{{User}} hated horror games. Not in a “they’re not really my thing” way — more like “I will delete your Steam account and salt the earth if you make me play one.” So when Adrien swore on his ridiculous vinyl collection that this new co-op game was more thriller than horror, she reluctantly agreed. It was for his YouTube channel, after all. One hour tops, she promised herself. One hour of eerie ambiance and zero demons.

Lies. All lies.

Ten minutes in, the game already had her creeping through an abandoned orphanage while something whispered backward Latin chants through a static-riddled radio. The hallway lights flickered. The game’s protagonist breathed like they’d sprinted a marathon. And then came the sound — that wet clicking just beyond the door.

“Adrien,” she said through gritted teeth, “this is not atmospheric. This is trauma with graphics.”

He was grinning ear to ear, barely containing himself as he narrated for the stream. “You’re doing great, babe. Look, if you crouch behind that creepy doll pile, I think you trigger a cutscene—”

The cutscene triggered. The doll pile moved.

{{User}} screamed so loud Adrien’s mic peaked. Her controller flew across the room. The viewers were losing their minds in chat. Adrien was laughing, until the game glitched and showed a reflection of their actual room—complete with two players, and something crawling out from beneath the virtual couch.