Circus of Pain
Jen's Review
Circus of Pain sits in a genre that I’m personally not super drawn to. I’m not a huge fan of circus or clown horror games—and that’s not because I’m scared of them. Honestly, it’s the opposite. They just don’t really scare me, so they don’t always hit that “good horror” sweet spot for me.
That said—that does NOT mean this was a bad game. Because it wasn’t.
Personal preferences aside, I actually had a really good time playing this. The scenery was genuinely cool, and the way the map was laid out made exploring fun. There were a lot of interesting locations and set pieces that kept things visually engaging the whole way through.
For most people, this game is probably going to be very scary. But then again… I play horror games for a living, so my fear meter is a little broken.
Gameplay? Solid. Graphics? Very nice. Story? Better than I expected, honestly.
Even though circus horror isn’t usually my thing, Circus of Pain won me over on execution alone. I enjoyed it, and I’d absolutely recommend it—not based on my personal theme preferences, but based on the quality of the game itself.
If you like creepy environments, unsettling visuals, and a well-put-together horror experience, this one is worth checking out. 🎪👀
Kayla's Review
Jen recommended Circus of Pain to me one night when I was being indecisive about what I wanted to play and stream. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It wasn’t the scariest or the best game I’ve ever played but I do feel like it was done pretty dang well.
First of all, I’m the opposite of Jen and I am TERRIFIED of clowns. To this day I remember the whole 2016 clown craze where people were dressing as clowns and standing at edges of fields starring blankly with weapons all over the country. I also remember IT. I remember the very first haunted house I went to when I was a kid and being chased by one with a chainsaw. So… yeah, I don’t love clowns. That aspect in itself made the game super unsettling for me.
What I enjoyed with this one was the way it was structured and the fact that it WASN’T just a bunch of spammy clown jumpscares. This game had LOTS of puzzles throughout- they weren’t impossible, but they made you think and were challenging enough to make them fun to work through with chat.
The entire game flowed super well, the mechanics were very smooth, and this one actually had a decent storyline that I didn’t expect to pull at the heart strings a bit. There were times where the story was getting a bit lost in the puzzles, but at the same time, I think that was intentional.
Remember when I said there weren’t a bunch of spammy jumpscares? That’s true. However, the jumpscares that do live in this game they hit and they hit well and far better than any other clown based game I’ve played.
Overall, I ended up really enjoying this one. If you’re looking for a game that isn’t super lengthy or time consuming that makes you think, has hard hitting scares AND a story line that is super affordable, Circus of Pain is a great choice.
