Category: Reviews – Games

Reviews - Games

Horrific Sounds

Katie Marie

Creeeeeeeeeek

Previously I wrote to you to discuss sound.

I talked about how I feel that sound is a tool, used by game designers and film directors, that audiences can easily overlook. Mostly because when sound is well utilised you hardly even notice its there. It becomes an emotion, not something you see or smell but something you feel.

Bad sound work can pull an audience right out of an experience whereas a good one can suck them in and tie them to the chair, forcing them to experience what you want them to.

It makes me a little sad that I write, as it makes using sound difficult, though again, good sound work on an audiobook can be amazing.

Sounds stay with us, a lot like smells, I think I said that last time. Sounds link to memories and resonate with us powerfully. I still cannot hear the beeping of a heart monitor without my own heart rate picking up, as I’m transported back many years to when my mum was in the ICU. Even watching a show on television if I hear that particular sound the memory comes back
unbidden and punches me in the gut.

What got revisiting this topic was a YouTube channel I follow, not a horror related one, but a fun game one. I linked to their video on sounds in games when I last wrote to you about this and lo and behold they recently released another one and I found myself wanting to talk with you and share this. 

Do you have any sounds in games or films that always set you on edge?

Reviews, Reviews - Games

Videogame Reviews: Silent Hill

Katie Marie

Psychological horror with spooks

I’ve noticed that when we talk about horror many tend to think about films and books, but gaming has lent itself very nicely to the horror genre. There’s something so perfectly immersive about video games that raises them up to be a key medium for the horror genre. 

Today I want to talk about an old classic, one that, for me at least, was an early introduction to horror in the gaming medium. I am of course talking about Silent Hill.

Silent Hill is perhaps one of the best-known video game series’ and has paved the way for some amazing survival horror games. It was published by Konami in 1999 on the PlayStation, and while the game has its problems it’s still a great experience playing it now as it was when it first came out.

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Reviews - Games

Videogame: Man of Medan

Katie Marie

All Aboard

Today I want to talk to you about one of my favourite game series, The Dark Pictures series, in particular the first instalment Man of Medan. 

The Dark Pictures is a series of survival horror games, played via the third person, where you play as multiple characters through a strongly story-based game. The games revolve around the choices you make and effectively function as the old choose your own adventure books did. 

The series all tie together via a framing device in the form of the curator, a chap who acts as your guide/storyteller. Each story in the series is a self-contained story.

Man of Medan was the first instalment in the ongoing series and was a strong start for a great series. 

Summary – as always, spoilers below

Photo by Mudassir Ali on Pexels.com

Man of Medan is a fictional story based lossy around the story of the Ourang Medan, a ghost ship where the entire crew was found dead with no obvious cause. 

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Reviews - Games

Videogame: Haunting Ground

Katie Marie

Good Doggo

Today I am writing to talk to you about a videogame called Haunting Ground, or Demento if you happened to pick up a copy in Japan.

The game was published by Capcom in 2005 for the PlayStation 2.

Summary

The story starts with Fiona, an 18-year-old girl, waking up in a castle dungeon, having recently suffered a car accident with her father, who doesn’t survive. She doesn’t remember much and finds her cage to be unlocked. Fiona has to explore the castle with the aid of Hewi, a German Shepard.

Through exploration and unravelling the mystery of the castle, Fiona learns that she carried an alchemic element called Azoth. Riccardo, the master of the castle, wants that element.

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Reviews - Games

Review: Fatal Frame 2

Katie Marie

When rituals go wrong

Today I am writing to you about Fatal Frame, in particular Fatal Frame 2. 

The reason I’m talking to you about the second game in the series and not the first is simply because the games storylines are not related and the story in the second game is better than the first one. It was designed to be a more interesting story purposefully due to people not finishing the first game (it was too frightening to finish lol, so a more compelling story was crafted, or so the rumour goes). 

Fatal frame is a survival horror game made by Tecmo and released on the PlayStation in 2003 and is widely considered to be among the scariest games ever made. 

The game follows twin sisters Mio and Mayu as they explore an abandoned village and experience encounters with the paranormal. 

During the game the player controls the protagonist Mio and must use a camera to defeat enemies and uncover the secrets of the village. There are two modes of gameplay, field mode and viewfinder mode. When in field mode, the player can examine items and search areas for clues. But when the camera is used, the game enters viewfinder mode, from where pictures of ghosts and scenery can be taken. 

I was hoping to talk about this game without spoiling anything major but found that it was impossible to talk in depth without ruining the game story wise. So, this is your warning, here be spoilers. 

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Reviews - Games

Review: Pathologic

Katie Marie

An amazing but also terrible game

Today I am writing to you about a game, it is a divisive game. A game that has been praised to hell and back by those that like it and pretty much outright ignored by the rest of the world. 

Rock paper shotgun has called it the best game you’ve never played. 

Yup, today I want to talk about Pathologic.

Pathologic is a 2005 survival game developed by Russian studio Ice-Pick Lodge. It was released in Russia in June 2005 to a strong positive response. It was then released to English audiences in 2006 to a less positive response, in large part due to a poor translation. A re-release with a new translation took place in October 2015 and currently a remake is in progress, with part of it being released in 2019. 

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Reviews - Games

Review: The Witches House

Katie Marie

Awesome homemade games

Today I want to discuss one of my favourite RPG Maker games. It’s a pretty well known one in both horror and RPG Maker circles.

I am talking about The Witches House.

The witches house ais a horror game, where you solve puzzles to uncover the story of the witches house. It was made by Fummy, a Japanese creator and released in 2021 for Windows and Mac.

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Reviews - Games

Review: Misao

Katie Marie

Spooky school kids are spooky

Today I want to write to you about a plot-heavy RPG Maker game called Misao.

Misao is a survival horror and puzzle game developed by Sen and Miscreant’s Room released in May 2011. A remastered version was later released on Steam in October 2017.

Overall, my feelings towards this game are mixed. While I was playing it, I enjoyed it. It is mysterious and fun with effective jump scares and a gripping plot. There are also lots of scares that are not jump scares, it is creepy as hell in places, violent in others and tricky in some.

However, when I started writing this blog and got thinking about this game, I started to remember certain things about it that I was not a fan of.  There is a weakness in some of the characters and the game has a few moments that feel unnecessary and gratuitous, at least to me.

As I said above this is a plot-heavy game, it also has multiple endings and I will be discussing this below, as it is exceedingly difficult to talk about what makes this a fun and interesting horror title without discussing the plot fully. Because the epilogue is considered the ‘true’ or ‘good’ ending.

So, if you have not played the game through then this is your warning, stop here and avoid spoilers.

I also want to put a trigger warning here, this game involves sexual assault and rape of high school students, not to mention a lot of violence. 

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Reviews - Games

Review: Rule of Rose

Katie Marie

Disempowering

Today I am writing to talk to you about the Rule of Rose, a survival horror game by Punchline. It came out on the PlayStation 2 and was first released in 2006 by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan, by Atlus in America and by 505 games in Europe.

The game is set in England in 1930, and revolves around Jennifer who becomes trapped in a world ruled by young girls. The game director describes the game as an interactive movie, which should give you an idea on the gameplay.

In a nutshell this game is wonderfully creepy, getting the balance of story and disempowerment just right to keep you on the edge of your seat. The aesthetic and setting are powerful, giving the game both atmosphere and tension. The character’s, both the player character and the side characters you interact with are wonderfully developed and nuanced.

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Reviews, Reviews - Games

Videogames: Layers of Fear

Katie Marie

Jump Scares with a Story

Once again, my letters return to the realm of horror videogames, an awesome immersive experience designed to suck you in, chew you up and spit you out.

The game I want to talk about today is Layers of Fear.

Layers of Fear was released in February 2016, and was developed by Bloober Team. It is an amazing horror game, it’s an exploration of the human psyche, which is chilling and likely to leave you uncomfortable. 

I did some research before playing this game and wasn’t sure I would ever end up playing it much less writing about it, as it sounded like something that relied on jump scares in order to be scary which is not my favourite kind of horror game. However, I am very glad that I gave it the benefit of the doubt as while jump scares are present its the slow burn story that is the truly terrifying aspect of the game.

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