Horror Games Megathread

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Brackhar: Aug 26, 2006; I'll give you a definite maybe.

AnonSpore posted:

I dunno, Silent Hills did that and it was hilarious.

Can you link? I never saw that video.

Also, relevant to topic, a new Evil Within trailer came out today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TukCKaNKymg

# ¿ Sep 29, 2014 20:08

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# ¿ May 8, 2024 21:26

Brackhar: Aug 26, 2006; I'll give you a definite maybe.

cat doter posted:

Evil Within at least has a chance with an auteur at the top, but Dead Space is probably the last AAA horror game that wasn't complete rear end. I don't really count The Last of Us because it's neither horror nor survival, it's an action game with its resources balanced towards conservation rather than spraying and praying.

I think the part that a lot of developers mess up is, oddly enough, the save systems. Modern games are so addicted to checkpoints and auto saves that even if a AAA studio makes a horror game, they have to use checkpoints. I think supply constrained saves at a few safe spots are integral to making a truly scary survival horror, otherwise you lose the fear of mortality and when you die that section of the game loses all of its punch. Repeating a section until you get it right isn't really conducive to horror.

Your points seem contradictory to each other. A limited save system that makes dying a threat is threatening because there's the risk that you'll lose a ton of progress when you die, but then you say that repeating a section until you get it right isn't conducive to horror? Presuming the same game with either a checkpoint or a limited save system, wouldn't the former imply that you repeat more content?

Perhaps the issue is not so much that you prefer a limited save system, but that games with limited save systems are usually more conservative with their instant kill attacks because it'll cause the player to repeat more content. This in turn leads to more of a sense of attrition and dwindling resources which is good for building tension.

# ¿ Sep 30, 2014 06:44

Brackhar: Aug 26, 2006; I'll give you a definite maybe.

SolidSnakesBandana posted:

AVP's first marine level scared the gently caress out of me and there wasn't even a single thing that could hurt you. The whole time you were waiting for a scare that never came. It was brilliant.

Believe it or not, the newest AVP had really fun multiplayer.

Except for the whole congo line of execution thing.

# ¿ Oct 3, 2014 23:39

Brackhar: Aug 26, 2006; I'll give you a definite maybe.

Mr. Sunabouzu posted:

Yeah it actually does help a bit which i'm not sure I like since this game actually seems to expect you to be careful with using ammo. Feels like I paid money to make the game pull its punches.

Also goddamn this game looks great with GeDoSaTo

Yeah, I explicitly didn't pre-order on PC so I didn't have that pack.

Also, does GeDoSaTo make a big difference? I've never used it before.

# ¿ Oct 14, 2014 05:22

Brackhar: Aug 26, 2006; I'll give you a definite maybe.

Xenomrph posted:

For the uninitiated, what is GeDoSaTo?

GeDoSaTo is a utility that grew out of the DSFix for Dark Souls. Effectively it attempts to change the internal buffer resolution of games using DirectX, so that the game is rendering at or above the target resolution. A lot of console ports have a low internal render buffer size and then upscale the result to the target resolution which blurs the textures. Anytime you hear about a game running at 900p on one console and 720p on another, even though the output is to a 1080p TV, that's what they're talking about.

# ¿ Oct 14, 2014 06:28

Brackhar: Aug 26, 2006; I'll give you a definite maybe.

Zombie Samurai posted:

Not intending to derail Evil Within chat, but hey I played a zombie game!

The 31 ~~Days~~Games of October

1. Alien: Isolation
2. Year Walk
3. Deadlight
4. Adventures of Shuggy
5. Atom Zombie Smasher
6. Alan Wake's American Nightmare
7. Infected: The Twin Vaccine - Collector's Edition

8. How to Survive

(No screenshots this time, my keyboard was bugging out)

I decided to pick this up based on the replies in the Steam thread, and I'm glad I did. How to Survive plays like an isometric action game but with more emphasis on managing resources. The campaign strands you on an archipelago of zombie-infested islands, and you have to do quests for the other survivors to try to escape. Along the way you'll find tons of crafting materials to make weapons, armor, meals, tonics, and other goodies to help you survive. There's also a skill tree you progress through by leveling up and a full index of recipes to learn and rare flora & fauna to discover. The combat is solid if a bit floaty (kind of feels like Path of Exile if you could play it with a controller), and I especially like the ranged combat system. You aim with the right stick, and the longer you hold your aim steady, the more accurate it becomes until it becomes a headshot. Really makes fights against hordes tense as you struggle to make every shot count.

The crafting system is very cool, with tons of options and things to discover, and also somewhat forgiving as it often lets you uncombine items if you don't like the results. However as one poster pointed out, the limited inventory REALLY works against the design. You won't really know what something is good for until you're able to combine it with something else, so naturally you want to hold on to one of everything. It's just like the crafting system in Teleglitch, actually... except here there's like 10x as many items to hoard, and just as little space. I'm starting to feel the frustration, and I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and just dump tons of stuff if I want to finish this playthrough. I imagine once you have some experience with the game it's easier to know what to keep and what to toss.

The story and writing are barely serviceable, but that seems a small consideration in a game like this. There's co-op and challenge modes if you tire of story mode, and each of the three playable characters (there's a 4th DLC character) is persistent across all modes. If inventory wasn't so limited I would be extremely pleased with this game, but as it stands it's more than worth the current $3.75 asking price (good for the next 10 hours!).

I found How To Survive kinda all over the place in terms of tone. The world and setting are played pretty straight, except for all of the tutorials which have this lively background music and cheesy comic style animation. It's a pretty decent game to play, mostly due to the bow and arrow feeling great, but I didn't end up completing it. The last section of the game has this fairly annoying scavenger quest that, on-top of being over-long, was actually bugged and incompletable on my save. If the gameplay appeals to you though I think it's a good grab on sale. The inventory stuff is a pain for sure, but if it's any help later in the game you get the ability to go back to old areas freely, so you can just start creating stashes of interesting items at the docks.

Regarding The Evil Within I just played for about an hour (finished chapter 2), and my early thoughts are good. I'm not super scared by anything that's happening, but it definitely is tense so far. I'm actually reminded a lot in gameplay style of the Siren games of old, though with the addition of some actually meaningful ways to kill enemies. This is definitely more of a stealth horror compared to the ole' ammo trucking Resident Evil games; just something to be aware of.

Brackhar fucked around with this message at 08:28 on Oct 14, 2014

# ¿ Oct 14, 2014 08:25

Brackhar: Aug 26, 2006; I'll give you a definite maybe.

Neo Rasa posted:

Well have I got a surprise for you!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYwkPko99ps

This intro cinematic is amazing.

"The white water turns them back to normal!" :what:

# ¿ Oct 16, 2014 18:22

Brackhar: Aug 26, 2006; I'll give you a definite maybe.

Accordion Man posted:

P.T.'s puzzles were intentionally obtuse because it being a Silent Hill game was supposed to be a surprise and they didn't want people finding out immediately (Of course the game press hosed that up for them) so I wouldn't expect Silent Hills to be like that.

Did they ever codify what the requirements for getting the baby laughs were in the demo?

# ¿ Nov 17, 2014 23:28

Brackhar: Aug 26, 2006; I'll give you a definite maybe.

Morpheus posted:

One of the reasons I'll never play the HD version is what they did to the fog, it basically butchers any creepy atmosphere the game has, especially in the boat scene:

I mean come on, you can literally see the edge of the world here:

Yeah. I was so excited about this collection, and then found it it was... so bad. I think SH3 also has some really serious issues too.

# ¿ Nov 18, 2014 19:19

Brackhar: Aug 26, 2006; I'll give you a definite maybe.

Luisfe posted:

RE6 is a FANTASTIC action game.

Get it, play mercs. Enjoy it. Wait for a sale, but Mercs Mode is amazing.
The campaigns are very, very bad though.

Is Mercs actually that good? Would you be willing to put a number of cash dollars on how good Mercs is?

# ¿ Nov 19, 2014 19:54

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# ¿ May 8, 2024 21:26

Brackhar: Aug 26, 2006; I'll give you a definite maybe.

Mindblast posted:

Whenever you can run from her, run. Sometimes this isn't enough but you can kinda tell by keeping your eyes open.

Unfortunately she's also only killable *some* of the time, so it's pretty much not worth it at all to try to fight her openly unless it's a required plot element (like in Chapter... 5?).

# ¿ Nov 21, 2014 23:15

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