Lakeview Cabin Collection

Premise

The game's setting is an initially idyllic looking cabin surrounded by woods and a large lake. Players are able to control several characters and have them interact with their surroundings. Characters can swim, drink, handle objects, and have intercourse with one another, however during the night the characters are hunted and are able to be killed by their pursuer. Players can also kill the characters off themselves via several different methods.

With each subsequent 'film', a new plot and set of protagonists are given to the player. Despite this, all 'films' have a shared setting of Camp Lakeview (for example, Lakeview Cabin IV is set around a band lost on tour, and their encounters with an inbred cannibal family living in a mansion across the lake as seen in Lakeview Cabin III), as shown by various in-game maps revealed in each film.

Lakeview Cabin III: Set around a decade after the original Lakeview Cabin flash game, a new group of counselors for Camp Lakeview unwittingly encounter a mysterious killer known as Babyface. Described as a 'sandbox boss-fight'.

Lakeview Cabin IV, Curse of The Lake: After an up and coming band find their tour bus out of gas, they must fight through a band of inbred cannibals, a swarm of mutant rats, and a vast array of traps hidden within Lakeview Manor. Described as a 'randomized action survival'.

Lakeview Cabin V, Homecoming: On Halloween night, a small suburban neighborhood finds itself terrorized by an unkillable evil, and must resort to supernatural means to defeat it. Described as a 'supernatural mystery'.

Lakeview Cabin VI: In a space station collecting remains of the original cabin, a few survivors find themselves with mutating monsters, and strange hearings of a lady singing.

There is also a hub level set in a New York City movie theater, with a rat-like monster lurking within the sewers. This level was formerly going to be 'Lakeview Cabin VI, Manhattan Lake Massacre', but Roope found it too small for a full length film and instead chose to turn it into the hub level and let Lakeview Cabin VII take its place as the seventh entry.

Development

Tamminen initially began developing the game as a small prototype with similar mechanics as the 8-bit Nintendo game Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers and chose to turn it into a survival horror game. Prior to further developing the first game Tamminen sought his wife's approval to make a horror game, as she was pregnant at this time and the first game's antagonists were a pregnant woman and her unborn fetus. While the first game had more of a cartoon-esque look, Tamminen decided to make the further episodes in 8-bit style, as he felt that this made it easier for him as a solo developer.

Tamminen has stated that the game's puzzles "came almost naturally" as he "just added items that you might usually find at a cabin, and then tried to think of at least three ways to use them. The obvious use, the "self-harm" use and the use as a weapon."

Reception

Critical reception of Lakeview Cabin Collection has been predominantly positive. Much of the game's praise centered upon its humor, sandbox game play, and Easter eggs, while criticism centered upon the game's direction and mechanics.