Blumhouse Games discovered “Fear the Spotlight” in September 2023. The game, developed by Crista Castro and Bryan Singh of Cozy Game Pals, caught their attention with its gritty PS One aesthetic and story of two friends navigating a haunted high school. Castro, an art director at Nickelodeon, and Singh, a programmer who had worked on major titles, founded Cozy Game Pals during the pandemic.
“Fear the Spotlight” was their first significant project together. Zach and Louise Blain from Blumhouse Games played the game and were impressed. They approached Cozy Game Pals to see how they could help.
“Yes, we did need help,” Singh said, noting their lack of marketing experience. Blumhouse Games signed Cozy Game Pals and offered them an additional year to work on the game. Castro and Singh eventually embraced the opportunity to expand and refine their game.
Blumhouse partnership enhances game development
By October 22, 2024, the revamped “Fear the Spotlight” was released on multiple platforms. The extra development time allowed Cozy Game Pals to double the game’s run time, enhancing its puzzles, storytelling, and emotional depth.
The game’s low-poly environments, low-res textures, and grainy CRT effects blended nostalgia with smooth animations and modern controls. It offered a mix of satisfying puzzles, spooky phantoms, and terrifying foes. Castro and Singh handled the art and programming, respectively, with Castro also writing the story.
Their personal experiences and memories of high school infused the game with authenticity. Blumhouse Games assisted with marketing, finding contractors for logo design, porting companies for consoles, and localization teams. More importantly, they gave Cozy Game Pals complete creative control over their game.
“They’ve just been the ideal partner, incredibly supportive,” Castro remarked, highlighting the commitment to preserving the developers’ vision. “Fear the Spotlight” is now available for $20 on all major platforms.
