This lo-fi horror game basically has you playing an extra in the X-Files

Like Security Booth: Director's Cut's indie horror contemporary, The Mortuary Assistant, it isn't just the job simulator its laconic title might imply. There's an undercurrent of horror and intrigue to the seemingly mundane premise that really makes it sing. The first person horror game launched in expanded form on Steam on August 19.

The non-Director's Cut version has been available for free on itch.io, and is part of the Haunted PS1 expanded universe. In Security Booth, you play the part of a security guard at the Nova Nexus labs in 1996, letting in or turning away cars based on whether or not their license plates line up with an employee roster. Not all is as it seems on the graveyard shift at Nova Nexus, however, and things start getting weird.

That free game makes for a nice demo for the full $5 version that launched August 19. The Director's Cut includes more choices and outcomes, fleshing out the conspiracy story and seemingly untethering you from the titular security booth for some good old fashioned first person exploration of your nefarious employer's spooky corporate headquarters.

The free version already has a fantastic atmosphere with some good scares, and I love the concept of being a powerless bystander in what feels like a particularly good X-Files monster of the week episode. It's also great to see more in-depth games come out of Haunted PS1 quickies⁠—Security Booth's fellow Haunted PS1 alum Dread Delusion has become one of my most anticipated games, and stay tuned for a deeper impressions piece on Security Booth: Director's Cut.