Fullbright releases a surprise horror on Steam about giant spiders hiding inside disgusting toilets

Fullbright is the studio that created Gone Home, Tacoma, and other horror games. If the title is any indication, you should avoid this game if you are a fan of spiders.

I say that it's from the studio "in names" because it is essentially a one-man project by Fullbright cofounder Steve Gaynor. Gaynor split from the team in 2023 after allegations of "toxic culture" in the studio two years earlier. Open Roads, a game that the studio was developing when the allegations were made, was released by the Open Roads Team. Gaynor continued to develop under the Fullbright brand as a sole developer.

Toilet Spiders was the first game released by Fullbright following that split. It's a unique title. You are a "volunteer", sent by an Eastern European government, to a decrepit abandoned government facility. You have nothing with you to help you complete your mission. This is fine, because you don't know what your mission is. The best option is to get out, but many doors are locked, and the keys are hidden in the many, many crappers of the facility. These, by the way, are in desperate need of a good clean.

The toilets may be disgusting but that is not the biggest problem. The biggest problem is the giant, radioactive and murderous spiders who have taken up residence inside some of these toilets. Some toilets have keys that you need to advance, while others contain SURPRISE spideys. These will jump out at you and cause your immediate death. Each session has three volunteers. If they die before you complete your task, the items and spiders will be randomly selected and you can try again.

The controls are simple, everything is controlled by a left click. After a while, the spider attacks start to become less startling, and more mildly unsettling, because they do look pretty creepy. One Steam user asked if Toilet Spiders was a "real" game or a joke.

Fullbright replied, "It is absolutely real." "It's a solo-project by the writer and designer of Gone Home, Tacoma. It's the beginning of a planned series of small, low-fi games with different themes and gameplay. This first game was an idea that my five-year old daughter came up with, so it's a little weird.

"But yes, Toilet Spiders, a short, funny-horror game (if you complete it), is a challenge-based, comedy-horror game about trying not to get stung by spiders that jump from toilets. It's in the first person, there are notes to find, and there are toilets. "Just like every other Fullbright title."

The Steam page states that "you must learn how to manage your resources and judge your odds to avoid or scare away the giant radioactive Spiders lying in wait inside filthy bathrooms." This suggests to me that smart people could use a system to maximize their chances of making it through.

It may be true, but I admit it took me several runs to realize that I didn't need to open every pisspot. I just needed to find the keys, and then I could move on without disturbing any spiders that were still undiscovered. I haven't yet figured out the proper way to use the flashbang, but if you hold the pin until it explodes, it will still scare the spider away.

Toilet Spiders, which is now available in early access, is "a polished, stable version with room for expansion and improvement." Early access is expected to last three months. During this time, the game will receive "balance and tuning improvement, possibly new features and content, and more and better localization with community support."

Toilet Spiders is a one-trick pony (at least from what I've seen so far), but I'm still curious enough to want more. The storyline of "something has gone very wrong" that unfolds in the notes and books is thin, but it's enough to make me curious about what's going to happen next. I don't know if that's enough to justify the $5 price, but I can assure you - again and with emphasis - that arachnophobes need not apply.