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RightClickSaveAs
Mar 1, 2001

Tiny animals under glass... Smaller than sand...


Dissapointed Owl posted:

Cross-post from the General Chat Thread as this seems the most likely place for people to have played the game in all of Games.

:siren: Mod Approved Shameless Goon Self-promotion :siren:

I've officially 'Done A Thing' and put one of my favorite game soundtracks on vinyl: The Cat Lady. Yeah, the dead format your grandpa used to play Bing Crosby on.

https://twitter.com/stumpyfrogrecs/status/1120219084950396928

Anyway, this project means a lot to me. The Cat Lady means a lot to me. And from the emails I've been getting, it seems to mean a lot to other people as well. The music is a huge part of that.





I've made 500 copies and geeze, I really don't want to end up with 450 copies stashed in my garage over the coming years, so if you're interested at all in the niche of a niche of a niche that is Indie Horror Game Soundtrack On Vinyl, please do pre-order. I've kept the price as low as I possibly could for a double LP and every purchase helps.

You can pre-order here: https://www.stumpyfrog.com/

I have a couple of other fantastic soundtracks to indie games that I'd really like to give a beautiful release but it would take about 250 copies of The Cat Lady sold for me to be able to do that.

You can listen to the full soundtrack on YouTube here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msg_DMtuXVE

You can get The Cat Lady game here (I highly recommend it):

https://www.gog.com/game/the_cat_lady

And the sequel, Lorelai, comes out tomorrow here:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/593960/Lorelai/

Thanks for reading and thank you very much Palpek for letting me post this here!

There used to be a thread for horror games, then there weren't any non-lovely horror games so the thread died. This trend seems to have reversed somewhat in the past couple years so here's another thread! :spooky: Now SPOOKTACULARLY updated with brand new imagORY for the year Two Thousand and SixSCREAM! OOoooooo! :spooky:


(MOSTLY) RECENT RELEASES


Until Dawn

Thread here: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3728551

PS4 exclusive, basically a slasher film in video game form.





Soma

Thread here: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3742659
Frictional's (the makers of Amnesia: The Dark Descent) Next Big Thing. Not as heavy on the horror but really good and contemplative.




Alien: Isolation

Thread here: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3642590
This came out and is actually really good, I'm happy to be wrong about my expectations. The hiding from other humans parts I'm not too hot on but it's a really tense game in the vein of Amnesia: Dark Descent.




The Evil Within

Thread here: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3672159






Among the Sleep

This was a really cool idea put together by a small Norwegian studio. It finally released at the end of May 2014, after a successful Kickstarter ended in May 2013.

You play a child (a literal child, not a manchild) and wake up one night to find something is wrong in your dark and spooky house. As far as horror goes, this wasn't in my top 10 as it's not particularly scary throughout, but instead it ended up being a really touching story. There are some platforming elements but I didn't find them too annoying, and the game isn't long enough to overstay its welcome.








Outlast

This is the loud, in your face, found-footage entry to the horror game scene. It's basically the V/H/S of horror games, it tries to shock and throw a bunch of stuff at you and there's not much subtlety to be found. Many people found it annoying, but I loved it for those reasons. This is one of the few horror games I've played recently (during the last year anyway) that's given me feelings of dread. Sure there are a lot of jump scares, but they mostly work.



-addon for Outlast: Outlast: Whistleblower DLC

I haven't played this yet, the general consensus seems to be it's just more Outlast. So if you like Outlast you'll probably like it. It's supposed to take place right before the first game.





Amnesia: The Dark Descent

This has been out forever now and you probably know about it, but it's horror done really well. I'd go so far as to say this is already a classic in the horror games genre. You need to play this if you have even a passing interest in horror games.








Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

The name Amnesia, the engine, and time period/setting are about the only things this one has in common with Dark Descent. It's made by The Chinese Room and not Frictional, so the story is a lot more Dear Esther and a lot less Dark Descent. If you liked Dear Esther, and also like overwrought narration about the plight of the bourgeoisie in 1800s London you might like this way more than I did.






Anna

I finally bought it because it was on Steam for $2. It's a story heavy horror adventure with some great concepts that just falls apart in the gameplay. It takes all the worst things about old adventure gaming logic and marries it with a painfully clunky interface. Even the Extended Edition, which was recently released and has improvements to the inventory and controls, is a chore to use. Still it has some good ideas buried in the mess, some uniquely done scares, and an overarching theme touching on women's roles in society throughout history. If you love working through difficult puzzles you might get something out of this.




al-azad posted:

Now let me tell you about my other favorite game, Scratches.



On the outskirts of Rothbury is the Blackwood mansion. In 1963, shortly after returning from work in Africa, the esteemed Mr. Blackwood was charged with the murder of his wife. Dying from a heart attack, Blackwood passed his mansion on to Dr. Milton who disappeared without a trace. A decade has passed and truth turns to legend.

You are Michael Arthate, an author with a case of writer's block. Your business partner purchases the mansion hoping to inspire your next book. As you explore the mansion you find Blackwood's diaries detailing his disturbing business in Africa. A secluded tribe. Ritualistic sacrifice. A stolen artifact behind a boarded up room. You're troubled by nightmares and the sound of beating drums. Sounds beneath the floorboards... scratches.



Scratches is a first person adventure game. Everything is static 2D so there's no 3D exploration. It has some of the pixel hunting trappings but overall it's closer to Gone Home than 7th Guest. You have to solve puzzles to progress (especially a devious one near the end) but the focus is on exploring the house and the journal is super helpful (if you ever get stuck, use the phone which is usually required to advance time). What makes Scratches so effectively horrifying is that you're all alone. You never meet another human being. There are no jump scares, no closet moments, nothing can kill you or impede your progress. The game is moody, atmospheric, and never makes clear what the source of the disturbance is. For a game with no monsters I thought Scratches was one of the most effective horror stories in a video game.

RightClickSaveAs fucked around with this message at 05:43 on Apr 30, 2019

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RightClickSaveAs
Mar 1, 2001

Tiny animals under glass... Smaller than sand...


UPCOMING HORROR GAMES

Routine (expected release date: who knows, sometime in the next year maybe)

There's a team of only 4 people making this and it's been in development a while. The fact that it will use permadeath kinda worries me, but maybe it will work really well within whatever the game turns out to be, there hasn't been new info in a long time. The 80s sci-fi aesthetic looks totally rad. And tubular. I've always wanted to hack into a space station computer using Tandy equipment (this may not actually happen in the game, but still. FLOPPY DISKS. TAPE STORAGE. RETRO-FUTURISTIC.)


Just look at that blocky CRT monitor :allears:

Alpha Gameplay Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAcAd1fUiy8





Asylum (release date: who knows, 2014 sometime maybe


The creatively titled game from the makers of Scratches. Hey at least they're embracing the whole thing and being completely upfront about where the game will take place. Another Kickstarter project which successfully funded February 2013.

There was a Kickstarter update in May about how they're switching the game to Unity, so that probably will add to the delay.

"Asylum is a chilling journey through the intricate floors of the Hanwell Mental Institute, in which unimaginable atrocities have occurred in the past. Over four years in production, this horror adventure aims to marry cutting edge visuals with thrilling storytelling to give you the ultimate experience in fear. From the designer of the award-winning and cult sleeper hit Scratches."

RightClickSaveAs fucked around with this message at 04:28 on Jan 2, 2016

Baconface
Sep 13, 2005
Bacon = Love
from what i've seen
Alien Isolation looks fantastic.

Doctor Bishop
Oct 22, 2013

To understand what happened at the diner, we use Mr. Papaya. This is upsetting because he is the friendliest of fruits.

RightClickSaveAs posted:

Some awesome early live-action teaser videos, found on the "Files" page of their website:
-Vivarium: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLVOif6CHgE
-Mockingbird: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eytOzwyfiCA

I don't know what the hell is going on with those but I'm in.


The long and short of SOMA's setting is that it's basically a professionally-written (and thus actually decent) take on the SCP Foundation, an amateur collaberative writing project that's meant to be a distillation of the "warehouse full of crazy poo poo the world shouldn't know about" fiction setting, but, since it's a collaborative writing project on the Internet, is 90% crap at best. Those videos are basically just the video accompaniment of SOMA's equivalent of the SCP Foundation's "containment document" articles.

Firstborn
Oct 14, 2012

i'm the heckin best
yeah
yeah
yeah
frig all the rest
Can we talk about old Horror games? I loved Clocktower. Multiple characters (mostly defenseless), chase scenes like classic slasher flicks, and having to hide knowing the scissor-man could just flay you if he found you. One of the craziest things I remember was hiding in an office and the fax machine going off with "I'm coming to get you" scrawled on it. The second one was pretty bad, I think.

Remember Overblood? A weird little game that had touches of Resident Evil and System Shock. Dude is alone on the planet with aliens and I think the most he had was a handgun. It was fun in a time on PSX where anything could get published, no matter how weird or obscure.

Broken Helix was a weird little shooter where you infiltrate Area 51 (groan), but the main character is voiced by Bruce Campbell and the story has some twists and turns involving what exactly is going on with the alien presence there. Maybe closer to Half Life in theme, but definitely has some jumpy moments.

Love the Silent Hill series. I don't think that really needs much more explanation.

You should put The Evil Within on your list! Also The Order or whatever probably counts.

I'm also somewhat fatigued by the huge landscape of retro-facing indie games where they think a little white noise and pixelated Slenderman homages are enough to spook you - that game Lone Survivor comes to mind. Available on Steam.

Firstborn fucked around with this message at 04:44 on Jul 5, 2014

Shimrra Jamaane
Aug 10, 2007

Obscure to all except those well-versed in Yuuzhan Vong lore.

Doctor Bishop posted:

The long and short of SOMA's setting is that it's basically a professionally-written (and thus actually decent) take on the SCP Foundation, an amateur collaberative writing project that's meant to be a distillation of the "warehouse full of crazy poo poo the world shouldn't know about" fiction setting, but, since it's a collaborative writing project on the Internet, is 90% crap at best. Those videos are basically just the video accompaniment of SOMA's equivalent of the SCP Foundation's "containment document" articles.

I'm confused.

1stGear
Jan 16, 2010

Here's to the new us.

Doctor Bishop posted:

The long and short of SOMA's setting is that it's basically a professionally-written (and thus actually decent) take on the SCP Foundation, an amateur collaberative writing project that's meant to be a distillation of the "warehouse full of crazy poo poo the world shouldn't know about" fiction setting, but, since it's a collaborative writing project on the Internet, is 90% crap at best. Those videos are basically just the video accompaniment of SOMA's equivalent of the SCP Foundation's "containment document" articles.

Uh, where did you hear this from? Because last I knew, all Frictional had said is that they want to explore the idea of consciousness and then had gone back to their customary total silence.

Ebbder
Aug 24, 2006

I don't know how I feel about this.

This is the SCP foundation website:

http://www.scp-wiki.net/

It's made up of user submitted stories about weird objects and creatures that are all kept at the a fictional facility called the SCP foundation. Most of the stories are written in a style that presents the stories as case files pertaining to the different things kept at the SCP facility.

I believe the comparison started because of how each of the teasers focused on people in a facility learning about seemingly unconnected objects that have a kind of eerie twist on them.

Ebbder fucked around with this message at 04:58 on Jul 5, 2014

AllLuckySevens
Oct 15, 2012
Recently downloaded dreadout on steam. Seems like a fatal frame-esqu experience, I'll update with impressions. Any FF fans here? Always loved the idea

Kite Pride Worldwide
Apr 20, 2009


Just as a warning to anyone who liked Amnesia: Dark Descent and hasn't heard about Machine for Pigs yet: don't buy it. All the gameplay has been stripped out, there are no legitimate puzzles, the story blows, and it's 3 hours long, tops. Even if you could get it extremely cheap, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Doorknob Slobber
Sep 10, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

Ebbder posted:

This is the SCP foundation website:

http://www.scp-wiki.net/

It's made up of user submitted stories about weird objects and creatures that are all kept at the a fictional facility called the SCP foundation. Most of the stories are written in a style that presents the stories as case files pertaining to the different things kept at the SCP facility.

I believe the comparison started because of how each of the teasers focused on people in a facility learning about seemingly unconnected objects that have a kind of eerie twist on them.

But did the devs give that synopsis of the game or like, did you just make it up? I thought that it was an actual game made by an actual developer.

RightClickSaveAs
Mar 1, 2001

Tiny animals under glass... Smaller than sand...


AllLuckySevens posted:

Recently downloaded dreadout on steam. Seems like a fatal frame-esqu experience, I'll update with impressions. Any FF fans here? Always loved the idea
I played through Dreadout not long ago. I liked it more than most people seemed to, because it was not well received. It does a lot of things poorly, like setting 90% of the game in one uninteresting school building, and there's a completely bullshit puzzle, but I still found the Indonesian folklore and rest of the game interesting enough to hold my attention. There's a second part coming out sometime in the future.

I never played Fatal Frame though so I can't compare it that way.

Doctor Bishop
Oct 22, 2013

To understand what happened at the diner, we use Mr. Papaya. This is upsetting because he is the friendliest of fruits.

Ebbder posted:

I believe the comparison started because of how each of the teasers focused on people in a facility learning about seemingly unconnected objects that have a kind of eerie twist on them.

Actually, the comparison started because the articles on the SOMA game's website bear a striking resemblance to the SCP Foundation's "case files" (though it seems the former have since been edited to remove some of the more telling little elements such as the object statuses that came before the main article).

Item #2656 - "Vivarium"

SCP-173 - "The Sculpture" - The original "case file" that led to the SCP site's existence in the first place, though it was originally posted on 4chan's creepypasta board (a fact which should probably explain a lot about why the site is overall lovely despite its neat concept all by itself).

Reason posted:

But did the devs give that synopsis of the game or like, did you just make it up? I thought that it was an actual game made by an actual developer.

It's not a synopsis of the game, but rather a description of what's been revealed so far about the game's setting.

But no, as far as I know, the devs themselves haven't outright said anything to the effect of "We were inspired by this wiki that pretends to be the database of a facility dedicated to containing and studying various unusual and potentially dangerous objects to set our next horror game in a facility dedicated to containing and studying various unusual and potentially dangerous objects that's since gone down the shitter, hence why we included on the game's website what purports to be an incomplete database similar to the one on that wiki."

Edit: I just realized this post might come off as condescending, but I'm simply trying to point out the similarities between the game and wiki that led to the comparisons in the first place.

Doctor Bishop fucked around with this message at 06:17 on Jul 5, 2014

catlord
Mar 22, 2009

What's on your mind, Axa?

AllLuckySevens posted:

Recently downloaded dreadout on steam. Seems like a fatal frame-esqu experience, I'll update with impressions. Any FF fans here? Always loved the idea

I've played a good chunk of Fatal Frame 2 (haven't beaten it yet, a mix of not playing my PS2 as much as I'd like and going slow because I'm not good at adventure games), and I'm really liking Dreadout. Can't say anything 100% yet (having some trouble with a boss), but for it's price it seems really short (assuming you don't go and do an optional side thing I missed), and the graphics are mid-late PS2 era (not a problem for me, honestly, but there's some pop-in near the very beginning as you run down a street). There's going to be a free update that adds a bunch more, so as far as the length problems go, that should be at least somewhat fixed. I'd say yes, maybe pick it up on sale.

Hellburger99
Jan 24, 2006

"I don't like that mooch...
or her pooch!
"
I just played through and "beat" Knock Knock. It's not really as scary as some of the other entries in this thread, but I like the atmosphere it builds and the sound work is top notch. The game is built like sleep-over/rite of passage style games kids play at sleepovers, like Bloody Mary or One Person Hide and Seek, so if you're interested in sorta urban legend, folklore-y stuff, it might be up your alley.

Also, much like those games, a big part of Knock Knock is "learning the rules." The game throws a lot of confusing and contradictory directions at you, encouraging exploration, but also to just kind of lose yourself in the weirdness of it. I got it for $2 during GoG's summer sale, and I'd recommend it at that price.

discworld is all I read
Apr 7, 2009

DAIJOUBU!! ... Daijoubu ?? ?

AllLuckySevens posted:

Recently downloaded dreadout on steam. Seems like a fatal frame-esqu experience, I'll update with impressions. Any FF fans here? Always loved the idea
Having played pretty much every Fatal Frame to completion and enjoying all of them, I was really looking forward to Dreadout. And while it started out good, there were a lot of poor choices made in design and in regards to puzzles. There's also the problem that right now the game is not complete and can easily be finished in about 1-2 hours (also the fact that the penalty for dying is having to walk longer and longer distances in an empty void). But the ghosts and the lore, and not being just another Slender clone really helps the game in my eyes. It's just a shame that it got released so half-assedly....and with the unnecessary skeezy costumes. Seriously, what was the point in those?

Accordion Man
Nov 7, 2012


Buglord
I love horror games, (Even some of the more actiony variety like Dead Space 1 and 2) though a lot of recent ones haven't been doing it for me. (I still need to play Amnesia, I've had that in my backlog for way too long.)

As older horror games I love the classics like RE and Fatal Frame though Silent Hill has always been my favorite (2's the best. Unlike a lot of other fans though I love Shattered Memories and thought Origins was a decent game, namely due to the atmosphere) I also love Rule of Rose. I wouldn't recommend buying it because its like over $100 used online nowadays and its clunky and slow as hell so it really isn't for everyone. But drat that atmosphere and writing, they really make it a unique game that just sticks with you. The game's not really scary, instead its more bleak and sad. It also has one of my favorite last levels in a video game. I would very much recommend at least watching an LP of the game.

Also Right Click, you should add Asylum to the Upcoming Games OP too. It's being made by the creator of Scratches (Which is a really good old horror adventure game) and his team and the demo alone creeped me out. There's no release date but they seem to be just chugging along fine.

RightClickSaveAs
Mar 1, 2001

Tiny animals under glass... Smaller than sand...


I forgot about Asylum and The Evil Within, I'll add those to the list. This is shaping into a decent year for horror games.

Niggurath posted:

It's just a shame that it got released so half-assedly....and with the unnecessary skeezy costumes. Seriously, what was the point in those?
It's even worse when the character is specifically mentioned as being 17. They really could have done without that.

big duck equals goose
Nov 7, 2006

by XyloJW
Here is one for your op





Star Ocean: THe last hope


It's about these idiots who go into space but end up like fighting for humanity due to earth being a toxic waste dump filled with monsters or something, but it's way scary and more agonizing to sit through then dead space 1-2 or 3.


Million Ghosts
Aug 11, 2011

spooooooky
Put a trigger warning on that poo poo you gently caress.

RightClickSaveAs
Mar 1, 2001

Tiny animals under glass... Smaller than sand...


Hellburger99 posted:

I just played through and "beat" Knock Knock. It's not really as scary as some of the other entries in this thread, but I like the atmosphere it builds and the sound work is top notch. The game is built like sleep-over/rite of passage style games kids play at sleepovers, like Bloody Mary or One Person Hide and Seek, so if you're interested in sorta urban legend, folklore-y stuff, it might be up your alley.

Also, much like those games, a big part of Knock Knock is "learning the rules." The game throws a lot of confusing and contradictory directions at you, encouraging exploration, but also to just kind of lose yourself in the weirdness of it. I got it for $2 during GoG's summer sale, and I'd recommend it at that price.
I never managed to get the ending where you don't run out of sanity, those last few levels can get ridiculous. It's a weird game, which was to be expected from Ice Pick Lodge, and I got the game by backing it for $5 on Kickstarter so I was happy.

And speaking of Ice Pick, there was a rumor several months ago they were going to be remaking Pathologic and using Kickstarter for it, but there hasn't seemed to be any news since then.

Tracula
Mar 26, 2010

PLEASE LEAVE
I admit to being a spergy poo poo here but I just detest the idea of the Isolation protagonist being Ripley's daughter. I want us to get the gently caress away from Alien/s and do something different for once. This doesn't just go for Alien games but pretty loving much all of sci-fi.

On a more positive note if you have a Gamecube or Wii track down Eternal Darkness. It's easily one of the best horror games ever made and if by some chance you don't know the main gimmick to the game make sure to go in blind because the less you know the better it'll be.

Hellburger99
Jan 24, 2006

"I don't like that mooch...
or her pooch!
"

Tracula posted:

I admit to being a spergy poo poo here but I just detest the idea of the Isolation protagonist being Ripley's daughter. I want us to get the gently caress away from Alien/s and do something different for once. This doesn't just go for Alien games but pretty loving much all of sci-fi.

If I might get counter-spergy:

I agree with you, but you know if they made an alien game with a female protagonist that a sizable portion of the fans would bitch that it wasn't Ripley's daughter. As long as they do something half-way original and interesting with the story, I'm willing to put up with the the goofy desire to make it "cannon."

On topic: I've had Lone Survivor sitting in my backlog for at least two years and I think I'm finally going to play it. Anything I need to know before going in?

Hakkesshu
Nov 4, 2009


Hellburger99 posted:

I agree with you, but you know if they made an alien game with a female protagonist that a sizable portion of the fans would bitch that it wasn't Ripley's daughter.

I really don't think a single person would do this. Ripley's daughter is an almost apocryphal part of the Aliens canon (or lack thereof, as is the case), she's mentioned in a short scene from the director's cut of Aliens with like two or three lines devoted to her. No one would care if her story was never told, because the whole point of that scene was that she grew old and died, not that she became Ripley 2.0.

Ineffiable
Feb 16, 2008

Some say that his politics are terrifying, and that he once punched a horse to the ground...


Hellburger99 posted:

If I might get counter-spergy:

I agree with you, but you know if they made an alien game with a female protagonist that a sizable portion of the fans would bitch that it wasn't Ripley's daughter. As long as they do something half-way original and interesting with the story, I'm willing to put up with the the goofy desire to make it "cannon."

On topic: I've had Lone Survivor sitting in my backlog for at least two years and I think I'm finally going to play it. Anything I need to know before going in?

Just play it then look a guide to get the true ending.

Tracula
Mar 26, 2010

PLEASE LEAVE

Hakkesshu posted:

I really don't think a single person would do this. Ripley's daughter is an almost apocryphal part of the Aliens canon (or lack thereof, as is the case), she's mentioned in a short scene from the director's cut of Aliens with like two or three lines devoted to her. No one would care if her story was never told, because the whole point of that scene was that she grew old and died, not that she became Ripley 2.0.

And those few minutes of mention are all you need for Aliens to give context for her being so strongly maternal to Newt. Ripley is still in the mindset of being a mother and of course blah blah blah, that's another subject. Again my original point is leave Alien and Aliens the gently caress alone for once for chrissakes. It has a million other problems but one issue with Colonial Marines is that it feels this need to reference every single thing ever from Aliens. In Isolation I have a feeling we're gonna have some nav computer called, I dunno, Father. We'll see a drinking bird on a table after we get out of cryosleep. There's gonna be an android somewhere who may or may not gently caress us over. Could even tie in Prometheus somehow somewhere. I know again I'm being all :spergin: and :goonsay: about this but I'm trying really, REALLY hard to be optimistic and it's hard.

Hakkesshu
Nov 4, 2009


Tracula posted:

And those few minutes of mention are all you need for Aliens to give context for her being so strongly maternal to Newt. Ripley is still in the mindset of being a mother and of course blah blah blah, that's another subject. Again my original point is leave Alien and Aliens the gently caress alone for once for chrissakes. It has a million other problems but one issue with Colonial Marines is that it feels this need to reference every single thing ever from Aliens. In Isolation I have a feeling we're gonna have some nav computer called, I dunno, Father. We'll see a drinking bird on a table after we get out of cryosleep. There's gonna be an android somewhere who may or may not gently caress us over. Could even tie in Prometheus somehow somewhere. I know again I'm being all :spergin: and :goonsay: about this but I'm trying really, REALLY hard to be optimistic and it's hard.

I'm pretty sure they've already shown the drinking bird :eng101:

In any case you're right. It's cool that Isolation is leaning so heavily on this very specific aesthetic in order to recapture the style of the movie. That's fine. But use that as a framework for your own storytelling instead of just filling it with arbitrary references like that; it lacks confidence, and all it really tells us is "hey remember that movie that was way cooler than this? Here you go!". Colonial Marines was That: The Game. It's completely missing the point, and this is one reason why we never have good licensed games anymore.

Hakkesshu fucked around with this message at 14:30 on Jul 5, 2014

al-azad
May 28, 2009



Anna is great. One of the few games that actually disturbed me. It basically takes the Sanity system from Eternal Darkness but it's actually scary because they don't telegraph when they'll happen. You'll turn around and notice that details you just examined aren't there anymore or that objects were moved around. Or maybe you'll hear breathing behind your back and turn around AND gently caress I ACTUALLY YELLED A LITTLE BIT. It is an obtuse game but seriously read the journal, it has some pretty obvious tips for most of the puzzles. The difficulty is knowing how the game wants you to work them but I was never confused as to where I was or what I should be working towards. There's only maybe a dozen "maps" in the game.

Now let me tell you about my other favorite game, Scratches.



On the outskirts of Rothbury is the Blackwood mansion. In 1963, shortly after returning from work in Africa, the esteemed Mr. Blackwood was charged with the murder of his wife. Dying from a heart attack, Blackwood passed his mansion on to Dr. Milton who disappeared without a trace. A decade has passed and truth turns to legend.

You are Michael Arthate, an author with a case of writer's block. Your business partner purchases the mansion hoping to inspire your next book. As you explore the mansion you find Blackwood's diaries detailing his disturbing business in Africa. A secluded tribe. Ritualistic sacrifice. A stolen artifact behind a boarded up room. You're troubled by nightmares and the sound of beating drums. Sounds beneath the floorboards... scratches.



Scratches is a first person adventure game. Everything is static 2D so there's no 3D exploration. It has some of the pixel hunting trappings but overall it's closer to Gone Home than 7th Guest. You have to solve puzzles to progress (especially a devious one near the end) but the focus is on exploring the house and the journal is super helpful (if you ever get stuck, use the phone which is usually required to advance time). What makes Scratches so effectively horrifying is that you're all alone. You never meet another human being. There are no jump scares, no closet moments, nothing can kill you or impede your progress. The game is moody, atmospheric, and never makes clear what the source of the disturbance is. For a game with no monsters I thought Scratches was one of the most effective horror stories in a video game.

Accordion Man
Nov 7, 2012


Buglord
The best thing about Scratches is that nothing actually happens until the very end of the game. Eternal Darkness was the same way with its main framing location.

RightClickSaveAs
Mar 1, 2001

Tiny animals under glass... Smaller than sand...


Hakkesshu posted:

I'm pretty sure they've already shown the drinking bird :eng101:
Yep here it is!


Also the A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT android:


Also Scratches was good, I loved exploring the mansion, but I hated some of those puzzles. I just don't have the patience anymore, and that game is a prime example of my love/hate relationship with adventure games. It's cheap on Steam and goes on sale all the time as well.

RightClickSaveAs fucked around with this message at 15:34 on Jul 5, 2014

Tracula
Mar 26, 2010

PLEASE LEAVE
Oh for fucks sake.

Accordion Man
Nov 7, 2012


Buglord

big duck equals goose posted:

Here is one for your op





Star Ocean: THe last hope


It's about these idiots who go into space but end up like fighting for humanity due to earth being a toxic waste dump filled with monsters or something, but it's way scary and more agonizing to sit through then dead space 1-2 or 3.



Forgot to mention this, but this is an unironically good horror game recommendation.

Mustang
Jun 18, 2006

“We don’t really know where this goes — and I’m not sure we really care.”

Tracula posted:

I admit to being a spergy poo poo here but I just detest the idea of the Isolation protagonist being Ripley's daughter. I want us to get the gently caress away from Alien/s and do something different for once. This doesn't just go for Alien games but pretty loving much all of sci-fi.

On a more positive note if you have a Gamecube or Wii track down Eternal Darkness. It's easily one of the best horror games ever made and if by some chance you don't know the main gimmick to the game make sure to go in blind because the less you know the better it'll be.

Yeah Eternal Darkness was awesome, definitely go in blind if you end up playing it. Would be cool if it was remade or rereleased on steam or something.

al-azad
May 28, 2009



Accordion Man posted:

The best thing about Scratches is that nothing actually happens until the very end of the game. Eternal Darkness was the same way with its main framing location.

Not just that but you're not even sure anything happened. You basically waved sludge on a stick in front of a mask and I felt incredibly stupid after doing so.

Palpek
Dec 27, 2008


Do you feel it, Zach?
My coffee warned me about it.


Baconface posted:

from what i've seen
Alien Isolation looks fantastic.
The more footage is released the more it looks like it sucks. The latest reveal were zombie-androids and they're hilariously bad.

Hellburger99
Jan 24, 2006

"I don't like that mooch...
or her pooch!
"

Hakkesshu posted:

I really don't think a single person would do this. Ripley's daughter is an almost apocryphal part of the Aliens canon (or lack thereof, as is the case), she's mentioned in a short scene from the director's cut of Aliens with like two or three lines devoted to her. No one would care if her story was never told, because the whole point of that scene was that she grew old and died, not that she became Ripley 2.0.

I agree. I guess I wasn't clear: What I meant is that people would probably call her character a rip-off of Ripley, or demand that she have some tie to the films because keeping things perfectly in cannon and relevant to the films is more important than telling your own story or being original. Pretty much what what happened with Aliens: Colonial Marines; in the previews leading up to the game, people started bitching that the pulse rifle sound wasn't quite perfect because some tiny inaccuracy is way more important than story, gameplay, etc.

Though Aliens:AC is probably a lovely example because that game was complete garbage in every other respect, too. But whatever, my bitching is just derailing this thread.

Edit:

Palpek posted:

The more footage is released the more it looks like it sucks. The latest reveal were zombie-androids and they're hilariously bad.

Misread that as "zombie asteroids" and got really confused for a second.

Hellburger99 fucked around with this message at 18:01 on Jul 5, 2014

Razakai
Sep 15, 2007

People are afraid
To merge on the freeway
Disappear here
I kind of forgot about it until getting backer emails recently, but Darkwood looks rather promising. The last word was that it would be on Steam early access 'very soon', seeing as that was in April we might be waiting a while.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ojd5CUZzjvk

Palpek
Dec 27, 2008


Do you feel it, Zach?
My coffee warned me about it.


I've heard some really good things about The Forest. It's in Early Access on Steam now but apparently it's already very promising:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08s__Fg8d3A

HotCheetoChallenge
Jun 17, 2012

iloveyouiloveyouiloveyou
Came to post the forest but I see someone just beat me. That game looks very promising.

Firstborn posted:

Remember Overblood? A weird little game that had touches of Resident Evil and System Shock. Dude is alone on the planet with aliens and I think the most he had was a handgun. It was fun in a time on PSX where anything could get published, no matter how weird or obscure.

I think I saw a stream of this recently. The guy isn't alone though, he has a love interest. :3: The game is so hilariously bad.

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Accordion Man
Nov 7, 2012


Buglord

al-azad posted:

Not just that but you're not even sure anything happened. You basically waved sludge on a stick in front of a mask and I felt incredibly stupid after doing so.
Well there's still the lunatic living in the basement. But that's why I also really love Scratches, there is nothing supernatural happening at all, the mother took bad morning sickness drugs that deformed and mentally disabled her son and the father starting going nuts thinking demons possessed his son and locked his son away in the basement for decades. Also the protagonist has been slowly going nuts himself the whole time so he starts thinking ancient African demons are real too.

Accordion Man fucked around with this message at 18:29 on Jul 5, 2014

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