|
So I watched the Trust story from DDLC Plus. It was like somebody transcribed my mind and put it into a visual novel. Like, almost word for word. I'm glad Salvato handled it the way he did, because that hit way, way too close to home for me. Arc Hammer fucked around with this message at 03:08 on Aug 5, 2021 |
#
?
Aug 5, 2021 03:06
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 6, 2024 10:04 |
|
|
Playing CHERNOBYLITE and while it's not a great horror game by most respects, it actually does elements of horror / haunting better than the journeyman developers of the moment, some very nice weird touches. Like Control but better. And the actual gameplay is surprisingly good! Easily the best eurojank offering since KENSHI
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2021 03:24
|
|
|
I've only played about an hour but it's definitely got me excited to play more. It wears it's influences on it's sleeve but seems like it has its own thing going on sort of. Was really surprised at how polished the controller support is. Thought it was gonna feel like rear end with a controller as eurojank generally does but it feels great.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2021 07:36
|
|
|
Yeah they clearly gave it their all and it also looks like one of those projects that benefited from early access. In truth it’s only the typos and models / animation that scream eurojank. I haven’t encountered a single bug or crash in 12 hours. In 2021, with a game this complex, that’s loving wild. A cult classic in the making for sure.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2021 07:43
|
|
|
Are there other good horror games out there that prey on player empathy rather than jump scares?
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2021 17:02
|
|
|
Arcsquad12 posted:Are there other good horror games out there that prey on player empathy rather than jump scares? Probably more adventure game type things like The Cat Lady, and then things like Cart Life where things just suck rear end all the way down.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2021 18:16
|
|
|
Arcsquad12 posted:DDLC Plus. Yeah, some of Yuri's stuff in the side stories hit way too close to home for me. Arcsquad12 posted:Are there other good horror games out there that prey on player empathy rather than jump scares? I'd say things like visual novels. It's not necessarily a horror thing, but off the top of my head, some of the bad routes in Steins;gate hosed with me pretty badly (timeline/time travel fuckery). You gotta sit through a LOT of Anime to get to it, though, but I found them worth it.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2021 19:30
|
|
|
Arcsquad12 posted:Are there other good horror games out there that prey on player empathy rather than jump scares? CuddleCryptid posted:Probably more adventure game type things like The Cat Lady, The Harvester Games trilogy is pretty good. The Cat Lady, Downfall, Lorelai. The worst jumpscare in TCL is a simple logo pop-in during the intro, it goes for a lot of terrible situations, building feelings of unease and surreal gore for scares. Corpse Party has a fair amount of jumpscares but cuts the deepest with empathy.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2021 19:37
|
|
|
It's called the Harvester trilogy yet doesn't include Harvester...curious...
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2021 19:45
|
|
|
Groovelord Neato posted:It's called the Harvester trilogy yet doesn't include Harvester...curious... I really felt true empathy for my fellow human beings when I punched my girlfriend's spine out using a mall ninja circular blade and then years later my actor was outed as a pedophile.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2021 20:21
|
|
|
Steve always was a kidder.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2021 20:32
|
|
|
Read After Burning posted:Yeah, some of Yuri's stuff in the side stories hit way too close to home for me. I'm aware of the meta plot stuff for DDLC so while the side stories are loving with me on a personal level because they're so raw, I was happy to read that they exist in a separate simulation where the characters can work on healing their emotional scars, rather than the stories being a prequel before the inevitable catastrophe on the main simulation. At least somewhere the characters have a happy ending, even if it's only real to them.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2021 20:51
|
|
|
I really, really like The Cat Lady. Are the other 2 as good?
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2021 22:52
|
|
|
Downfall is about as good but rougher overall, it's a remake of a game that came before Cat Lady and has some updated tie-ins that assume you've played Cat Lady first. It can also be very rough in that only about two of the themes are obvious at first, the rest require playing a specific chapter of Cat Lady and some deep thinking on to understand. Otherwise they can seem utterly random, including during that Cat Lady chapter. They're all satisfying and interesting imo. Haven't gotten to Lorelai yet but loved TCL, liked Downfall a lot, got Downfall and Lorelai on a good summer sale knowing I'd enjoy both.
Doomykins fucked around with this message at 00:05 on Aug 6, 2021 |
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2021 23:03
|
|
|
Arcsquad12 posted:Are there other good horror games out there that prey on player empathy rather than jump scares? Basic Chunnel posted:If On A Winter’s Night 4 Travelers might not be the best Lovecraftian game ever made (that’s Bloodborne) but I think it may well be the best Chambersian game ever made. If you like adventure games and the gothic it’s truly remarkable. And it’s free: https://laurahunt.itch.io/if-on-a-winters-night-four-travelers
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2021 23:52
|
|
|
My friends and I just finished a playthrough of Buddy Simulator 1984. It's a peculiar game, one that may bring up memories of something Alike Pony Island due to its presentation and style. But it's not that, it's something....different. I don't want to say any more, worrying about spoilers and such. I think it's appropriate for the thread, given some of the events that occur in it, but there's also this undercurrent in it that certainly fits. Anyway it's on steam or itch.io, and I'd say worth a playthrough of a couple hours.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2021 03:20
|
|
|
Buddy Simulator is pretty cool yeah.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2021 05:48
|
|
|
Arcsquad12 posted:Are there other good horror games out there that prey on player empathy rather than jump scares? Soma
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2021 09:02
|
|
|
I remember cat lady being that game where you get resurrected and for some reason you have to kill the edgiest serial killers who all convene in one town Ala heavy rain, could someone remind me why it's supposed to be good?
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2021 11:26
|
|
CuddleCryptid posted:I really felt true empathy for my fellow human beings when I punched my girlfriend's spine out using a mall ninja circular blade and then years later my actor was outed as a pedophile. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bduOMImSzjM "You can't live without a spinal cord, son. Nothing unnatural about that." This line has been stuck in my head since the old SA LP.
|
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2021 14:51
|
|
|
The Saddest Rhino posted:I remember cat lady being that game where you get resurrected and for some reason you have to kill the edgiest serial killers who all convene in one town Ala heavy rain, could someone remind me why it's supposed to be good? It has an incredibly realistic and accurate depiction of what it is like to live with depression and anxiety and shows how the predators of society exploit those suffering in one way or another
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2021 15:02
|
|
|
The best part of Harvester is the only time the camera cuts away from violence is when the sheriff hits the deputy with a newspaper.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2021 15:27
|
|
|
The Saddest Rhino posted:I remember cat lady being that game where you get resurrected and for some reason you have to kill the edgiest serial killers who all convene in one town Ala heavy rain, could someone remind me why it's supposed to be good? They are edgy, yeah, but they are all people who prey on others and typically don't get any retribution for it. A doctor who preys on his patients, a man who kidnaps and sexually abuses "annoying" women, a stilted lover, a man who secretly abuses his wife out of "love", and an internet troll that drives people to suicide. They get taken down by a severely depressed, "disposable" woman and her slowly dying friend. And it's just very stylish too. It's up to you if you want to take it literally or not, since all the really weird stuff happens when Susan is alone, except for the ending.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2021 15:36
|
|
|
The Saddest Rhino posted:I remember cat lady being that game where you get resurrected and for some reason you have to kill the edgiest serial killers who all convene in one town Ala heavy rain, could someone remind me why it's supposed to be good? I can explain what I like in 200% spoilers(since explaining Downfall too can explain the appeal of Harvester Games storytelling) but the tl;dr is that yeah, it's edgy as hell. It likes to shove you into jarring otherworldly scenes a lot. It's also still got a lot of interesting situations and metaphors past the in your face gore, it tells a decent horror game without relying on jumpscares or other unpleasant crutches(I can handle jumpscares but I don't like them 90% of the time), it's pretty charming at times. It's smart enough to balance the edgy and the grim with light elements. It's a pretty good flawed diamond(there's a weak exposition chapter set-up halfway through, exposition is good, rest feels a bit rushed and unconnected), especially for 10 bucks or less. It's also got a pretty accurate depiction of depression, if not the most realistic at times, but I found the puzzle of the mental health chapter a pretty fun take on avoiding a stress-anxiety spiral.  I get the feeling that it might get panned by people who didn't like it personally but think it is objectively bad, based on the steam reviews where people overshare that they skipped lots of key dialogue.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2021 15:38
|
|
|
Thanks, I gotta admit at the time I was told about a couple of the serial killers and tried watching bits and pieces of a playthrough, and got turned off. I may try to pick it and the rest of their games up one of these days
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2021 10:18
|
|
|
Arcsquad12 posted:Are there other good horror games out there that prey on player empathy rather than jump scares? Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2021 10:33
|
|
|
I much preferred Downfall to The Cat Lady, personally, but I liked a lot about both. Downfall takes itself much less seriously (or if it doesn't, it's so over-the-top as to seem somewhat self-aware) and your partner is awesome, well-acted, and genuinely funny. Both games are extremely goofy but Downfall actually has some fun with it.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2021 16:54
|
|
|
The sections in Cat Lady where you just have to walk around the apartment and do menial tasks to calm down is definitely one of the more accurate representations of depression/anxiety I have seen in a game.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2021 23:07
|
|
|
Man has anyone got to the section in Routine where the game existed at all
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2021 01:21
|
|
|
Basic Chunnel posted:Playing CHERNOBYLITE and while it's not a great horror game by most respects, it actually does elements of horror / haunting better than the journeyman developers of the moment, some very nice weird touches. Like Control but better. And the actual gameplay is surprisingly good! Easily the best eurojank offering since KENSHI if you want jank stalker horror check out how Total Chaos ended up, its a mod built on Doom2 and after a few tweaks in the standalone it looks amazing and its brutal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7IITZDBvqE https://www.moddb.com/mods/total-chaos/downloads/total-chaos-directors-cut-full
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2021 01:49
|
|
|
Checked this out. Cool game, really impressive sprite animation and art did feel a bit disappointed that it promised four stories and we only got three playable ones and a cutscene CuddleCryptid posted:I really felt true empathy for my fellow human beings when I punched my girlfriend's spine out using a mall ninja circular blade and then years later my actor was outed as a pedophile. You always were a kiddy-fiddler Steve
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2021 20:35
|
|
|
DDLC Plus is torturing me. I was hoping that these new scenes would be therapeutic, and they are, but they're also hitting me much, much harder and more personally than the base game. The base game hosed with me by preying on my emotions and feeling helpless. Everyone in the game is a victim in some way and they're all trapped in the confines of a closed system. But even with the happy endings to the side stories, it's loving me harder because of the gulf between the base game characters and what they could be. Dan Salvato must have struggled with depression and anxiety in his life because these side stories are like dredging up past moments in my life and laying them bare in front of me. It is scarily accurate to how I have felt and how I've ruined relationships in the past through self destructive behaviour. So while I'm happy that the side stories have good endings, it crushes me because I can't recall any times I've had the same conclusion. I'm still struggling with depression and anxiety now, much less back in high school and university. And I just feel lost. Sayori and Yuri's confessions about suicidal thoughts and social anxiety killed me and I'm frightened to see what part of my hosed up brain is going to get put on display with the Natsuki side stories. And the worst part is I know that I'm being manipulated. The same way that the base game preyed on my empathy is being put on display here with the side stories. You dress it up in cute anime visuals and suddenly it's a lot easier to feel for characters being vulnerable. I see how Salvato wrote the characters as being much more grounded in the side stories and then it makes me furious and horrified how the main game hyper-tunes those emotional issues to play into the asinine hyperbole of a goddamn dating sim. Understandable and relatable emotional hangups get amplified into anime tropes that I hate yet I can't bring myself to dismiss. Yuri goes from social anxiety and "intensity" to a loving Yandere stereotype with a knife fetish, Natsuki goes from needing a safe space and a way to cut ties with a toxic social circle to a Tsundere with an abusive father, and Sayori goes from struggling with suicidal thoughts to being straight up suicidal and hoping that love is the answer to her problems. The fact that it works and is hitting me so hard is killing me. I need therapy because gently caress, this is hurting too much.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2021 22:55
|
|
|
Songbearer posted:Man has anyone got to the section in Routine where the game existed at all You rear end in a top hat, I follow this thread really intermittently and you got my hopes up that the game had come out.  Soma rules and is one of my favorite games of all time. The scariest and most hosed up parts of that game are the philosophical and existential poo poo, not the angry monsters. Speaking of “did this game come out”, what happened to that game where you’re a hitchhiker and you get in a car with a creepy dude who’s obviously a serial killer?
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2021 23:28
|
|
|
I think it got pushed back more and more while the dev made plate spinning dark web games. They announced that they're done making them since most people just watch YouTubers play instead of buy and play themselves
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2021 23:42
|
|
|
Xenomrph posted:Speaking of “did this game come out”, what happened to that game where you’re a hitchhiker and you get in a car with a creepy dude who’s obviously a serial killer? Road 96 is out in a week https://store.steampowered.com/app/1466640/Road_96/
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2021 23:43
|
|
|
I thought they were talking about Rides With Strangers
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2021 23:45
|
|
|
Len posted:I thought they were talking about Rides With Strangers
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2021 23:56
|
|
|
Xenomrph posted:You rear end in a top hat, I follow this thread really intermittently and you got my hopes up that the game had come out. https://twitter.com/thewebpro/status/1381612618926854146 Seems like more attention is being focused on Welcome to the Game: Online (including training with firearms for realism?) with some posts about re-done character graphics. So uh, it's probably dead at this point.
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2021 00:00
|
|
|
Len posted:I think it got pushed back more and more while the dev made plate spinning dark web games. They announced that they're done making them since most people just watch YouTubers play instead of buy and play themselves Honestly I think this is where open world (or open worldish) horror games like Darkwood have an advantage. An element of randomness or procgen gives people a chance to have the game affect them differently rather than seeing someone  their way through the scaries.Xenomrph posted:You rear end in a top hat, I follow this thread really intermittently and you got my hopes up that the game had come out. Sorry  I like to come back to this thread now and again and jumpscare people with a dead dream
Songbearer fucked around with this message at 00:41 on Aug 9, 2021 |
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2021 00:38
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 6, 2024 10:04 |
|
|
I'm begging God and Satan both for a Darkwood 2 that's a massive half-procegen deal that plays a little more complex and hardcore. There's so much happening there that could be doubled up and hard polished to make something real nasty fun.
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2021 00:45
|
|
