Horror games don’t always need to rely on loud scares or gory imagery to leave players feeling uneasy. In fact, some of the most disturbing and unnerving experiences come from spaces that feel familiar at first, only to slowly transform into something unrecognizable. That’s where Deadbolt Interactive and Perp Games’ P1: Anchor Light comes in. This unique anomaly-hunting game places players inside a towering art-deco lighthouse, a setting that looks normal at first but lets the mask slip the further players progress.
Game Rant recently interviewed P1: Anchor Light lead game designer Antonio Alvarado and Perp Games head of production and design Grant Wilde about how the anomaly-hunting game uses its atmosphere, mechanics, and storytelling to produce something that feels different from others in the genre. During the interview, they discussed the inspirations behind the project, the challenges of designing a setting that is both beautiful and unsettling, and how the team wanted each moment to leave players second-guessing themselves the higher they climbed. The following transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Setting P1: Anchor Light Apart in the Anomaly-Hunting Genre
Game Rant: What drew you to anomaly hunting as a genre, and how does your take on it differ from what’s already out there? / Most anomaly games rely on stark, uncanny visuals. How do you maintain the sinister atmosphere while featuring a more refined aesthetic?
Wilde: I’ve always been a very social gamer, and horror is a genre that, despite mainly consisting of single-player experiences, can lend itself very well to playthroughs with friends. I’ve also got a bit of a bad habit of somewhat forcing my closest mates into trying out whatever new fixation my ADHD has led me towards, and as a result, have gotten people who don’t typically like horror into the genre. I guess we’ve all been conditioned from an early age to enjoy spot-the-difference games!
Although there are a lot of great games in the genre, there are also a lot of avenues yet to be explored. Anomaly-hunting games are typically (and purposely) set in fairly “expected” locations, as this can quickly lull players into a false sense of security. It does mean that the spaces themselves are often less interesting to explore, though, and are purely a conduit for anomalies. With P1: Anchor Light, we wanted the space itself to be both inherently intriguing and unsettling; to submerge you into a world that is somewhat familiar, but at the same time alien, and, well, “off.” This innately makes the lighthouse feel sinister, which was a really fun foundation to build anomalies on!
We spent a good chunk of time refining each space to feel both naturalistic and compelling before working on anything else. We then locked down a compelling narrative, the lives of the people who lived there, along with the terrible events they were involved in. This naturally helped bring each area to life, as it was important we reflected their backstories and act as vessels to tell their stories (now that they’re unable to).
The space was also always constructed specifically with light and darkness in mind. I’ve always found the unseen things in the shadows far creepier than what’s plainly in front of you. It leaves you wanting more. We’ve purposely kept spaces darker than in most games, but to balance this, sporadic bursts of bright light both distort and expose what’s unseen. On top of this, we also feel this aspect breathes life into the building, almost as if it’s trying to see in, like it’s watching you. Fun fact! The central event space was inspired by the dramatic entrance hall at Eltham Palace, an art deco mansion down the road from me in Southeast London.
Game Rant: The game is set in a lavish, art-deco lighthouse. What made that the right setting for this type of psychological experience?
Alvarado: There’s a certain discomfort that happens when you step into a space that you were not expecting. The lavish art-deco aesthetic within the space just feels really captivating and brings up so many questions. It’s a space that feels odd, and just wrong. The lighthouse lures you into a false sense of security, which impacts how people first react when they step through the doors. It’s almost like it’s wearing a beautiful mask. What you see isn’t necessarily what you get, and that mask begins to slip and show its true colors the higher you climb.
Game Rant: You’ve cited Dredge and BioShock as inspirations. How do those influences show up in the design, atmosphere, or storytelling?
Alvarado: In the process of designing the lighthouse, we wanted to capture a feeling of uncanniness and mystery as to why the lighthouse even exists at all. BioShock does a perfect job of this with its world, especially with a lot of the subtlety of its environmental storytelling and atmosphere.
Lighthouses, open waters, and mysterious lurking threats are some of the things that capture me and all feature in both games. Although BioShock and Dredge differ in many ways, like their objectives, genres, mechanics, and art style (not to state the obvious), there are additional hints to thalassophobia (fear of deep water) and megalophobia (fear of large objects, like buildings or structures) that feature. Those key influences marry together nicely — psychologically and environmentally — and complement the isolation of the lighthouse, which is where the brain starts to raise those red flags, even though, at first, you aren’t sure why.
The Rules of the Lighthouse
Game Rant: Can you describe how anomaly detection actually works in this game? What sets it apart from other “spot the difference” mechanics?
Wilde: On a base level, it’s very similar. After you’ve scouted the floor, you have a choice between two doors. You take one if the floor is clear and the other if you spot an anomaly. The tension is then taken to the next level with what we eloquently call the “Don’t Move” mechanic (seriously, if you have a better name for this, please let us know!). It’s effectively “grandmother’s footsteps” or “red light, green light,” depending on where in the world you are. Music is constantly piped into the lighthouse through speakers, but it will sometimes cut out, and when it does, you shouldn’t move an inch. If you do, you will be seen and dealt with.
This mechanic is used to heighten the tension in several ways. As there is no way to predict when the music cuts, you will have to always remain vigilant. As a run progresses, the consequence of making a small mistake is greater and, therefore, so is the tension that is drummed up in these sequences.
Another way it adds to the experience is that it forces you to confront anomalies. In a lot of other anomaly-hunting games, if you see an anomaly, you simply turn around to restart a loop. That’s for weaklings. In P1: Anchor Light, you are likely to be left face to face with something very unsettling, knowing that if you move even an inch, it’s curtains. You will regularly be left totally helpless, fighting against the voice in your head shouting “Run, run, run!”
As mentioned earlier, we see the social side of the anomaly horror genre being a big part of the experience, and so we were keen to include some competitive elements for those who want it. We’re both long-term admirers of the speed-running community, and so wanted to add in tools to make different ways to play as accessible as possible. As such, P1: Anchor Light will launch with leaderboards across all modes, as well as an “Endless” mode, which is geared specifically towards competitive play.
Game Rant: You mentioned psychological tension over pure horror. How do player choices or perception play into that tension from moment-to-moment?
Alvarado: The tension begins to build as the anomalies become harder and harder to find. I felt myself questioning if I was making the right decision plenty of times before going through one of the two doors, even though I obviously know what and where the anomalies are. When you make a choice, you’re betting your life on it. One mistake and it’s all over. You start getting paranoid, which I think is pretty neat. We hope that the size of the space and variety of anomalies causes players to trust themselves less and less as they progress — that the space causes them to go a little bit mad.
Game Rant: Does the game feature a progression system, branching outcomes, or any kind of narrative consequences tied to player accuracy?
Alvarado: There is a progression system based on difficulty, which ranges from normal to nightmare. Harder difficulties unlock as you play the game, and the more you play, the more you’re able to piece together the story as more gets revealed. However, this does mean you’ll inevitably spend more time anomaly-hunting and risking every footstep to explore each floor before the music cuts out. We’re guessing that anyone who is psychotic enough to have memorized every inch of the lighthouse and conquered nightmare difficulty, will set their sights on the leaderboards. We’ve created an endless mode where the difficulty will gradually scale as you climb higher, eventually becoming even more of a nightmare than nightmare mode!
Game Rant: Is there a fail state in the traditional sense, or does the game handle failure and success in a more abstract or atmospheric way?
Wilde: There are two ways to fail in P1: Anchor Light. Firstly, if you move during a “Don’t Move” sequence, and secondly, if you choose the wrong door. There are plenty of games out there that feature great jump scares. We wanted to take a different approach. If you’ve messed up, you may not know right away.
Game Rant: How do the visuals evolve as you ascend the lighthouse? Is there a thematic or symbolic arc to the floors players explore?
Wilde: Due to the nature of the game, the contents of the floor must remain the same throughout, but we still wanted players to have a palpable sense of progression. The way we tackled this is by including a brief outside section as a way to ascend the lighthouse. As you climb between floors, you can see you’re getting closer to the top. Not only is this rewarding, but it’s another good way to ramp up tension during runs. Lighthouses are literally a symbol of light and safety. It’s your mission to shut it down, but why?
Game Rant: There is a lot of symbolism in lighthouses. Did that symbolism guide how you designed the world and what the anomalies represent?
Alvarado: When I think of lighthouses, I think of being hopelessly lost at sea, until finally catching a glimpse of the lighthouse. There’s a core theme in the story that revolves around the idea of wanting to be found and wanting the truth to finally see the light. This symbolism is demonstrated by the lighthouse’s beam of light shining into itself as it tries to illuminate all the dark events that happened within.
Game Rant: What role does sound design play in building tension here, especially without relying on loud jump scares?
Alvarado: Sound is essential in this game and plays a crucial role in building tension and atmosphere. The detail in the sound design is meant to keep you engaged and guessing. There are tons of subtle sounds in the game that are like layers that you get to uncover. I think a lot of people will be left doubting themselves the more they ascend the tower, thinking “Did I just hear that?”
Game Rant: What have been some of the most rewarding or unexpected challenges of developing the game?
Alvarado: One of the biggest challenges was coming up with the layout for our looping floor and maintaining that feeling of ascending a giant structure. It was tough coming up with a decently sized space that felt interesting enough to explore repeatedly. Another big challenge was in testing the game’s balancing and difficulty modes to keep things interesting to play. This definitely took a lot of tweaking to get right!
Game Rant: With indie horror so saturated at the moment, how are you approaching visibility, especially with a more subtle experience?
Wilde: If you look at other spot the difference or anomaly-hunting games like An Arcade Full of Cats, for example, there is clearly an appetite for fans of the genre to explore different environments, including more vibrant and cuter ones. Not everyone is a fan of horror, nor do they necessarily want jump scares. P1: Anchor Light offers a juxtaposition of elegance meets the unsettling, much like the cult horror/suspense film The Others, where the story gradually unfolds to reveal a much deeper and harrowing narrative (all without the use of endless jump scares) — subtlety at its finest. This is where P1: Anchor Light fits in and is visibly distinct from others in the space.
The environment, story, and atmosphere of P1: Anchor Light balance on the line of lustrous and opulent, coupled with dark undertones seeping through its facade. It’s begging to have its secrets uncovered, all within a setting that aches to be explored. I’m confident a lot of players will scroll through a list, see a screenshot or our trailer from P1: Anchor Light and think “That looks cool. I want to find out more.”
Game Rant: Do you see this game as a one-off story or part of a larger thematic universe you’d like to explore further?
Alvarado: All of my games are in the same larger thematic universe and are connected/reference each other in one way or another. This is something I’ve envisioned for a long time and have tons of plans for. So, although P1: Anchor Light itself is a one-off story, there’s more to come that continues to explore the core themes around the supernatural and anomalies. Watch this space!
Game Rant: What do you hope players walk away feeling or questioning after they’ve ascended the lighthouse?
Wilde: Due to the nature of having to memorize the lighthouse in detail, it will stick with players in a meaningful way. We may have just fully lost our marbles during development, but to us, the lighthouse provides a sense of familiarity and comfort, along with the unease — we’ve grown attached to the characters and truly want the best for “our boy.”
Although a lot of mysteries can be pieced together through both the anomalies and floppy disks, P1: Anchor Light will still leave players with some questions. I always hide Easter eggs in my projects, and I’m looking forward to seeing if people catch them, as well as how accurate players’ theories are around the stories within the lighthouse and the greater narrative, especially as more will be revealed in future titles.
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P1: Anchor Light launches on PC via Steam on September 9, 2025, PlayStation on October 14, 2025, and Xbox on November 11, 2025.
