If Stranger Things was stripped of its Spielbergian warmth and injected with the visceral, unforgiving dread of a 90s slasher flick, you’d get Brandon Auman’s Creatures & Corridors. Published by The Lab Press, this graphic novel takes the "kids on bikes" trope and feeds it into a meat grinder of high-fantasy horror.

Set in 1992, the story taps into the lingering "Satanic Panic" surrounding tabletop Role Playing Games (RPG). But where concerned parents of the era feared imaginary demons, Auman introduces us to real ones. When five teenagers crack open a forbidden copy of Creatures & Corridors, the suburban mundane is instantly replaced by the nightmarish.

The premise lies in its environmental transformation. Seeing a middle-class living room, complete with floral wallpaper and 90s decor, become the site of an orc-led massacre is genuinely jarring. It’s a "dungeon crawl" where the dungeon is your own home, and the stakes aren't gold pieces, but the lives of your family.

Andrea Mutti’s art is the perfect vehicle for this descent into madness. Known for his work on Bunny Mask, Mutti uses a scratched, atmospheric style that feels like a weathered parchment map come to life. Mutti captures the "Before and After." One moment we see clean, suburban linework; the next, the panels are drenched in shadows and eldritch gore. The design of the antagonistic Gamemaster is particularly chilling, a figure that feels both ancient and voyeuristic, treating the kids’ trauma as mere flavor text for his campaign.

Auman, a veteran of high-octane storytelling (TMNT, Star Wars), understands pacing. However, he subverts the typical RPG "power fantasy." Most stories about people getting sucked into games involve them becoming "The Chosen One" or gaining cool powers. In “Creatures & Corridors,” the kids are outmatched.

The use of RPG stats to introduce characters (e.g., the "Dumbass Jock") starts as a clever meta-joke but quickly turns somber. You realize these "stats" are the only tools they have to survive a literal hellscape. It’s cynical, high-stakes, and surprisingly emotional.

“Creatures & Corridors” is atmospheric horror. It honors the history of tabletop gaming while simultaneously punishing its characters for their curiosity. It’s a fast-paced, terrifying read that proves the scariest monsters aren't the ones in the Monster Manual, it’s the one holding the dice. To be clear, this isn't a nostalgic trip down memory lane; it’s a sprint through a graveyard. If you’ve ever wondered what happens when the "Game Over" screen is permanent, this is the book for you.

Best for fans of: “Die” by Kieron Gillen, “Stranger Things,” “The Evil Dead,” and anyone who still keeps their original AD&D books in a locked box.