The Horror Games "Play or die"

Finished Act 1 of DreadOut. Actually turns out I was only a few minutes from the end of Act 1 the last time I left it. It's REALLY short (essentially just the one location - the school classrooms) so I'm glad they decided to include Act 2 in the deal. My steam time's only logged at 2 hours and I did a LOT of running back and forth trying to figure out how to proceed.

I'd also recommend you play the demo first, as it acts as a bit of a prologue to the main game. They really should have included it in the full release - it'd have bulked out the gameplay time by 30min or so.

For what it is though, I liked it a lot. The mythology is unique and a departure from the usual psycho's, zombies and slender-mans. There's some REALLY creepy stuff in there.

Spoiler:

The creep as f**k music in the encounter with the Red Lady at the end, combined with
her taunting you is very effective! And THAT thing in the endless corridor? D:

Certainly shows a lot of promise and I'm eager to see what the team can do with a bit more experience under their belt.

pyxistyx wrote:

Finished Act 1 of DreadOut. Actually turns out I was only a few minutes from the end of Act 1 the last time I left it. It's REALLY short (essentially just the one location - the school classrooms) so I'm glad they decided to include Act 2 in the deal. My steam time's only logged at 2 hours and I did a LOT of running back and forth trying to figure out how to proceed.

I'd also recommend you play the demo first, as it acts as a bit of a prologue to the main game. They really should have included it in the full release - it'd have bulked out the gameplay time by 30min or so.

For what it is though, I liked it a lot. The mythology is unique and a departure from the usual psycho's, zombies and slender-mans. There's some REALLY creepy stuff in there.

Spoiler:

The creep as f**k music in the encounter with the Red Lady at the end, combined with
her taunting you is very effective! And THAT thing in the endless corridor? D:

Certainly shows a lot of promise and I'm eager to see what the team can do with a bit more experience under their belt.

Can you give me a nice hint for how to get past the Boar? I'm stuck dealing with him. I can't seem to find his weakspot to fully banish him, which I assume I have to do to proceed (at least, I don't see anything else).
If it helps, here's where I am:

Spoiler:

I did banish the "holey" ghost on the second floor and found the ring behind a door on the far side from where you enter. I know there's a locked cabinet somewhere on the second floor, but I'm not sure if the ring will unlock it or if I need something further. I need to go back and find it.
The boar is on the far side of the first floor, whenever I attack him, he runs through a wall and I can't reach him. It looks like the wall he runs behind should be accessible if I could break some boards off the door, but I don't know if that's actually implemented in the game, or if I'm just beating my head against the wall (both literally and proverbially).

You can't break through anything in the game, so you don't need to worry about that.

Spoiler:

Also you can't defeat the Boar, it'll just keep reappearing until you aquire the item you'll need to recover the keychain. At which point it'll be sleeping again

Light hint for what to do next...

Spoiler:

There's something you've missed in the entrance hall that's important, which will lead to the object you need to progress

More specific solution...

Spoiler:

Try viewing the ceiling of the entrance hall through the camera from the upper balcony past where you encounter the prostitutes ghost (where the black cat is milling about). Then take a photo from the right angle.

Thank you for all of that, Pyxi, I would never have gotten it.
Got through Act 1 as well, yesterday, going back to get all the things I missed the first time around (way more ghosts, documents, items, etc.)
All in all, I really like it and I'm looking forward to Act 2!

A Machine for Pigs is on sale on Steam. I'd pick it up if any of you are interested! One of my favorites of all time.

ZaneRockfist wrote:

A Machine for Pigs is on sale on Steam. I'd pick it up if any of you are interested! One of my favorites of all time.

I've been interested for a while now... Amnesia was a recent favorite. How similar or not is Machine?

I wrote a very incomplete review for it once...

I'm going to lay it right out. I think A Machine for Pigs is a master stroke in video game horror and storytelling. I consider it a far more captivating experience than The Dark Descent. Where TDD relied more on chase scenes and jump scares, AFMP focused far more on crafting a dark, Lovecraftian world to enthrall the player with.

A Machine for Pigs drops the tiresome sanity meter, which at no point in its predecessor enhanced the experience. This artificial system only served to remove me from the experience. It accomplished nothing but making you feel like your character was extremely drunk. AFMP, on the other hand, approaches the question of sanity organically within the game. You will encounter situations that will make you question your character's sanity and perhaps even your own. Along with losing the sanity meter, it curbed the need for tinderboxes and oil because your lantern is permanently powered now. At no point did I consider this a weakness of the game. Collecting oil and tinderboxes was practically useless in the original even with the lighting settings correctly calibrated.

The soundscape in this game is truly stellar. The music is haunting and beautiful and greatly adds to the atmosphere of the game. Outside of the music, it has superb sound effects. From the groans and shrieks of the machinery to the otherwordly sounds that

In another contrast to its predecessor, this game has far less focus on puzzles. And this is another thing that seems to have been very controversial for people. My reply is that this is a horror game. It is not a puzzle game. Puzzle games do not need to have horror sections. Why do horror games need to have puzzle sections? Beyond that, let's not kid ourselves about the puzzles in TDD. They were infantile and even the most challenged player could solve them easily without consulting a walkthrough. So let's not act like this series is famed for its amazing puzzles.

It is not without its problems, though, It is a very short game. I completed it in 3.4 hours on my first playthrough and that was with seeking out everything and reading everything. While I consider it worth it even at full price, it is still quite a flaw. Another problem is that you cannot back track, so you have to make certain you fully explore an area before trying to move on or you will miss stuff.

Still, this game is amazing. I completely adore it and hope that people will look past all the unwarranted negative reviews it has received. It is superior to The Dark Descent by far.

I'd agree with pretty much everything Zane said. In short, I'd say Machine has a much richer story and atmosphere, but much less "game" to it (whether you see that as a pro or con is up to you). I liked it a lot.

Among the sleep is out! ...but I'm away from my PC till later tomorrow!

BOO. BOO I say!

Finished Among the Sleep. REALLY interesting but very short (finished in 2 hours) and gameplay wise I think the first 30min or so are probably the strongest - most of which you can get in the demo version.

That said, I think they did a pretty good job of trying to interpret certain real-life negative experiences via the eyes and dreams of a 2 year old.

If it drops in price a little in a sale it's a must look I think.

Vanishing of Ethan Carter Trailer:

(NSFW - gets a bit bloody and violent in the last minute or so)

But HOLY CRAP DEM GRAFFICS! :O

pyxistyx wrote:

But HOLY CRAP DEM GRAFFICS! :O

No kidding!

Well, now I know who did it. Old dude, in the woods, with the crank handle.

Chaz wrote:

Well, now I know who did it. Old dude, in the woods, with the crank handle.

I'm gonna go home and sleep with my wife.

Done by the former Bulletstorm team, I believe...

Edit: Correct

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014...

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013...

pyxistyx wrote:

But HOLY CRAP DEM GRAFFICS! :O

Yea, though I walk through the uncanny valley, I shall fear the blurring line between fantasy and reality...

pyxistyx wrote:

Not to digress from the topic, but I see Chie has switched to her summertime outfit.

Slightly more on topic, anything good out that I should watch for during the Steam Summer Sale? A Machine for Pigs is on the list... anything else?

I also couldn't make an edible curry to save my life

I'd say watch out for Outlast & it's DLC (but approach the DLC with caution - it goes a little TOO far in places, I'd say). Also stuff like DreadOut and Among the Sleep which are interesting but really short, worth looking if they have a price cut.

It's not really horror but Lifeless Planet is REALLY good. It's new out, but worth keeping an eye on.

I'll have a proper look through the library later when I get home, there's probably other stuff.

Oh and not to run the point into the ground - Magrunner: Dark Pulse. Free. On GoG right now for the next 24 hours. Grab it nao!

pyxistyx wrote:

I also couldn't make an edible curry to save my life

I'd say watch out for Outlast & it's DLC (but approach the DLC with caution - it goes a little TOO far in places, I'd say). Also stuff like DreadOut and Among the Sleep which are interesting but really short, worth looking if they have a price cut.

It's not really horror but Lifeless Planet is REALLY good. It's new out, but worth keeping an eye on.

I'll have a proper look through the library later when I get home, there's probably other stuff.

Oh and not to run the point into the ground - Magrunner: Dark Pulse. Free. On GoG right now for the next 24 hours. Grab it nao!

I've played Outlast, and you completely talked me out of the DLC, so I'm good on that.
Have DreadOut, love it (despite my criticisms upstream).
Will look for Among the Sleep (though, compared to Julian, I doubt I'll have as interesting a playthrough).

Edit: Actually, you know what I never played that I should? The original "Alone in the Dark"s. I should look for those! I'm given to understand that the most recent ones are not so good:
IMAGE(http://www.collectedcurios.com/HTP_021_Alone_In_The_Dark_2008.jpg)

I don't think any of them are on Steam, but they are on GoG so they might be on sale at the moment. The very last one (as per that comic) is...not good. FANTASTIC soundtrack though.

The one BEFORE that (new Nightmare?) is worth a look on the cheap, even it it's really just a Resident Evil clone.

I really enjoyed the last Alone in the Dark. It's one of those Solid 6s: it's not a great game, and it's really rough around the edges, but it has some great moments and explores some really interesting ideas and mechanics. The open world survival horror segment in Central Park was one of the highlights of the last console generation for me.

To borrow this from the PS4 Thread (we got off on a bit of a tangent)...
What makes a horror game, a "horror" game?
Of course horror is largely personal, and some people will be scared by things that other people are not, but are there any common threads? Check boxes where we can say, "OK, you got 8 out of 10 boxes, you're a horror game."
Because looking at some modern games, it's tough seeing them as "Horror". Ones brought up in PS4 were: Resident Evil, Dead Space, and Last of Us.
To me, RE and LoU feel like action games in oppressive or strange settings. RE is no longer a horror series, though it was once upon a time.

What about when a "horror" game goes to far? Outlast: Whistleblower (from what Pyxi has said) feels like they were trying too hard and ended up in the "gross-out" genre rather than horror.

For me, here are some of my thoughts:

  • Does the game make me feel unsettled?
  • Do I have problems with specific sights or sounds after the game (examples: air raid sirens after Silent Hill 2, red butterflies after Fatal Frame 2)
  • Is it a game I want to play again, but at the same time I DON'T want to play again (I suppose this could also apply to some really bad and/or nostalgic games)

Probably more I could do, but I should get back to work.

Edit: Pyxi, I just noticed you match your Steam and GWJ pics. That's dedication.

Taharka wrote:

Edit: Actually, you know what I never played that I should? The original "Alone in the Dark"s. I should look for those! I'm given to understand that the most recent ones are not so good.

I played most of the first AitD back when it was new, but couldn't get very far with the GoG version recently due to the horrible control scheme. Finally I gave up and watched it on YouTube, there is a nice commentary-free play through on there.

Running Man wrote:
Taharka wrote:

Edit: Actually, you know what I never played that I should? The original "Alone in the Dark"s. I should look for those! I'm given to understand that the most recent ones are not so good.

I played most of the first AitD back when it was new, but couldn't get very far with the GoG version recently due to the horrible control scheme. Finally I gave up and watched it on YouTube, there is a nice commentary-free play through on there.

Is it the tank control scheme? I recently bought RE3 for Vita, and, despite playing it many times over when it was new, I couldn't get through it, or even 5 minutes because of the controls and brutal difficulty on normal.

OK, to answer the earlier question re: summer sale horror games. Here's my list:
(I'll update this with more as I go..)

Also I was wrong, the AiTD games ARE on Steam. Don't know how I missed that.

The Secret World - Really intriguing game trapped within an MMO, I've not been able to get too deep in it but it's buy-once own fo' life (minus the most recent expansion pack) so there's a LOT of content there. But it *is* an MMO.

The Lost Crown - Stylish B&W graphic adventure which mixes "real life" ghost hunting techniques and ancient English legends. Pretty good...apart from the voice acting. Also it's part one of a proposed 4 part series (that's been in production for YEARS at this point, but it is by one guy mostly).

Lifeless Planet - As mentioned above. More sci-fi than horror but it does have some "alien world" style horror themes. It's not the prettiest game (very obviously Unity based) but I had a BLAST with it and it might be on my GOTY list.

Among The Sleep - Really short but very interesting (and colourful, for a horror game). How much you like this probably falls down to the big 'reveal' of what's really going on in the story.

The Last Door - Technically you COULD play this for free over at their website but it's well worth throwing them a couple of bucks in support because it's probably the BEST attempt at telling a story in the HP Lovecraft / MR James style that I've seen and it's using PIXEL ART to do it. Has some of the BEST jump scares and sound design I've seen in a horror game.

Realms of the Haunting - An old one, but a really brilliant mix of first person shooter / adventure game / RPG / survival horror. There is literally nothing else like this out there that I can think of. Starts of with you exploring a creepy old mansion (tm) then turns into a dimension-jumping race to stop the apocalypse.

Resident Evil 4 - because Resident Evil 4

Nosferatu : The Wrath of Malachi - Not one I've played a lot of but it had a very interesting premise, being a randomly generated survival horror game in which the castle, quests and NPC's are all randomised and you have a set time limit to get through the game. I didn't give it much of a look first time around so I can't speak to how well that all worked, but it might be of interest.

Dark Fall: The Journal - Indie first person adventure game in the myst style set in a haunted abandoned train station where an ancient primal evil lurks. Pretty good for a one-man show (same developer, Darkling Room, as The Lost Crown above).

Master Reboot - Really interesting 'ghost in the machine' virtual world horror where you are attempting to reboot a virtual world gone wrong whilst being hunted by the in-system defensive AI. Mostly a puzzle game but has a good few jump scares. Really enjoyed this one once they ironed out a lot of the bugs. Also you can play it entirely in Welsh.

Eldrich - "Cutesy" cubic, low-res rogue-like with Lovecraftian themes. Pretty fun.

Eleusis - Haven't finished this one but it showed promise. Set in a seemingly abandoned Greek village where a mysterious cult is up to something. Some poor puzzle balance and pixel hunting but it has a great atmosphere from what I've played so far.

Resident Evil : Retributions - Don't overlook it because it's a 3DS port, it's probably the nearest we'll get to the early days of Resident Evil until they finally get around to rebooting the series. Has an absolutely fantastic and addictive "mercenary mode" and a pretty solid main story....well, for Resident Evil anyway.

Anna - Extended Edition - A strange first person adventure game set in an abandoned Spanish house. Has themes of pagan religion and sacrifice. Very short but extremely atmospheric. If you can get it really cheap it's well worth a look. Nice soundtrack.

Lucius - An entertaining novelty but very unpolished and disappointingly linear. If you can find it really cheap there's some comically inventive "Omen" themed murder involved here, as you play the son of the devil attempting to bump off your household one at a time. REALLY ropy gameplay at points so one to get if it shows up very cheap.

Phew! I think that's all the more unusual stuff (i.e: not Amnesia, Outlast, etc) of interest. Though I'm sure there's more.

pyxistyx wrote:

The Secret World - Really intriguing game trapped within an MMO, I've not been able to get too deep in it but it's buy-once own fo' life (minus the most recent expansion pack) so there's a LOT of content there. But it *is* an MMO.

That's horror? Wow, I hadn't even considered that.

pyxistyx wrote:

The Lost Crown - Stylish B&W graphic adventure which mixes "real life" ghost hunting techniques and ancient English legends. Pretty good...apart from the voice acting. Also it's part one of a proposed 4 part series (that's been in production for YEARS at this point, but it is by one guy mostly).

Played about 2 hours of it, and really liked it. Need to get back into it and finish.

pyxistyx wrote:

Dark Fall: The Journal - Indie first person adventure game in the myst style set in a haunted abandoned train station where an ancient primal evil lurks. Pretty good for a one-man show (same developer, Darkling Room, as The Lost Crown above).

Love, love, LOVE this game. I’ve played all three in the series, and this one is far and away the best, even if the end is a bit obtuse. Cannot recommend this one enough if you like atmospheric point-and-click.

pyxistyx wrote:

Resident Evil : Retributions - Don't overlook it because it's a 3DS port, it's probably the nearest we'll get to the early days of Resident Evil until they finally get around to rebooting the series. Has an absolutely fantastic and addictive "mercenary mode" and a pretty solid main story....well, for Resident Evil anyway.

Did you mean Revelations? Retribution was one of the movie tie-ins.
Revelations is the closest to a horror game out of this series in a LONG time, and I both love it and hate it. I love it because it feels like a horror game. I’m constantly out or nearly out of ammo (because your carrying capacity is so limited), and one or two good hits will kill you, so you have to be careful. Combined with the fantastic setting of an abandoned/corrupted cruise ship, and it’s great.
Then comes my problem with the character designs. Parker and Chris, the two main male characters, are wearing battle armor. Looks like they should be going into a fight, which they are. Jessica and Jill are wearing… wetsuits… mostly. Really? I’m unabashedly for fan service, but really? I actually installed a mod that changed Jill to Rebecca Chambers, just because it annoyed me that much.

pyxistyx wrote:

Anna - Extended Edition - A strange first person adventure game set in an abandoned Spanish house. Has themes of pagan religion and sacrifice. Very short but extremely atmospheric. If you can get it really cheap it's well worth a look. Nice soundtrack.

Played the first version, and it didn’t make much sense (puzzles very disconnected from story, to the point of being almost random). Played the extended version and it helped, but the story was still disconnected from the gameplay and puzzles. Still, very atmospheric!

The rest of the games Pyxi mentioned will be on my steam wishlist, that’s for sure!

I'll agree with most of pyxistyx's list (I've noticed that we seem to have a lot of overlap in our games list ) and add a few:

Scratches - Brilliant little horror adventure. Horror writer goes to live in a mysteriously abandoned mansion. Surely nothing bad will come of this.

Dark Fall: Lights Out - Second game in the Dark Fall series (after Dark Fall: The Journal above). The workers at the Fetch Rock lighthouse have gone missing and you get to go figure out what happened. Surely nothing bad will come of this.

Dark Fall: Lost Souls - Third game in the Dark Fall series and direct sequel to Dark Fall: The Journal. You know the drill by now.

Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches - Rhiannon has been hearing and seeing things and her parents have taken her away for a while. You are house-sitting while they are gone. Surely nothing bad will... oh, forget it.

I'll add Barrow Hill - You find yourself trapped near the titular mound where people are disappearing. Sadly, not on Steam. I'm actually not sure where you can find this one now. There is supposedly a sequel, which is about as delayed as the one for The Last Crown pyxistyx mentioned.

And if I can plug my channel briefly, I did a playthrough of Dark Fall: The Journal on YouTube. Here's part 1 if anyone is interested.

tanstaafl wrote:

Dark Fall: Lost Souls - Third game in the Dark Fall series and direct sequel to Dark Fall: The Journal. You know the drill by now.

Lost Souls was so incongruous with the rest of the series, though, I actually thought it was a different developer. It felt more like a later Silent Hill game than Lost Journal. Not that it's bad, by any means, but still kinda a left turn for the series.

Yes, sorry Revelations. Always get that one mixed up.

The Secret World is more kind of a mix of every conspiracy theory in the world all happening at once - but the opening area is an old Stephen King style sleepy old town beset with zombies that arrived with a mysterious fog, so it has horror themes if nothing else.

it has some REALLY interesting quest design that relies on you doing actual "research" online to find stuff out. Unfortunately it's mixed in with a whole lot of regular MMO gubbins, so depending on your tolerance for that it could be more of a chore. Still seems fairly busy and popular though - and there's no monthly fee anymore.

I felt like I needed Tetanus shots after playing Lost Souls. So many sharp rusty things!