marcp
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Post by marcp on Oct 18, 2021 7:22:55 GMT
I've just done the underpass in Silent Hill 3, and I'm about ready to bin it off tbh. Grey featureless corridors full of enemies (those fucking spinning insect thingies!) and no other goal than to lug random item A to point B. This was not fun.
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Post by Aunt Alison on Oct 18, 2021 7:52:29 GMT
I prefer the pacing of SH2, it feels more like you're exploring the town with some downtime betweeen main locations. SH3 feels much more linear. If you're an SH1 fan, it's well worth continuing
Not sure if either is suppose to be 'fun' though
The goal in survival horror games has always pretty much been find item/key to progress though. They just disguised/dressed it up better back then. It always seems so much more obvious in modern horror games
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Post by richarddavies on Oct 18, 2021 8:21:15 GMT
Shame to hear. I finished 2 again at the beginning of the year and keep meaning to jump back into 3. It's been long enough since my last play that I don't remember much about it. I'll still get round to it, but my backlog is massive at the minute and I'm in no rush.
Tried Visage on game pass last week. That seemed quite atmospheric/creepy. I found myself aimlessly wandering quite a bit though which dampened the mood for me.
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Post by dominalien on Oct 18, 2021 14:20:45 GMT
I like SH3 so much more than 2. The background story is just that much more evocative for me. I found the final section the best of the game.
On a different note, Tormented Souls is way beyond inspiration territory of RE, SH and AITD, strongly bordering on plagiarism. Good fun, though. Not even sure we're in double A territory, maybe B+?
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Post by quadfather on Oct 22, 2021 13:57:51 GMT
I didn't know Resident Evil 4 has just been released in VR. But only exclusively for the oculus quest 2. Fucks sake, why do exclusives on VR - it needs all the exposure it can get.
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Cappy
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Post by Cappy on Oct 22, 2021 14:21:37 GMT
The VR version of Resident Evil 4 is heavily censored at the request of Facebook, it's best if it just dies quietly.
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Post by drhickman1983 on Oct 22, 2021 14:29:37 GMT
I really liked Silent Hill 1-3, and some of 4.
1 and especially 3 do have a lot more about the backstory of the town, the story is much more about the history of the town. 3 ties into 1 much more than 2.
All that said I think 2 was my favourite. It had a much more personal angle, literally being rooted in the psychology of the flawed protagonist. Whilst I do love world building and lore, that character driven edge made me like 2 the most.
The room sections in 4 were great, the shitty escort based second half can do one.
I still think the opening section to 1 is the creepiest and most genuinely unnerving section of any game I've played. Plenty of things have aped it since, and done it objectively better maybe, but now that I'm aware of the tricks that have less power.
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Post by docrob on Oct 22, 2021 14:31:11 GMT
I didn't know Resident Evil 4 has just been released in VR. But only exclusively for the oculus quest 2. Fucks sake, why do exclusives on VR - it needs all the exposure it can get. Well, that’s a pain in the arse. I was considering getting it for my Rift at some point. |
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Post by richyroo on Oct 22, 2021 14:38:53 GMT
What pisses me off is that the Rift and Quest 2 are both from Oculus and Facebook. They are literally paying for exclusivity for one part of their business at the detriment of another.
I do have a Rift, but hardly ever use it now and plan to sell it. So I guess I couldnt care less anyway now, but annoying for those that do.
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Post by quadfather on Oct 22, 2021 14:45:59 GMT
It's fucking stupid. Do they not want me to buy their game in vr? I certainly would if they'd release it to multiple VR tech. Twats.
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Cappy
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Post by Cappy on Oct 23, 2021 10:05:56 GMT
Resident Evil 2 Remake completed via Claire A Leon B, there's still 4th Survivor and the Leon A Claire B variant run but I think I'll stop there.
I never did figure out how to efficiently deal with the zombies, I tried everything, the only thing that worked consistently is three shots in a leg followed by three in an arm, the game triggers a 'death' at the point they're immobilised. Going the head shot route can easily take more than ten shots versus the six going for the limbs, but this is in a game where you can't afford to spend six bullets on getting past a zombie. Meanwhile the zombies have a hundred percent effective grab if you're anywhere in their vicinity.
So, you've got a breakable knife, you can't shoot them and you can't run past them unless it's a wide enough space. The game does give you loads of health items though, perhaps you're just supposed to take the bites.
It's best to just move on from trying to figure out why they changed all the things they did. Finding the new line of least resistance is a recipe for a headache.
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Oct 25, 2021 22:21:33 GMT
Today I tried Song of Horror on a whim, and finished the first episode. It was actually better than I expected. It's basically the puzzle and visuals of Resident Evil Remake, with some stealth elements lifted from Amnesia, and a few touches of its own. You get four characters for each episode: when one dies, you keep going with the remaining ones. If all characters die, you have to restart the episode. The game punishes mistakes severely (if you open the wrong door or fail a minigame, that character dies immediately) and that generates quite a bit of tension since there's no reloading saves to rewind a death, except if you are playing on the lowest difficulty level. On the downside, the QTE minigames aren't all that great, at times the instant deaths seem a bit trial and error because even merely examining the wrong object could lead to your demise, and the paranoia that stems from permadeath means that you could be unwilling to take some risks that would avoid stagnation. For example: Earlier, I had misjudged a sound on the other side of a door and got my character killed by a ghost. When I played with the next character, I got to the attic and found a ghost in my way which looked exactly like the previous one, so I thought it would have been another death scene, and wandered for half an hour trying to find another way in. Eventually I looked up a guide and discovered that just that particular ghost doesn't hurt you. Also, the technical side isn't that great and feels quite heavy on the GPU. I've lowered my settings to the minimum and still had to cap the framerate to 30fps to avoid hammering the GPU too much (I hate the fan noise). Luckily it's a slow paced game and 30fps is good enough for it. We'll also see if the game doesn't get repetitive in the remaining four episodes. But considering it was free with Prime, it's not a bad choice for a Halloween night. |
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Post by simple on Oct 26, 2021 0:08:50 GMT
Got to play the very beginning of Carrion this evening. Been on my radar since it first came out but this is my first time hands on.
The facility reminds me of the Alien3 sidescroller but the controls are a little loose and chaotic. I’m not a twin stick shooter player but it feels like that could have been a useful skill coming into this. I thought it’d be stalkier rather than quite as fast and flailing. Into it so far.
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Post by One_Vurfed_Gwrx on Oct 26, 2021 7:17:14 GMT
Got to play the very beginning of Carrion this evening. Been on my radar since it first came out but this is my first time hands on. The facility reminds me of the Alien3 sidescroller but the controls are a little loose and chaotic. I’m not a twin stick shooter player but it feels like that could have been a useful skill coming into this. I thought it’d be stalkier rather than quite as fast and flailing. Into it so far. I really enjoyed Carrion and the controls work quite well once you are used to them and have some upgrades you are an effective mass murdering killing machine. |
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Dgzter
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Post by Dgzter on Oct 26, 2021 8:50:34 GMT
I hadn't realised that RE: Village had a demo up on the Steam store. As it happened, I'd not yet picked the game up, though I certainly intended to do so at some point, so I downloaded and played through the demo last night.
I do love their RE engine, plays like a dream on my aging hardware. The two segments in the demo, one that I suspect is right at the start of the game and the other taking place at the castle presumably not long after, were fine. Looked great, interesting enough story angle, though were perhaps rather easy on the Standard difficulty setting.
The one thing I'd say, though, was that neither felt remotely scary at all. Much more action-based with little to no sense of dread or mounting tension. The 'horror' atmosphere did not really seem to extend beyond the general aesthetic and gothic architecture. Is that indicative of the game as a whole?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 26, 2021 8:55:30 GMT
Yes.
Apart from one bit.
Which will make you weep.
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Dgzter
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Post by Dgzter on Oct 26, 2021 9:00:25 GMT
I'm both slightly saddened and intrigued to hear that  |
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Post by simple on Oct 26, 2021 9:01:11 GMT
Without meaning to spoil anything each boss’s zone is pretty distinct so if the castle doesn’t do it for you the others might
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Dgzter
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Post by Dgzter on Oct 26, 2021 9:05:01 GMT
Nah it was fine, I'm sure I'll enjoy it well enough.
It just didn't necessarily hit the unsettling vibes that the RE7 initial demo and then first few sections did a few years back.
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Post by simple on Oct 26, 2021 10:05:30 GMT
Its not as scary as 7 but they’re quite different games in lots of ways
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Oct 26, 2021 11:43:11 GMT
Song of Horror is getting harder. While the minigames themselves are easy, trial and error deaths are still a thing (some can be avoided with good judgment, admittedly, but the game likes to dangle a carrot in front of you by having similar actions give rewards instead). One thing absolutely came out of nowhere and really pissed me off though. In the second episode, I lost the policeman to another misjudged door sound (no more, I swear). Started using the gardener, and while I'm moving in a corridor, I hear a door opening, followed immediately by the gardener getting shot in the head. It was the possessed policeman, who then proceeded to shoot himself. And so I lost two characters for the price of one. What bothered me was that there was no telltale sign whatsoever about this. No warning sound or anything. How could I have foreseen it? I can understand why they would do it. Without any combat, and the minigames being easy, one would be completely safe as long as they remembered to check every door. So the only way to add real tension is by making you doubt your every move. But with permadeath being a thing, it would really suck to have to restart a whole episode because of some random event. I finished episode 2 with only one character left. And I'm guessing that one of the dead characters should have been among the starters for episode 3, because now I only have three characters to choose from. That really sucks. On the other hand, it's been a while since I've seen a truly "tense" game like this. When you are down to only one character, you are basically dreading every action and every step. And to the game's credit, while I lost almost every character so far, I still haven't had to restart a chapter, so the difficulty does seem to be tuned just right. |
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Dgzter
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Post by Dgzter on Oct 26, 2021 11:53:58 GMT
I know exactly the section you are talking about in the spoiler, as I too managed to trigger this exact sequence of events. For what it's worth, and in answer to your last point: There is actually a (miserably obscure) in-game indicator of what is going to happen, though I too only decoded it on my second go through the episode (I got everyone killed the first time). When you enter the corridor there is a subtle music shift and your character's facial expression and I if I recall some either gasping/whimpering sounds are intended to alert you to the danger. Then, when you approach the corner of the corridor, you can hear the sound of the gun being cocked. At that point, backing up and heading into the main room is the only way to escape. I never encountered the situation again after that. EDIT: wow, apparently I was wrong lol Hadn't realised I missed out on the characters carrying through. Damn, I'll need to start again  |
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Oct 26, 2021 12:05:24 GMT
Is it possible to just replay completed chapters to finish with more characters alive, or do you need to start from the beginning? For now I'll just keep going with the ones I have left. I'll consider it a lesson to myself. After all, while those random events suck, some of the characters I've lost because of some admittedly stupid mistakes It probably wasn't a great idea to enter a door where you hear a crying sound, or dismissing those scaffolding plans, or checking a mirror in a game where mirrors are blatantly bad news. |
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Dgzter
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Post by Dgzter on Oct 26, 2021 12:06:08 GMT
I think the insta-deaths from object interaction are my main gripe. I've not yet fallen foul of a door, and the mini-games are fairly straight forward (though I'm always too heavy handed with the silence one).
I kind of wish they had added the option to disable permadeath on any of the difficulty options. At the moment it is tied to the easiest difficulty, which also drastically reduces the number of encounters you will experience. I'd happily play it with the encounters, and the tuning of their respective mini-games, set to normal or high, but without the permadeath. I don't want to give up on the regular difficulty at the moment, though, as it's the only way to unlock the Lovercraft nightmare setting.
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Dgzter
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Post by Dgzter on Oct 26, 2021 12:10:06 GMT
Is it possible to just replay completed chapters to finish with more characters alive, or do you need to start from the beginning? I'm not sure actually, might boot it up tonight and see. Would be cool if you could just do fresh starts of any episode, once they are unlocked, and begin with the respective full quota of characters. |
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Cappy
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Post by Cappy on Oct 26, 2021 12:11:46 GMT
Can't you just restart chapters or load a prior save in Song of Horror?
The only way to maintain tension with that sort of setup is to play it for keeps Demon's Souls style and constantly auto-save. Even then, you generally knew when things were going south and could quit quickly to reload with an opportunity to do better or retreat.
It's kind of an issue with door A = Unicorns and rainbows, door B = Die screaming penetrated from all angles by sharp things.
They have to give you some information on which to make choices, and if they don't the choice will be subverted by people retrying until they get the outcome they need which makes offering the choices pointless in the first place.
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Oct 26, 2021 12:19:47 GMT
Can't you just restart chapters or load a prior save in Song of Horror? The only way to maintain tension with that sort of setup is to play it for keeps Demon's Souls style and constantly auto-save. Even then, you generally knew when things were going south and could quit quickly to reload with an opportunity to do better or retreat. It's kind of an issue with door A = Unicorns and rainbows, door B = Die screaming penetrated from all angles by sharp things. They have to give you some information on which to make choices, and if they don't the choice will be subverted by people retrying until they get the outcome they need which makes offering the choices pointless in the first place. You do get some information, though it's not necessarily obvious. Like say, you really need to check those scaffolding plans thoroughly to realize that ony one of the windows is safe to walk out of. Also, anything that could cause you to see your own reflection (a covered mirror, a bathtub full of water) is probably dangerous due to how the story presents mirrors. And while the game warns you about specific sounds, you'll quickly learn that ALL sounds coming from a closed door are a big nope. The policeman event was the only one that really caught me by surprise. Also, the game likes offering rewards for some of these specific actions, so one might be tempted to take risks regardless, especially if they are still on their first character. Mind, it's not like it doesn't work. As I said, the game is much more tense than a lot of other horrors I've played. And I still haven't got a game over. |
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Dgzter
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Post by Dgzter on Oct 26, 2021 12:29:25 GMT
Yeah, I do like the game a lot, actually: slight performance issues and the odd insta-death misstep aside. Really tense atmosphere and environments, decent use of classics tropes and horror mainstays, and the mild puzzle-solving mechanics are probably pitched just about right.
Once I got my head around the fact that most of the supporting characters are simply your 'extra lives', then I felt less bothered about the lack of any character development outside Daniel (though there's hardly much there either, to be fair).
I've still to play Ep. 4 and 5, though, so hopefully it doesn't all go south.
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Post by richyroo on Oct 26, 2021 12:40:25 GMT
I bought last night in the sale 'Condemned: Criminal Origins' on the 360 to play on the Series X.
I remember this game being absolutely terrifying (mannequins & shopping mall?!!). Looking forward to playing it again, was only about £3 i think.
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Cappy
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Post by Cappy on Oct 27, 2021 10:44:44 GMT
You know, being a bad or mediocre game is one thing, being mediocre but entirely lacking in any charm or character is somehow ten times worse. I played Alan Wake, the 'Psychological Action Thriller'. Sure Remedy, and the poop crusted underpants stretched over your head are actually a gentlemanly top hat. I see Resident Evil 2 Remake, Evil within, whatever else I've played recently in an entirely new light post Alan Wake, they're rare, meticulously crafted gems compared to this... Er... Psychological Action Thriller.
Control feels loose and uncomfortable due to some choices with the camera and aiming. You don't actually aim guns you point the flashlight then Alan shoots where you point, this introduces noticeable lag and requires the game to help you with incredibly generous and heavy-handed auto-aim. But try actually aiming at something specific, our old friend exploding barrels/cannisters for instance (yes this 'psychological' game has them). The aim magnetically shifts onto the enemies nearby the barrel, the auto-aim thwarts you nearly every time.
The game is not scary or horrific in the slightest, the enemy encounter design where they spawn from thin air all around you makes them more of a nuisance than objects of fear. In terms of design it doesn't get much more dull than this. You end up getting funneled through woods again and again, attacked by the same 4-5 enemies repeatedly interspersed with flocks of crows swooping and objects being possessed by 'poltergeists' which just looks like the game is glitching. I've never seen a more uninteresting enemy roster.
So we've got guy with flashlight in town that manifests things from his imagination... Hold on, they're also ripping off Silent Hill! The entirety of Alan Wake's 'story' wouldn't measure up to a mere fragment from a Silent Hill 2 scene. Alan Wake also commits the cardinal sin of constantly interfering with your inventory, you don't do that in games of this sort where the player goes to the effort of finding items hoping to keep hold of them for later. Every chapter there is a contrivance to strip you of items meaning a constant waste of time finding basic items needed to progress.
An uninteresting story, boring repetitive combat, sub-par art direction and assets and to add insult to injury it's incredibly unstable on PS4, I easily had 10-15 crashes getting through the original chapters then took a look at one of the formerly DLC chapters and it crashes even more.
This is a game in which you collect thermos flasks for no reason, you get nothing. What a great metaphor for the bland and empty package Alan Wake is, I shouldn't but I just can't help it making a comparison to Resident Evil 2 Remake where progress unlocks concept art and models, solving puzzles gets you weapons and upgrade parts for weapons that you actually get to keep.
What a waste for dross like this to get a 'remaster' when far more deserving games are left out in the cold.
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