PSX Horror Style

Crunchy low-poly horror. Affine textures. Fog. Limited palette. Tension over fidelity.

When to Use

• PS1-era horror game looks
• Puppet Combo / retro survival horror vibes
• When horror-style needs explicit PSX constraints

Core Tenets

1. Low poly, high dread — Few tris, strong shapes
2. Texture crunch — Low-res, nearest filtering feel
3. Vertex / affine warping cues — Subtle wobble optional
4. Fog + darkness — Hide draw distance sins
5. Analog grit — VHS/CRT via compositing sparingly

Vs Related Styles

Modeling

• 100–800 tris for many props
• Characters chunky; faces minimal
• Interiors modular, repetitive, oppressive

Materials / Textures

• 64–256px textures common
• Limited palette; indexed feel
• Flat shading or very low smooth
• Emissive screens as narrative props

Lighting & Camera

• Single practical lights; deep shadows
• Low camera, narrow spaces
• Fog/mist mandatory for depth
• Optional handheld noise (camera-cinematography)

Compositing Extras

• Slight blur / chromatic aberration
• Posterize / crush colors carefully
• Film grain / VHS overlay subtle

Constraints

MUST DO

• Keep poly and texture budgets intentionally low
• Prioritize fog, sound-design-friendly spaces
• Stage sparse narrative props

MUST NOT DO

• Modern PBR microdetail as primary look
• Bright clean global illumination

Reference Guide