The Overnight Screening

The Overnight Screening

Taleon Taleon August 31, 2025
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About The Overnight Screening

The Overnight Screening is a first-person adventure simulator set in a decaying movie theater. Developed by Taleon, the game drops you into a part-time job that turns weird when unexplained phenomena start haunting your shifts. You spend nights searching for clues, avoiding a malevolent presence, and piecing together the theater’s dark history. Released August 31, 2025, it’s a slow-burn indie experience focused on tension and exploration. Think of it as a haunted workplace simulator with puzzle elements and multiple endings. The game runs on PC and plays like a horror-tinged mystery where every shadow feels significant.

Gameplay

You spend most sessions wandering empty aisles, creaky project booths, and staff-only areas in a 1940s-style cinema. Core mechanics involve stealthy exploration, collecting loose props, and decoding cryptic symbols to unlock doors. The presence, a vague, looming figure, forces you to hide behind seats or projectors when detected. Combat is nonexistent; survival means timing movements between patrols and piecing together environmental clues. The camera system lets you pause and rewind footage to find missed details. Sessions last 2, 4 hours, with a mix of tense chase sequences and slow puzzle-solving. Controls are basic but responsive, emphasizing mouse aiming and keyboard navigation. The theater’s layout shifts subtly, keeping backtracking fresh.

What Players Think

The PlayPile community rates it 74% with an average of 8.2/10. 32% of players finish the main story, and average playtime is 6.8 hours. Moods are split: 47% curious, 33% tense, 20% frustrated. One Reddit user called it “a spooky slow burn that nails atmosphere,” while a Steam review panned it as “too vague with its puzzles.” Completion rates drop sharply after the third chapter, where environmental storytelling becomes more abstract. 58% of players with achievements own 12/12 total, averaging 70% unlocked. The game’s 14-hour longest session record is held by a user who found every hidden prop.

PlayPile's Take

The Overnight Screening is for fans of eerie simulators and low-stakes horror. It costs $19.99, and while the core loop is engaging, the cryptic design might frustrate some. Achievements reward exploration but don’t gate content. If you like methodical ghost stories and don’t mind a 7-hour grind for 32% completion, it’s worth a look. Skip it if you crave action or clear guidance. The game’s strength is its mood, not its structure.

Game Modes

Single player

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