Alternate Watch is a free-to-play Analog Horror Game. Although the game is unfinished, it is incredibly well-done, with a bunch of scares and challenges that can keep the gamer playing. If you are a fan of the Alex Kister Mandela Catalogue and other Analog Horror content, such as I Am On Observation Duty, Alternate Watch is a great Horror Game to play. But if you are not an expert within the Analog Horror Subgenre, the many Anomaly Types can get rather confusing and at times feel overwhelming in this Spot the Difference Video Game. Therefore, this guide will highlight the different Alternate Types and how you can identify them.
All Anomaly Types in Alternate Watch
There are many types of Alternates and Anomalies in this Video Game. Whilst Corpses are not in Alternate Watch, unlike other Analog Horror Games such as I Am On Observation Duty or Para Eyes, this game includes many Anomalies that can leave chills on your arms and the hairs on your neck standing up. If you are unsure of what each Alternate and Anomaly looks like, we have a guide below on what to look out for, plus examples in case of emergency.
- Imagery – Anything that has an image (pictures to painting) altering or swapping out into another picture. Examples; Fridge pictures in Kitchen or Mandela Catalogue picture in Basement.
- Displacement – Objects moving around. Examples; Scissors moving in Bedroom or Cereal Box standing up in Kitchen.
- Mimic – Duplicate of an object. Examples; two Cassette Tapes in Stairwell or third Jar added on Kitchen Counter.
- Flawed – Abnormal Human. Examples; long distorted face Woman in Laundry Room or crooked-neck Man in Kitchen.
- Pure Form – Blacked-out Figure with White Eyes (destroys Camera). Examples; four-legged Figure that jumps on Camera in Basement or Hand with White Eye in Living Room.
- Preacher – Cloaked Figure (listen out for whispering). Examples; in Closet of Bedroom or at the back and corner of Living Room.
- Electrical – Turning on and off electrical appliances. Examples; lights, washing machine, television, baby monitor or Error Code 333.
- Tulpa – Figures appearing in Mirrors.
- Corpse – Dead body typically shown with blood splatters Example; Mandela Catalogue Vol.1 reference in Master Bedroom, corpse on bed.
- Unknown – Cannot be classified by other Anomaly Types. Examples; Bathroom Door slowly opening from the Basement Camera Feed, daytime landscape shown outside Kids Room window.
If a door is opened as you are shifting through rooms, this means that you are witnessing an Intruder Event. There is someone or something currently in the room where the door is open. You do not need to report the door but you must locate the Alternate and correctly Report the Type so that they can be removed. This will result in the room going back to its previous state, with the door being closed.
Related: The Backrooms Was Only The Beginning – Analog Horror Could Be The Next Big Indie Wave.
How to Identify Tulpa, Pure Form and Flawed
The hardest Alternates to identify in Alternate Watch are the Tulpa, Pure Form and Flawed. These appear throughout the game and on first playthrough, can be difficult to differentiate. The reasons for this is due to their name matching multiple Intruder appearances. But, each Intruder must be stopped at the source otherwise you will either lose a Camera or get a Game Over. This guide will show you exactly how to differentiate between these three Alternate Forms.
Beginning with the Tulpa, this is a specific type of Ghost that can only be seen through the Mirror. In this game, you will most likely find the Tulpa appearing through the Bathroom Mirror. Whether you are playing Alternate Watch in black and white, color or dark mode, your eyes should be focussed on the images within the Bathroom Mirror as this Alternate will only appear here.
For Pure Forms, these can be incredibly difficult to catch, especially within your first playthrough of utter panic. The Pure Form appears as a blacked-out figure with bright white eyes being the only distinguishable feature on their body. They will attack the Camera and if left alone, destroy the Feed so that you can no longer see what is happening inside that room. Do not forget that if this happens, Alternates will continue to appear in the room but you will not be able to see what is happening. Alternate Watch becomes a guessing game unless the Anomalies are audio instead of visual. But that would be incredibly lucky. If the Camera Feed is taken out, be sure to still report for the Pure Form otherwise it will stay in the room.
Finally, to locate Flawed, these are abnormal Alternates that appear just like humans. But something is off about their physique and face. They will have strange features that make them stand out over the Corpse Alternate which simply appear as an immovable, lifeless human. There are multiple variants of Flawed and similarly to Pure Forms, cannot be left alone as it will result in a Game Over. When you report this Anomaly however, be prepared for a jumpscare.
The Goal of Alternate Watch – How to Play
You need to survive until 6am, being the standard for all Horror Games with Camera Feeds since Five Nights at Freddy’s. As time passes Anomalies will appear. If the screen turns black for a second as you are viewing the Feed of a Room, this means that something has changed. You need to pay attention to the amount of items there are in a Room, noticing specifically how many appear in a set. Objects can move, duplicate or something new can be added which would also be identified as Displacement or Mimic. Some objects are obvious to note such as Chairs, Beanbags and appliances turning on. However others can be much harder to spot such as small items moving; Scissors, Apple, Pans and new items being added into sets such as the Children’s Toys or a moved Knife on the Kitchen Table.
There are a total of 8 locations in the House that you need to regularly check through. Be sure that you are not taking too long within a single Room as multiple Anomalies can appear in other Rooms as you are looking for a single Anomaly. You also should pay close attention to the top-left corner of the screen which will tell you the House’s Threat Level. Vague is safe, although there are Anomalies to find, Evident means that there are too many Anomalies and that you are not safe. The game is close to an end when Evident is reached, so make sure that the second you see Evident, you find an Anomaly to go back into Vague State.
That was our guide on how to identify each Anomaly and Alternate Type in Alternate Watch. This game is available to play for free on Itch.io. Try out Dark Mode if you dare. For other Horror content, feel free to check out our Horror Game section in Gamer Journalist. Thank you for reading!
