You’ve never heard of Petscop because it’s not a real game (or at the very least, it is almost certainly not a real game). That is not to say that it does not exist in one form or another, though. Whatever Petscop is, there is a definite air of mystery to it. So let’s take a quick look and see if we can shed any light on this mystery.

First, let’s look at the way in which Petscop presents itself. Petscop appears in the form of a series of Let’s Play videos. For those not familiar, a Let’s Play is a kind of video found on the internet which consists of somebody playing a video game and usually talking over it and explaining things or making jokes or something (yeah, I don’t really get the appeal either). Specifically, these are videos of someone presumably named Paul playing an unfinished game titled Petscop. This game was supposedly developed by a studio called Garalina who never actually managed to release a finished game. On its surface, Petscop appears to be a cheerful, kid-friendly game about collecting pets. However, following the advice of a strange note that he found with the game (the details of how Paul got the game have not yet been revealed), Paul finds that there is a stranger, darker, and more-complete game hidden within Petscop if a certain code is entered in a certain room.

What is Petscop really? It’s a horror story being presented in a very unusual fashion. A few years back, haunted video game creepypastas (short horror stories told via the internet) were fairly in vogue in the creepypasta community. For the most part these were presented in text form, though some were also video/Let’s Play-style presentations (including probably the most famous of them, “Ben Drowned”). However, a rapidly escalating game of one-upmanship caused this style of story to become incredibly over-the-top. The stories started saying that even watching the videos could make you possessed, or that the game had somehow managed to kill their family. Petscop seems to be this sort of story. However, there are a couple of major differences. Petscop does not, or at least has not yet, claimed that the game has any sort of supernatural powers. Instead, it is simply a really weird and creepy game. The second, and perhaps more important, difference is that whoever is releasing Petscop does seem to have created something of an actual game. Other Let’s Play creepypasta stories only showcased slightly altered versions of real games, but Petscop seems to be something entirely new. As far as I can tell, all of the in-game assets were actually created just for this game. It also seems to be sticking entirely within the realm of the original PlayStation’s graphical abilities (many other video game creepypasta stories talk about how the graphics suddenly became way more realistic than the system should allow). Now, there probably isn’t anything to the game that we aren’t seeing, and in fact, it is probably edited together in such a way as to look far more complete than it really is. However, the fact of the matter is that someone seems to have actually made a more-or-less fully functional video game in order to tell a creepy story.

The last question, what is “Petscop” all about? Well, that’s a little hard to say, since the series is still ongoing. However, there is at least one thing that is readily apparent: this game (or this “game”) has a lot to say about child abuse. Specifically, there are repeated references made to the real-life death of Candace Newmaker, who died during a “rebirthing” therapy session. This is reflected in the game by talk about rebirthing, therapy, use of the names Newmaker and Tiara (which was Candace’s middle name before her adoptive parents changed it), and a room with the phrase “THE QUITTER’S ROOM” written on the floor (shortly before her death, Candace was called a quitter by the administering therapist for not completing the rebirthing exercise). Now, this isn’t to say that the whole thing is about Candace. The game also features a gravestone for a kid named Michael, references to someone named Care who seems to have been abused, and things about kids who think that nobody loves them. Now, there are some things that we really don’t have any clue about yet as well, such as why the windmill seems to disappear. We also don’t really know what the pets are, yet. Perhaps most importantly, no clue has yet been given as to what the word “Petscop” actually means. The video series does not seem to be finished as of this writing, so perhaps we will get more information in the future. However, we can be fairly certain that whatever the larger picture is here, it has to do with horrible things happening to children.

So what exactly is “Petscop?” It’s a one-of-a-kind video game that no one but its creator will ever be able to play. It’s a multimedia experience. It’s good, and it’s creepy. Check it out.