I am playing that game right now...it sucks. Graphics are incredibly realistic though.

Neat Ghibli style :) I am not very artsy but: Here's an aerial shot from Laputa with people. They are easy to spot due to more satured colors, outlines! and somewhat simple because only three major colors per character are used. You could use the colors to distinguish different kinds of villagers.

I made a chesslike tactics game last year. I used nature packs, particles, blasters and the characters. I added some animations to the characters and made additional models.
It's great that that you made the blend-files available as well.
googoobachoo.itch.io/tactical-ski...

If you are going for a jump scare it's pretty good! If you want to raise anxiety you could add a screen shake in addition to the flickering lights. Or play a cable snapping sound. Or something could land on top of the elevator. Or let lights rush by behind the circular windows before the crash..

Haha, thanks 😁

You can press Alt+O or click on the tab name to hide and show the output tab. Most buttons show the tooltip when you hover the cursor over them.

Have fun! and let us know how it goes :)