Play Outlast This Halloween

Campeau had it right last weekwhen we talked about Killing Floor: It is Halloween week pretty much. All the stores are filled with candy and decorations that will all go on sale November 1st, so why not talk about something scary? Before we started this blog, the PS4 had come out and I had gotten into a habit of streaming pretty much anything I played. I didn't have a huge following, but it was growing. One of the games that helped me the most in this cause was Outlast; for some reason, people like to laugh at people shitting their pants on a live stream.

When I was a kid I couldn't handle anything scary; not movies, nor TV shows, and especially not games. I would avoid that stuff at all costs. Nowadays I'm not so bad. Inherently I'm a fairly jumpy person with this sort of thing, so jump scares are the bane of my existence, but I can get through a scary movie or game no problem.

I still do have reservations with scary games over movies though. Games are just so much worse, with the entire ambiance the developers put in. You're usually more scared when nothing is happening then when some crazy naked asylum freaks are hunting you down. That part is scary too, but only for so long.

Outlast was a fun game and it was pretty scary too. It's not overly long (you can beat it within 2-4 hours if you know what you are doing) but the first time I beat it, it probably took around 6-8 hours. It has a problem with repetition after a while though. Basically you explore, get a bit of story and then get stuck in an area. The only way continue is by finding 3-4 objects around the area (usually filled with crazed lunatics) and then using these objects to fix or move whatever is blocking your progression. Rinse and repeat. It doesn't take too much away from the game since the formula does work, but a little variety never hurt anyone if you know what I mean.

The thing with scary games is that they aren't really scary forever. Sure the jump scares might get you every time, but after a while (normally after you die at least a few times) you start just getting used to it, because there just isn't a severe penalty for dying. You run and run and run away from an enemy with no way to defend yourself, get stuck in a corner and die...then you just reappear at the check point and try it again, while making sure you don't get stuck in the same corner this time. After that happens a few times, all the anxiety and fear the game has instilled in you at this point starts to dissipate.

I'm not exactly sure what the fix would be. Outlast has a mode in it where if you die, you have to restart from the very beginning. If you were to play this mode on your first play through, I'm sure the anxiety would stay with you the entire time, but it wouldn't be the right kind of anxiety. I feel as though you would be more frustrated than scared if you kept dying and having to restart. The mode is cool, but only if you've beaten the game before and know what you are doing.

In any case, if you are looking for something to play over Halloween, look no further than Outlast. It is a fun, scary-ass game that will get you to jump out of your seat no problem. I beat it three times but have yet to try the expansion. I hear good things though. Also it's from a Canadian developer, so win for the Canucks!

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Bring Me Home

After playing Fright Night at Freddy’s I was still in the mood for another horror game and it reminded me of Home, a game that I loved when it was released two years ago, so I decided to play it again. To give you a little context, I got this game upon its release on a whim and shortly after beating it, I was recommending it to everyone I knew because the game was so interesting and intricate, it blew me away.

Home is a kind of a Choose Your Own Adventure-style horror game and the atmosphere is insane; the game itself is an experience. You play as a man who wakes up on a stormy night in a home that's not his and, as far as you can tell, no one is around. Your goal is to make your way home and figure out what the hell has happened along the way. But the real meat and bones of the game is the journey: all the decisions you make along the way affect the outcome and arch of the story and if there's one thing this game has, its tons of replay value.

The controls are super simple and as you progress through the different areas all you can do is interact with different objects and landmarks—it’s almost like a point and click adventure game, but without the point and click.The fun part is using different items to solve different puzzles. You rarely get stuck and have to needlessly backtrack, but you do have to use problem solving and think about what you have to get past any roadblocks you might encounter.

Now if there's one recommendation I can make for your play-through it's this: play it in the dark, but mostly, you need to use headphones. It’s pretty much a requirement. The music and atmosphere really set the tone for the game and without it the game loses its eerie / unnerving qualities and it takes away from the overall experience.

Home is driven primarily by its story and how you choose to interact with the world around you. Using different objects drives the story in different directions. The game itself is worth visiting a few times to see how you react to situations and problems differently and trying to achieve the various outcomes. Now the game is fairly spoiler intensive so I can’t get too far into detail but it’s definitely a game I’d recommend trying out and at $2.99 there's almost no reason not to. Factoring in the replay value alone and you’re guaranteed your money’s worth. So if you’re looking for something to sink a few hours into and have a unique experience with, Home is the game for you.

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Freddy Is Freaky

Have you ever wanted to be a Chucky Cheese night time security guard? Well with Five Nights at Freddy’s you can realize that dream while also being horribly murdered by animatronic animals. The point of the game is survival and it’s not easy.

You play as the new night time security guard and you sit in your office monitoring the security cameras,  keeping an eye on Freddy and his friends as they walk around the restaurant at night—which seems simple enough, except if they do find you, you die a horrible, awful death. As you flip from camera to camera you use electricity and because the Freddy Corporation is cheap, you only have a finite amount of electricity each night. You have to make sure to manage your power efficiently because the only way to protect yourself is to seal the doors of your office, which is a major drain on the power and only should be used when they're about to kill you, so most of your power should really be invested into the cameras. The gameplay itself is fairly simple: between monitoring the cameras and shutting the doors there aren't many intricacies but the game is still very difficult, for one reason, and that's fear.

This game is probably one of the scariest games I've played and it’s all thanks to the characters and atmosphere. It preys on innate fears we have with the way the enemies are designed as well as the overall look and feel of the environments, which brings back creepy childhood memories of weird people in animal suits and jerky animatronics. The music is also really well done; it's really subdued and almost hidden in the background but it does a good job of scoring and setting the overall mood and feel of the game and really adds an ominous creepy feeling throughout.

Now as I was saying before, the gameplay itself is fairly simple but the difficulty increase from night to night but that's not what makes the game hard. The difficulty really comes from how scared you are and the game can really use your own fears against you. The more and more you play the more and more jumpy, anxious and generally scared you become and that's what makes you more likely to waste power from either over checking the cameras, closing doors when you don't need to or just generally being panicky. The game itself is a lot simpler if you can keep a clear and level head but the game puts you in these situations where you really can’t keep a level head and that's one of the challenges you need to deal with if you plan on beating this game.

In my opinion this is definitely a solid horror game that was really well put together. The gameplay and scare elements are well made and implemented and there's not really any jump scares so it's not like the game is using cheap tricks to freak you out. Now like most horror games there's really not a ton of replay value unless you just want to try and beat the nights more efficiently but other than that it's pretty much one and done. That being said, it's not an expensive game at a five dollar price tag, it's definitely worth it and if you still think it's too expensive, just throw it on your steam wishlist and wait for the next steam sale and pick it up.

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TBT - Paving The Way

Nostalgia is a ponderous, depressing feeling, and I often sense its presence when playing modern video games. That’s how I’ve felt recently while playing through Vagrant Story: a game which appears to judge my contemporary sensibilities such as immediate gratification, lowered difficulty, streamlined design, and bloated/delicious production values. Moreover, I feel it has enabled modern Cinderella Stories Demon’s and Dark Souls to not only thrive in this industry, but to have been born at all.  

“Iron"

Directed by Yasumi Matsuno (of Final Fantasy Tactics fame), Vagrant Story is a PS1 action RPG set in a dilapidated city called Leá Monde, which plays host to all manner of supernatural monstrosities. Protagonist Ashley Riot has been sent to Leá Monde to investigate the dealings of a cult and its affiliation with a senior Valendian Parliamentary figure.

Interesting, the game employs an archaic English (localized by Alexander O. Smith, who also worked on translating Final Fantasy XII) which, complimented nicely by the oppressive, dark fantasy world, compares nicely to what would later become popularized through Demon’s and Dark Souls.

Other similarities between both IPs include obtuse gameplay mechanics, an often rich and moving soundtrack, and a level of difficulty unfit for many softened and contemporary gaming palates. It is in these moments that I enjoyed Demon’s and Dark Souls: and the same holds true for Vagrant Story. 

“The Golden Age”

Where both the Souls’ series and Vagrant Story differ however, is with respects to storytelling and core gameplay. Vagrant Story is slightly more verbose, and doesn’t shy away from incorporating several theological, supernatural and fantastical themes into an initially intimidating amount of world-building. After a strong start, the game’s pacing doesn’t relent, with moderate stretches of dungeon-crawling interspersed by vague allusions as to what exactly is happening. It’s all good stuff, and saddens me increasingly to think that powerfully mature storytelling is enormously rare in today’s video game landscape.

Demon’s and Dark Souls accomplishes its world-building and storytelling using far greater subtlety. The player is given far more autonomy to seek and digest as much of the game’s world as s/he wants, instead of passively donning the role of an established hero, as with Vagrant Story. This difference in narrative construction helps differentiate both IPs. Both styles are also effective in different areas, with Vagrant Story coming across as proud in its sophisticated story; whereas Demon’s and Darks Souls is more humble and covert.  

“Run Boy Run”

Vagrant Story’s core gameplay is divided between rudimentary puzzle-solving and pseudo real-time action (whereas Demon’s and Dark Souls opts for entirely real-time combat). Whenever Ashley engages a foe, the player is given the option as to which part of the enemy’s body he wishes to strike. Particular enemies are weak in certain regions of their body, to certain weapon types, and against certain elements.

It is in these moments that both the Souls’ series and Vagrant Story are truly alike: the player must consciously choose which arms s/he uses against which foe, least s/he come across an insurmountable wall of crushing defeat. And it is in these moments of defeat that I am reminded of the often flawed and systemic ways that games used to be produced.

Older RPGs in particular felt stuffed with mechanics, only half of which were brilliant. The other mechanics just sort of existed in the game’s code, and could be explored by the player if s/he chose. What resulted were often rough gems that felt distinct and forward-thinking.  

Final Thoughts

Perhaps I’m getting to that stage in my life when I’ll begin feeding birds, and screaming at kids when they complain about how difficult their lives are. Age itself is miraculous in its ability to fold over your memories and senses. I appreciate older RPGs and games more now than I had ever before, and owe nostalgia a great deal of credit for its machinations. I think I need more cardigans to help round off my saddened and sober worldviews. 

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Little Love for Limbo

Limbo is visually attractive, and probably pretty good. I say probably rather than definitely in the hopes that my reservations about recommending this game come through effectively. You see, Limbo starts off brilliantly but by game’s end, feels tedious and unenjoyable (although, maybe that’s the point).

“Oh, it’s a good game”

Echoing what Brandon had mentioned several weeks back, I too feel as though Limbo is incredibly atmospheric. Likely, if you know nothing else about the game, you’ll still be familiar with the game’s rich, detailed environments, its monochromatically saturated world, and the piercingly bright eyes of the game’s main character. Limbo is quite successful at subterfuge, and manages quite convincingly to wear a moustache and hat of atmosphere over its rotting core...

“Oh, it’s good...for an indie game”

...And what a stench. The first third of the game allows its creepy and desolate world to draw you in. You are chased by a giant spider. You scamper, climb, push and pull. The world is understandable in its horrors.

Gradually the game’s world changes, with the early wooded sections giving way to a crumbling industrial section. It is here where the game loses much of what I enjoyed about it: instead of remaining simple and understandable in its puzzles, developers Playdead begin to pile on increasingly obtuse physics-based environmental puzzles which, while inventive, punch the game’s pace in the gut, laughing while pacing stumbles onto the floor, curls up, and dies.

Limbo never recovers from this tonal shift, and only progresses into even more complicated puzzles involving gravity and repetitive machinery. It’s about as much fun as you would expect either to be.

Final Thoughts

The only thing that should matter about the time you spend when playing a video game is whether it was intellectually, artistically or immediately enjoyable to you. If I were to take my own advice and employ this pragmatic point of view, then I would tepidly recommend Limbo to you.

Sadly, I feel that the game misses the mark as much as it nails it. Its atmosphere and simplicity early game feel like a fleeting memory by game’s end. Guess it might be best to simply wash away the hurt, and remember that Limbo sports a strapping monochromatic moustache and hat. 

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