Unsealed: The Mare is a first-person psychological horror game where you play as Vera, a character trapped in a nightmare linked to her family’s tragic past. What begins as a search for answers gradually transforms into a struggle against a nightmare shaped by memory, loss, and something unsettlingly personal.
The game is developed and published by Gamhalla, led by solo developer Simon Andersson. It draws heavy inspiration from the developer’s personal struggles with sleep paralysis and recurring nightmares. Because the game is shaped by personal experience, that influence can be felt throughout the entire journey. The game takes place over three chapters, each adding new mechanics and increasing the challenge.
I recently had the chance to review Unsealed: The Mare, and I’m surprised by what the game has to offer. Andersson has ensured that players can feel everything he felt when experiencing the nightmares, all within a game that lasts a few hours. It’s this sense of raw originality that helps the title stand out among many indie horror releases.
Story
The story of the game is quite intriguing: you play as Vera, a character trapped between dreams and memories, where reality is heavily blurred, leading players into a terrifying nightmare until the truth is finally uncovered. Unsealed: The Mare features two modes, Stalker and Hunted. The former is more forgiving and takes less time to complete, while the latter significantly increases the challenge.
Unsealed: The Mare is divided into three chapters, and one thing I liked about the title is that each offers a different experience, keeping you genuinely immersed throughout. However, the first chapter is where that falls short. It revolves around hide-and-seek mechanics that quickly become stale, and even made me doubt the game during my initial time with it.
While the title becomes extremely interesting in the last two chapters, offering varied environments and unique puzzles, the repetition in the early chapters may lead many players to lose interest before experiencing the game’s best parts. Although the opening chapter could have been better, it is not entirely without merit.
The game features around 89 sticky notes throughout the game, which help you understand the story and stay engaged with it. Sometimes they also work as hints, nudging you toward unnoticed details to get past a puzzle. That, I think, is another thing the developer got right.
Core Gameplay
The core gameplay kept me hooked because of its interesting concept. Unsealed: The Mare focuses on a memory mechanic that helps you reveal hidden clues, often transporting you to different places, shifting the environment completely, opening new doors that weren’t there before, and a lot more, making things easier for players throughout the game.
The puzzles are genuinely fun to solve. Some will test your patience, and they certainly did that to me, but as soon as you crack one, you’d be laughing at how straightforward it actually was. The rest is simple: solve the puzzles, unseal the doors, and keep progressing.
Another great thing about the title is that it offers some really good light sources to manage, like a flashlight, a lighter, bulbs, and even a camera. Still, all of them are given in finite quantities, so you have to be cautious when using them, or you will be out of light, regretting it very soon.
Audio & Visual Design
One thing that particularly stands out about Unsealed: The Mare is the audio design. The title relies heavily on its sound, and as the game itself asks players to use headphones for a better experience, that is very much needed, as you won’t be able to progress until you are actively hearing. It also helps in finding clues when solving puzzles, with different sounds guiding you toward them.
This functions as a core mechanic, significantly elevating the overall experience. Doors slamming, lights flickering, bulbs breaking outright: each sound bite signals that danger is nearby and that you need to act. The visuals hold their own, too, making players feel genuinely trapped and unsettled.
Together, the environment and audio design make for an experience that is more immersive than you might expect from a short indie horror game. Headphones are a must; otherwise, you will miss out on what the title really offers.
Final Verdict
Unsealed: The Mare could have been a bit longer, as the story feels rushed at times. The loops can be overwhelming, as you will be facing the same death over and over until you figure out the puzzle. This repetition can be draining and may easily bore players. Some of the jump scares land well and will catch you off guard, but most become predictable and part of the routine quickly, especially in the first chapter. Being a solo-developed title, you can’t expect everything to be perfect. Still, the game offers an immersive psychological experience that keeps you engaged. The story and mechanics are solid, even if they could go further.
Unsealed: The Mare is currently available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and is 20% off on Steam. If you are a fan of indie psychological horror or want something raw and unsettling inspired by a real-life experience, it is worth your time.
(7 / 10)
Good
(7 / 10)Rely on Horror Review Score Guide
A PC review copy was provided by the publisher.
