Highlights
- "Spot the difference" puzzle games can become repetitive without added pressure or a sense of urgency.
- Horror-themed puzzle games in the "spot the difference" sub-genre introduce scares to keep players engaged and on their toes.
- Games like Para Eyes, Spectator, and Deathwatch offer fresh takes on the traditional "spot the difference" puzzle mechanic by adding unique gameplay elements and immersive settings.
The genre of puzzle games is a vast one, including a wide array of games that all vary in tone, visual style, gameplay mechanics, and story. Numerous sub-genres exist within puzzle games and one of those many sub-genres is "spot the difference". Without any kind of threat or sense of impending doom to add some pressure, "spot the difference" games can get a little stale.
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In order to raise the stakes, many (but not all) games in this category are horror-related in one way or another, to introduce some scares into an otherwise overly calm atmosphere. For any puzzle enthusiasts who are itching for a fresh new take on their childhood memories of "spot the difference" puzzle pages, here are a few great games to try out.
8 Para Eyes
Steam Rating: 9/10
- Released: October 25, 2022
- Developers: Shawno Studios
- Platforms: PC
Para Eyes is a puzzle game where the player is responsible for pointing out and reporting any kind of differences among different camera locations. At the beginning of the round, the player is given the total number of anomalies that will appear throughout the level, while the number and the name of the last reported anomaly type will appear at the bottom left of the screen.
Instead of choosing the type of anomaly from a menu, the player can simply click on the anomaly to make it disappear. If the anomalies get out of hand, the player's sanity meter will slowly deplete. Different kinds of anomalies can also be purchased with in-game currency after completing levels.
7 Spectator
Steam Rating: 9/10
- Released: February 7, 2023
- Developers: Neko Machine
- Platforms: PC
Spectator tasks players with monitoring several surveillance cameras, keeping them on the lookout for any of the ten available anomaly types. The player must look for eerie anomalies ranging from object appearances (and disappearances) to various lighting differences. Spectator's main charm lies within the locations it drops players into. Each level of Spectator is based on other popular horror game locations, immersing players into the depths of the infamous Backrooms, Five Nights At Freddy's Pizzeria, or Slenderman's forest.
6 Deathwatch
Steam Rating: 9/10
- Released: October 22, 2022
- Developers: Game Juice Studios
- Platforms: PC
Deathwatch puts a ton of pressure on players as it offers two distinctly different modes. One mode (the "Chill Mode") allows players to freely focus on inspecting each surveillance camera, looking for any kind of changes that happen in the environment while on their watch. However, in the standard version of the game, the player must do a little bit more multitasking.
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The standard mode of the game forces players to not only look for anomalies on their computer screen but also to stop and listen for any strange noises in the player character's room that they are stationed in, mainly looking out for signs of the terrifying lurking entity. As the player reports anomalies, they must also find the correct wavelength to set their equipment to banish the entity that haunts the premises.
5 Alternate Watch
itch.io User Rating: 4.7/5
Inspired by the Mandela Catalog and I'm On Observation Duty, Alternate Watch leaves players in charge of manning a fixed security camera to search for any changes that occur throughout the level. In the menu, an anomaly list is provided, to help players understand what they must look out for. The game offers a "dark mode" for well-seasoned players who want a challenge, giving the player a flashlight as the only light source instead of having each room brightly lit.
Much of the imagery used in Alternate Watch is eerie in and of itself, heavily based on the "Alternates" concept from the popular Mandela Catalog web series, making the normal environment just as terrifying as the elusive anomalies.
4 Five Nights At Freddy's (Series)
Steam Rating: 9/10
At its core, Five Nights at Freddy's can be explained as simply "spotting the difference" with varying mini-games in between. Instead of the typical scenario where both scenes to be inspected for changes are side by side, FNAF instead allows the player to cycle through different security cameras one by one to find if any pesky animatronics have moved out of their usual places.
It is up to the player to carefully monitor these differences in each surveillance camera, keep track of Freddy and his friends, and keep their hands on the button to quickly close the door when the time is right.
3 Papers, Please
Steam Rating: 10/10
Papers, Please is an incredibly unique game, generally referred to as a "puzzle simulator" game. The aim of Papers, Please is to successfully work through each day of border inspection in the fictional country of Arstotzka. While it may not seem like Papers, Please utilizes a "spot the difference" mechanic at first glance, it certainly does!
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At the beginning of each day, the player is given new rules to follow and new documents to inspect, essentially boiling their task down to finding the inconsistencies between their handbook and each citizen's passport and documentation. If things don't align and seem up to par, the citizen is quickly sent back to the end of the line to try again.
2 The Exit 8
Steam Rating: 9/10
- Released: November 29, 2023
- Developers: Kotake Create
- Platforms: PC
The Exit 8 traps players in a seemingly endless hallway of a subway station. Their only goal is to make their way from the first exit all the way to the eighth. While it may sound simple at first, players may notice that they aren't making any progress as they move forward through each hallway.
The player must move forward to the next floor only if the current hallway has no differences from the first floor. If there is even a single detail out of place, the player must turn back to head to the previous floor; otherwise, their progress is reset.
1 I'm On Observation Duty (Series)
Steam Rating: 10/10
- Released: September 1, 2023 (6th entry)
- Developers: Notovia, Dreamloop Games
- Platforms: PC
The entirety of the I'm On Observation Duty series is rather popular in the Youtube and Twitch community of "Let's Plays" as the series truly kicked off its very own genre of games. Just like how P.T. inspired various horror titles in both the triple-A and indie game space, I'm On Observation Duty spawned an entire league of "spot the difference" games as it stood out as a simple yet innovative trendsetting video game concept.
The player's task is to monitor different surveillance cameras in each new location, hunting down any changes known as "anomalies" and reporting them before they grow in numbers or get out of hand. Notvia's Observation Duty series truly served as the blueprint for many other games to follow and popularized this niche new genre.
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