A downloadable horror for Windows

Title: Chikatilo: The Evil

Platform: PlayStation (PSX)

Release: Rumored, mid-to-late 1990s (cancelled)

Origin: Soviet Union / Post-USSR bootleg

Players whispered about a strange PSX disc, supposedly found in the crumbling ruins of a gypsy house on the outskirts of Shakhty. The disc had no cover, only a hand-scribbled Cyrillic word: “Чикатило.”

Booting it up revealed crude, rust-colored menus and distorted Soviet anthems played in reverse. The main mode was called “The Butcher of Rostov.”The game puts you in the eyes of a small, pale girl wandering through black, low-poly forests and abandoned railway stations. The camera sways unnervingly, as if handled by a drunken operator. Every few minutes, the sound of wet footsteps echoes behind you. If you turn around, the screen glitches, textures tearing, and for one frame you can see him: a lanky, blocky man in a brown coat, face stretched into a sick grin.

The objective seems simple: run. But no matter how far you escape, he follows. If he catches you, the game doesn’t display a normal “Game Over.” Instead, the PSX freezes, and the memory card data corrupts with a message in Russian:
"The children never escape."

Rumors say there are hidden VHS-style cutscenes spliced into the code—real footage of Rostov’s winter streets, playgrounds empty, dogs barking in the distance. Some players swore they saw Chikatilo’s real mugshot flicker in, paired with whispers too faint to understand.

No record of the developer exists. Some say it was a Soviet psychological experiment, others say a bootleg obsession project by ex-students who admired the horror genre. But one thing is clear: after the disc surfaced, it vanished again, leaving behind only unsettling testimonies and half-corrupted ISO rips online.