Camera, static, action! David Szymanski’s latest creation takes the player for a quest to find the ultimate snuff film tapes amidst remote settlement located in Appalachian forest. Camera in one hand and blunt object in the other, the player comes across a unique community, sharing the… appetites of the protagonist in service to something otherworldly. Discard any notions of heroes and antiheroes alike, everyone is a freak down in the Butcher’s Creek.

Taking into account the last fresh Steam release by the creator of “DUSK” and “Iron Lung” was back in 2022, I was quite curious to see what manner of ingenious minimalism David Szymanski came up with this time around. Emphasis on melee combat is a new direction, coupled with both the setting and distinct “VHS static” filter, immediately brought up the oppressive atmosphere of Manhunt to my mind. Butcher’s Creek appears to be quite fond of this series in terms of tone, if only to give a Lovecraftian spin to the ensuing violence.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3461550895
Blunt force trauma
Straight to the point in the extreme, after a few minutes to get acquainted with the controls, the player gets to pick the hardware store utensil of choice and bludgeon, stab or kick to death every sorry soul standing in the protagonist’s way. To liven up the mayhem a little, every weapon has a set of three statistics – condition, damage and speed. Thanks to them, an intuitive spectrum of weapons ranging from heavy hitting, yet slow (pickaxe) to fast, yet requiring death by thousand cuts (pocket knife), is available to the player.

Similarly nuanced is the health mechanic of the game. As a benefit of being an established freak, viewing scenes of extreme gore and violence, give the protagonist sufficient high to overcome any incurred wounds. This is also where the aforementioned camera comes into play. Photos of bloody aftermath of each encounter restore some of the lost health – the messier the scene is, the more life is restored. Further bonus is provided for finding some of the Butcher’s Creek snuff tapes, each giving a small total health bonus, with full bar reached on the count of 10. Tapes can be also used to open certain doors, hiding unknown contents – introducing a tiny conundrum to overall health management, at least on paper.

Down the rabbit hole
Unfortunately, the more time you spent with Butcher’s Creek, the more “works on paper” becomes a catch-all phrase for multiple aspects of the game. This is not to say this title is bad, all of the staple pieces of David Szymanski game are seemingly there. Minimalistic delivery – not seeing much due to persistent darkness and static is a genuinely effective feature. Creepy and oppressive atmosphere – if dirt and rust of rundown industrial buildings won’t convey the grease well enough, perhaps the fact that the protagonist is completely naked for majority of the game will. Heck, even the dark, industrial tones by Andrew Hulshut are there to ensure the mood is right, and yet the game becomes tedious and repetitive towards the end. Which is quite unfortunate for a title with 2,5 hour runtime.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3461550475
Frankly put, I believe Butcher’s Creek shortcomings stem from multiple cracks coming together to form a larger gap. That said, possibly the largest among them is the pacing. To give credit’s where it is due, the game has an incredibly strong opening. Chasing an urban myth across ramshackle buildings in the middle of nowhere, only to suddenly enter fight to the death with a hooded maniac is a chef’s kiss. I would go as far as to suggest the opening act is too powerful for this title’s own good, as nothing further down the line remotely matches its impact. Worse yet, as the game progresses, Butcher’s Creek begins to increasingly rely on walls of text for exposition, whereas initially it was able to achieve the same effect through gameplay. One could point out that pages scattered across the levels are entirely optional to read. Correct, however I was anxious to make sense of the events unfolding and to do so I had to consistently pause what was otherwise meant to be violent rampage. Somewhat counterproductive for the adrenaline distribution.

There are several lesser factors contributing to the tedium too. Door keys are placed in a manner that felt like padding rather than meaningful design. Enemy variety (with single exception) is purely cosmetic. Physics of the game are awkwardly janky (clipping items launched at the player with force of a speeding truck are likely to draw the first blood). Doors requiring tapes to open often hold nothing of note, making the health trade-off superficial in the long run… and I believe I made my point by now.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3461549886
Rictus for the camera
Despite all of my criticism for the game, some of the ingenious spark which made me a regular of the games by David is still there. Camera mechanic is one such clever piece of design, as it has multiple uses beside the healing. It can be a source of light, able to momentarily peel back the perpetual darkness or make a noise, taunting the nearest enemy to approach the player. Coupled with its role of a primary attribute establishing the protagonist as a deranged maniac, I can only wish more aspects of the game were given this level of depth.

Furthermore, other regulars are bound to appreciate nods to David’s other games. Be it The Magic Fairy Castle, evocative of The Pony Factory or DUSK’s soap bar of instantaneous demise™ – these are always a welcome touch. Ultimately, some effort is made to break up the growing monotony of melee combat with minor puzzle elements towards the end, however it failed to stave off the burnout. There is also a matter of the ending, while it is not at all surprising if you take your time reading the lore, I struggle to imagine anyone being satisfied with how exactly things turn out.

All things considered, Butcher’s Creek is a reasonably decent game, one that can be recommended to the fairly specific gathering of David Szymanski’s fans. However, such a target audience is something of a double-edged sword, as in my opinion David has simply gotten us used to expect more than decency. Those among you hungry for more content by this developer will likely find yourself at home, just bear in mind that out of the games released after DUSK, this is the one you may want to pick last.