences that keep the experience fresh.
Technically, you can finish the game in half an hour if you are sharp enough to identify anomalies in each loop. But the real joy comes from taking it slowly, letting yourself wander, and just seeing what the game will throw at you next. The game even teases you a bit, with a friendly demon at the start of each loop telling you that you will likely miss one. That tongue-in-cheek approach makes the experience feel playful despite its horror roots.
Captured's presentation is perfect for what it tries to achieve. The suburban house is ordinary, almost boring at first glance. Wooden floors, beige walls, everyday furniture. It is precisely this normality that makes the anomalies pop so strongly. When something shifts, you notice it immediately, and your brain cannot unsee it. The house becomes a character in its own right, constantly betraying you.
The lighting deserves special mention. Shadows play tricks on your eyes, lamps flicker in unsettling rhythms, and sometimes darkness swallows entire corners of the house. Audio design adds another layer. Creaking floorboards, distant hums, sudden silences, and distorted sounds from televisions or radios make every loop unpredictable. The demons, when they arrive, break that silence with horrifying clarity.
What impressed me most was the way the game injects personality into the anomalies. The bizarre appearances of rooms from other indie games are delightful surprises, almost like hidden postcards from another world. They make you smile and feel uneasy at the same time, which is exactly the strange cocktail of emotions Captured thrives on.
Captured on PS5 is an excellent example of how simplicity and creativity can build something unforgettable. It does not need elaborate combat systems or sprawling open worlds. Instead, it gives you a house, a loop, and a series of impossible changes that turn the mundane into the extraordinary. The constant tension of spotting anomalies, the playful inclusion of absurd or surreal twists, and the occasional heart-stopping demon encounter combine to create a horror experience that feels both fresh and deeply engaging.
It is short, sharp, and endlessly replayable. Every loop feels like a new challenge, every anomaly feels like a small victory, and every failure just pushes you to try again. For me, Captured was not just a game, it was a test of focus, memory, and nerves. And I loved every second of it.
If you are looking for something different on PS5, something that blends horror, puzzle, and psychological tension into a tight, compelling package, Captured is absolutely worth your time. Oh and also, this would be amazing as a VR game, just sayin' dev, if you are reading this. Thanks for reading!
The game was reviewed on a PS5 via a promo copy provided by the publisher. Captured is available on PS5, PC and soon on Xbox Series.
