Gothic Horror

Clock Tower Rewind (2024) is one of those games I have mixed feelings about. Not quite enjoying it, but can’t seem to put it down because there are multiple endings to unlock, and with patience, I know I can 100 percent the game. However, is it really worth it to see all the way to the end if the experience is that bad? I remember having a similar experience with Remothered:Tormented Fathers, another stalker game that almost blew up my laptop. The game had some major technical issues and yet, I soldier through. Why do some of us like being chased by a freak??? What’s the thrill in that? Oh wait. I know. When we are in flight mode, we fight for our lives.

Drawing of Rooney from NightCry — *Hey Rooney, we are just a bit loony.* (Rooney from *NightCry*¹)

My apologies for speaking in riddles. Let’s rewind that paragraph above. Clock Tower Rewind is an upgrade from the original Clock Tower (1995), a survival horror game created by Hifumi Kono. This game includes the rewind gaming mechanic and some additional behind-the-scenes content as the major selling point. Gameplay-wise, this game is painful to get through. But I get it, games back then did not hold your hand. There is no shiny, twinkling cue to steer the gamer to pick up an item. It took me 10 hours of trial and error to figure things out. Exploration is part of the game. Getting lost in the mansion is part of the game. Dying by the scissor man is part of the game. If you memorize the layout of the mansion and know exactly what to do, this game is actually short. You can complete it in less than an hour. However, let me warn: it is going to require some patience. This game is like playing a bumpy film when it could have been smoother. It’s not a remastered version. Some say it’s a bad port. And I am going to have to agree with the popular consensus on this one.

*The pesticide was in the corner all along. Wow, I feel like a total dummy.*

The control is super janky. Trying to block the antagonist from attacking Jennifer is like playing paper, rock, and scissors. You just don’t know if blocking will be successful. I even used the rewind mechanic, but still no luck. The most frustrating part is where I ended up in a room with a floating doll. Jennifer does not move, no matter how many times I press the execute button to run (A on the controller, G on the keyboard). I had to reload several times until I faced the hanging French doll. Only then can I command Jennifer to run past the doll and escape the room.

*I don’t think being stuck is part of the game design…*

My point is that games back then came a long way in terms of user improvements, and therefore, I am forgiving. However, selling a game to make a quick profit seems lazy to me. I love the game’s concept, but I don’t think it’s a game for everyone who is looking to play a seamless, survival horror game. I can only see this game worth something to someone if they are a big survival horror game fan. It’s nice to say I played it, or attempted to get all the endings.

Jennifer falling — *I am tired of trying if you make it impossible.*

Final Thoughts

This game inspired me to watch Phenomena (1985), directed by Dario Argento. And I must say, I enjoyed the film a lot! I also have a deeper appreciation for NightCry (2016) as well, which was also created by Hifumi Kono. I see how his works have evolved. But if you were to ask me which I prefer, I would say NightCry over Clock Tower because I like Masahiro Ito’s monster design a whole lot more, and the final conclusion of the game, even if I am missing an eyeball. Don’t know what I mean? Go play NightCry. It’s more fun and polished than this game.

Notes:

Rooney is one of the playable characters from the survival horror game, NightCry ↩︎

This blog post is more like a writing prompt, but readers can treat it as a review despite some spoilers. I hope this does not discourage you; instead, I hope it piques your interest enough to pick up the book if you haven’t already read this classic.

When I was a kid, I remember reading the first chapter of a random book and being amazed at the author’s command of words. There’s a godly presence to the writer when she can manipulate words and draw images in the reader’s mind. Naive little me believed everything that is printed. It was not until later in life that I realized that even the most profound writers are as blind as the lowest common denominators–limited to one’s frame of mind. Oh no, I’m not insulting someone’s intelligence but to remind us that humans are full of erroneous beliefs. Yes, I can hear someone saying Frankenstein was published in 1818. Mary Shelley is the product of her time, and as a modern reader, I should be forgiving, but I just can’t! Asian cultures are slothful? South America is the land of savages? No way can I tolerate such worldviews! I am Asian-American. As an outsider like the Frankenstein’s monster, I can only appreciate the book (European culture) from afar. The book was one of the most beautiful prose I have ever read, and I wish I could love it more but I cannot. I am no ally to outdated, prejudiced ideologies.

The book is classified as horror, but it feels more like a tragedy. College boy Victor Frankenstein from Geneva, thirsted for something more and decided to create life only to abandon it. Why? One vocabulary described his ambition: ennui, which is a noun meaning “a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement (Oxford Languages dictionary. I googled the vocabulary).” Yes, Victor Frankenstein was carried away with his studies. He was not content with idleness like his spiritual friend Henry Clerval. Frankenstein was ambitious, and that became his ruin.

What a glorious creature must he have been in the days of his prosperity, when he is thus noble and godlike in ruin. He seems to feel his worth and the greatness of his fall (p.200).

The plot sounds pretty simple when I summarized it like that– but it made me reflect on the classic literature books I have read previously (Macbeth and Crime and Punishment) which have a similar theme: the human’s conscience becoming the prosecutor. In Frankenstein, Victor attempts to redeem his error by becoming the prosecutor; meanwhile, the monster becomes his persecutor. Every decision Victor has made against the monster leads him further into misfortunes. Like a wild game of chase, he cannot escape his tormentor, who happens to be also the monster’s tormentor. Not even the beauty of the European Alps and pristine lakes can soothe the mind for too long because both are a slave to each other existence. His burden is so heavy that he globalizes it. To him, he has unleashed a horrific machination against humanity, a “sensitive rational animal (p.200)” that will defile all of Europe! But is the monster at fault? Some have argued that the monster is more human than Frankenstein. I believe so. So does that make all us a bit like monsters?

There are so many angles I could look at from reading this dense book of 211 pages, which makes it great for reading discussions. I can’t help but wonder myself what Frankenstein could have done differently with the monster. Why create a monster without weighing the consequence? How did he know that it was the monster who committed murder? The way how the story unfolds made me believe it’s about colonial racism, but I can’t say for sure. That’s why a second reading may be worth the time for someone like me who is always fishing metaphors.

P.S.

I often wonder where the phrase misery loves company comes from. Is it from this book? Frankenstein and the monster could not live without the other.