The sky is blue, the leaves are sprouting, and the birds are chirping. I can’t believe Spring is here, and my blog turned 8 years old! Thanks, WordPress, for the notification. I forgot my own blog’s birthday.
This year feels like I have been reading more, and I like it that way. It’s more calming with a cup of tea–even the games I am playing are less demanding. I completed TheCount of Monte Cristo, which I started reading in late December. I could have finished the book sooner, but I was reading other things in between. During that time, I also started reading Claymore, themanga. As for Monster, I stopped at volume 4. I will resume once I have finished the other books. I didn’t like jumping from one book to the next. I realized this method didn’t work for me. I like to take my time to stop and think what I’ve read.
After reading The Count of Monte Cristo, I am going to read something shorter.
On top of my reading list, I have added Jane Eyre, Agnes Grey, and Wuthering Heights. I have yet to read all three books by the Brontë sisters. It’s my way of celebrating International Women’s History Month.
Game Update
I have been eying Undernaunts Labyrinth of the Yomi for a long time… Thanks to my fiancé, I received it as a gift. The problem with Undernaunts physical copy for the PS5 is that I heard there is a bug that prevents players from progressing. I am not sure if it has been fixed as of 2026. Well, I suppose I will have to try! Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it anymore to buy physical copies. I am sure the Switch version is worth it for gamers who like collecting physical copies.
Instead of being an astronaut, you play as an undernaut. The title is clever.
In addition to my gaming collection, I am currently playing PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid’s Curse. So far, I am not liking it as much. The reviews on Steam’s page are over hyped. I wonder if Square Enix staff wrote some of those positive reviews to boost sales. It is a bit disappointing for the price, but I will shut my mouth and try to complete the game. I believe I am near the end.
Stop lying. It’s about the money…
It’s all right. I am not all that angry. We all know these days, everyone is feeling the blow of inflation except for the delusional 1%. But my wallet hurts when I play a subpar adventure game. For $24.99, you could buy several adventurous horror games out there for the price of one during Steam’s sale. I remember for $1.99, I had a blast with The Cat Lady. This visual novel feels like reading an encyclopedia on the historical context surrounding Japanese mermaids. And the over the top theatrical character’s animation is not cutting it. It’s annoying.
Oh, I sure appreciate the subtle insult. Once again another game poking fun at its audience.
That’s a wrap up for my Spring reading and gaming update as of March. Until next time, be well.
I don’t know where to start. The game’s content is quite heavy. I’m not even sure if I like it personally. I am not even sure if I want to replay the game. There are multiple endings. The themes (i.e. gender discrimination and child abuse, bullying etc.) can draw out uncomfortable emotions from some of its audiences. Like the themes from Silent Hill: The Message, the game is far from entertaining. The game provided a Content Warning disclaimer, which is nice. However, making a profit out of someone’s misfortune is hardly a form of entertainment to me. So if you are looking to play something fun, you won’t find it in this game. Instead, you’d find a well-made psychological horror game about a struggling cute, schoolgirl in a man’s world. No one really gets her. It’s so sad that she can’t even talk to her doll.
Please don’t kill your femininitybecause you hate your dad. Not all guys are bad...
As for me personally, I would rather laugh than cry. So I am going to put this game aside for now…until I am ready to go underwater again. I am so curious about the other endings.
What a pretty sad flower
P.S.
I am sorry for being vague. It’s a good game. I am speechless about the game for the most part. Maybe I’ll come back with a longer post. It will make SEO happy. 😀
I remember reading somewhere before the release of Song of Horror that Protocol Games wanted to make a true survival horror. My initial thought at the time was let’s see if they can genuinely make a good one. Personally, I haven’t come across that many horror games I considered great by indie developers (maybe I need to play more). The ones I liked were Detention and Soma, but even then, they didn’t leave an everlasting impression on me. And so, I was pleasantly surprised with this game. Not only did the developers achieve in building a suspenseful, tense horror game, but they also weave a good story into the gameplay without making it convoluted. The gameplay is also highly addictive.
Synopsis
On one Friday evening, as soon as Daniel Noyer comes home after a long day at work, his boss from Wake Publishing phoned him on the whereabouts of Sebastian Husher who happens to be an acclaimed, historical fiction author, and the shiny star of the publishing firm. Not only is the author missing but his manuscript has passed the deadline! Daniel, annoyed being as the errand boy, has no choice but to pay a visit to the Husher’s residency. From there, he finds the place abandoned with an eerie music box playing in the background. This mysterious tune will determine his fate. Will he find the missing author and the manuscript? Will he get his promotion that he so deserved?
Daniel is driving up to the Husher’s Mansion to retrieve the manuscript.
Gameplay
There are four difficulty settings: E.T.A. Hoffmann, M.R. James, Edgar Allan Poe, and H.P. Lovecraft. Even though the game recommends players to start on Edgar Allan Poe, I switched over to the easiest so I could learn how to play the game. Once I become comfortable with QTEs (also referred to mini games) and the puzzles, I move up a level. The reason is because on Edgar Allen Poe, the player will experience more permadeaths and encounter more QTEs than M.R. James mode. It can get annoying fast when you are trying to progress the storyline. With the easiest setting (E.T.A. Hoffmann), you could restart at a checkpoint without losing a character permanently. However, if you pick Daniel, you will have to restart the episode regardless of the difficulty settings because he is the main character. So, be mindful on which characters you choose to play on the harder settings. Not all characters are created equal, but they balance each other out.
If you look at his serenity attribute, he is not good at staying quiet when facing The Silence in episode II, but his strength is strong for blocking the doors.
Daniel has an overall balanced attribute, but even playing as him, I struggled blocking the door from the menacing entity.
As mentioned earlier, I take baby steps first until I familiarize myself with the structure of the game. The game will punish impatient players. Making loud, stomping sound will trigger QTE, which means potentially dying and losing game progress. As for the puzzles, some of them are difficult. For instance, the description to break the code in episode V is vague. All it has are some doodle drawings and a sentence that reads: “From highest to lowest, the seven numbers in the photo.” At first in my mind, I tried to match 7 numbers to 5 drawings. Now that I think about it, I can see the thought process. There are 7 people total, 6 in white suits, 4 standing up, 3 sitting down, 3 wearing glasses, 3 with mustache, and 1 in black suit. The code is 7643331.
Creepy doctors!
I was surprised that I didn’t need to complete the game on the reccomended difficulty setting. Once I completed the game on M.R. James mode, the H.P. Lovecraft mode becomes available. It’s there for those who want a challenge. Indeed, it’s challenging. Pressing the button to control your breath, heart rhythm and block the door will leave you panting. If you are hardcore, go for it, but it’s going to require a lot of patience.
SOUND
Speaking of sound, a horror game wouldn’t be horrific without the special sound effects. There will be times when I have to press the character’s head against the door to listen if there is something behind it. Failing to listen will kill the character. I died many times because I had the volume on low. So, I recommend playing the volume on high or with a headset.
Erica is listening to what’s behind the door.
I could hear the rumbling, whispering and the slithering sound coming from the mysterious evil entity also known as the Presence with the headset on. The funniest part is the jump scare moments. I found it quite funny when Daniel screams. Apart from the haunting sound effects, there are moments where I could relax and breathe normally. Occasionally, you’d hear the characters exhaling and making disagreement noises when something doesn’t work out such as trying to open a blocked door or failing to combine two items. It’s comforting. I also appreciate Dr. Berenice Prestegard’s calm and intelligent voice. Exploring the mental asylum is frightening, but she makes everything feels okay.
Dr. Berenice is terrified of the dark, but she is brave enough to sleep alone. What an oxymoron.
Visual
All the stages (episodes) are well designed and nailed the horror atmosphere to an extreme. Can someone please explain to me on what is the obsession with mannequins in horror games? Is it the secret ingredient to a good horror? I find that it’s becoming a cliché more than a tribute to classic horror games.
You can’t see it in the picture, but behind René Artigas there is a door chained up. One of the easter eggs. It’s a reference Silent Hill 4.
Anyway, there is the Husher’s mansion, the antique shop, the archive, the abbey, and the mental asylum, which have straight forward objectives if you know what you are doing. My favorite part of the game happens to be theantique shop in episode II. Whenever I feel threatened, I want to rush outside of the building into the rain. The sight and sound of the rain is soothing and it gives me the impression of fresh air. I like how balanced episode II is compared to other episodes.
The light shining on the rain is very pretty.
Conclusion
Do I recommend this game? Yes! Is this game perfect? No! They could have toned down the jump scares on Edgar Allan Poe, and H.P. Lovecraft mode. Secondly, some of the puzzles are difficult and don’t make any sense. Hard for hard sake is not my cup of tea. Thirdly, the H.P. Lovecraft mode is insane at times. There are moments I literally tiptoe in the game to minimize random QTEs. Lastly, the game freezes quite frequently on H.P. Lovecraft mode. It starts to feel like obtaining the platinum is more of a gamble than based on effort. Despite the flaws, I still enjoyed the game. What I love most is the thought process behind the gameplay, atmosphere, sound, story, and characters. All the playable characters have diverse, interesting backgrounds. I enjoyed the game so much that I shoot for the platinum trophy! That should say a lot about the game whether it is worth your time.
Now that I am back from vacation, I completed my first playthrough of Song of Horror. I am replaying the game because there are multiple playable characters, and each character has its own dialogue. Each time I replay the episode with a different character, I learn something new. I am enjoying the structure of the game. I will discuss more about the game in detail at a later time.
I hope I am not the only one playing the game. I enjoyed it that much that I plan to get a copy for PC.
As I was reading my older blog posts: My Thoughts on Art, Creativity and Blogging and What’s in a Name?, I realized I spent a lot of time writing for this blog that I don’t have time for other creative projects. I am trying to find a good balance without abandoning this blog entirely.
Like Erica from Song of Horror, I too would love to “spend the day here, chilling and playing guitar.”
With that being said, I am being more selective with games. Play games that I want to play and not just check off a list. Recently, I have been wanting to go back to PlayStation 2 games. One of them is Echo Night: Beyond, and the other is Shadow of Hearts. Playing Song of Horror made me appreciate retro games. They are more artistic and methodical than modern games, and oddly more therapeutic for my mental health.
I like challenging games and books but I am not that competitive, so I never understood how people can get an ego boost from completing so many books and games within a year. I’ve learned to accept that I prefer to do things at a slower pace. I can see myself savoring Song of Horror. The game is challenging enough for me to want to platinum it, but I have not decided yet. Apart from gaming, I am trying to finish Germinal by Émile Zola, so that I can focus on Monster, the manga. You might see some upcoming thoughts on these two items. Lastly, I am going through old posts and updating them, so you might see that as well. Of course, some might say no one actually cares about these updates. I like to forewarn my readers for consistency purposes because I am one of those readers who notice the little detail.
I know it’s 2025, but I keep daydreaming about replaying my favorite games when I have a backlog to get through. Called it a video game freeze. I don’t like spending money for the sake of hoarding, especially when the economy is shaky these days. But that’s half the truth though. As my mother once said, you can’t eat video games. For more about my philosophy behind my small backlog, you can read it here: Rambling on Why My Video Games Backlog is Small.
Before introducing you folks to the demos I am currently playing, I’d like to express my gratitude for the cooler weather. September is a nice month. Summer is coming to an end, and that means I can drink hot tea. I am just excited to drink tea and play games! Without further ado, I introduce my list:
Haak
I can’t remember how I stumbled upon this game. Oh, wait, I remember now. I thought the artworks looked cool, so I watched the trailer and found out that I can try the demo. To my surprise, I enjoy the gameplay. It feels fluid. But I am not sure if I will purchase the entire game. There’s one pet peeve I can’t stand: the text’s sound effect. Perhaps I can mute it or lower the volume. Despite that little annoyance, I don’t mind playing a good metroidvania game, especially one that takes place in the wasteland.
Strange Antique
I enjoyed Strange Horticulture. It was a relaxing game to play at the end of fall about two years ago. I found the sound of the rain in the game quite soothing and enjoyed the gameplay. The game did progressively get harder, but it was not overly difficult. Likewise Strange Antique has a similar vibe. I don’t own any antique but I do admire those who collect them. There is a lot of story in an object–from the person who crafted it and to the person who owned it. As an art lover, this game is going to be a treat for this upcoming fall. This is one game I will eventually purchase but not on launch day!
Crow Country
My brother brought this game to my attention. In the past, my brother was the to go person for video game recommendations and his recommendations never failed me. So far, I enjoy the demo but found some minor flaws in the game design that could use some improvements. Trust me, I don’t enjoy finding errors. My job was a nightmare…Despite those little user hiccups, the game is still worth checking out. I will potentially purchase the full game when I am in the mood for old school survival horror.
Bonus Game
Before I forget, I do want to mention I picked Song of Horror to review for the Halloween tradition on this blog. Each year, I pick one horror game to review. It’s a fun way to celebrate Halloween and be festive. So far, I am enjoying the game. It’s creepy. I love the exploring the abandoned mansion and learning about the characters through their inner dialogue. I completed the prelude and started on Sophie’s episode as of Sept. 9, 2025. I can tell it’s a quality game that I am going to appreciate and would definitely recommend it to horror fans because I am currently hooked!
Hope you found something interesting in this list!
The monsters are grotesque, and the artwork is enthralling. But the impression I had of this game after obtaining the true ending (happy ending) was eww, eww, eww! I would love this game if I had the brain of an insect. That statement alone should pique your curiosity enough to pick it up because I will not spoil the story for those interested in playing the game. Let’s say the plot is creatively perverted, and I don’t even know if that’s a compliment!
It’s trying to bite
In terms of gameplay, for a visual novel, it’s kind of out of the ordinary to level up your skills so you can take more damage from your opponent (spirits). It seems like the developer put the gaming mechanics because it makes it more “gamey”. You can also collect lost souls which come in the form of a decaying tooth.
I suppose a tooth tells a story
You use the tooth to trade for charms to level up your spiritual gifts which help you reduce the damage taken during the Suspensive Act which relies heavily on deduction and memorization. However, the logic behind the amount of damage did not make any sense to me as to whether I made the right choice or not. You see, to survive a confrontation with the spirit, you need to pick the right action based on the evidence you gather during your investigation. Each choice has a percentage success rate. So even if you ignored the story, you can still guess at the expense of your health points. For example, let’s say selection A has a 77 % success rate, you know it’s likely the right answer compared to selection B which has a percentage rate of 52%. But of course, if you keep guessing wrong, you will die. Another important point distinguishing the gameplay from its predecessors is that it’s a harem game. The unnatural way the underage school girls gave attention to the protagonist made the experience cringey, but it’s not a bad thing because there is a creative logic behind it.
This brings me to the topic of the title itself: Death Mark 2 (2024). The title is misleading and a bit of a false advertisement. 1) Death Mark 2 is not nearly as good as its predecessors and 2) this is the third installment from the franchise. It’s just my speculation, but I think the publisher thought the first game was more well-received than Spirit Hunter NG (2019), so they decided to bring back the old cast from the first game without giving them any real depth other than saying to the fans, “Do you remember me?” From a creative perspective, bringing back characters from the first game for the sake of making a reentry seems like lazy game design to me. Don’t get me wrong, there is still some real talent in the development of the game (i.e. art direction), but the overall package of the game was missing substance. I suppose this is a type of game you play for the artwork and the bizarre story. The artworks were so grotesque that I could not avert my eyes away from the screen.
So over the top
For my final thoughts, I still recommend this game even though it is my least favorite from the franchise. The political ideology toward women remains the same: when facing adversity, strong female characters such as Ms. Sakamoto, the Chief of Academic Affairs, are proven to be the weaker vessel. I find that quite disappointing.
It might sound absurd, but I haven’t come across that many games that blew my mind away in terms of storytelling. Yes, there have been decent games, but there were only a handful of them I thought were masterpieces. But is that a bad thing? To the contrary, no. Sometimes I just want to play something stupid and fun because when a game tries too hard to be serious and deep, it loses its spark. Now I am not saying games can’t be thought-provoking, but they need to have a good balance of humor because as we all know, life is already as serious as it is. Don’t reflect our realities in games. The last horror game I played, Tales of Black Forest missed the entire point of a horror game and it rubbed me the wrong way.
I hope they find their freedom by making games and not the other way around.
After being annoyed with the game, I picked up a book to read instead. It’s not that there wasn’t a story to the game, it’s the way how it was put together that left me with a bad taste. I get the sense the developer was hoping to make money off of games by advertising cute girls and horror themes and called it a game. You know throw some achievements, cute cat cafes, cute monsters, and cute girls. Too many cute things make me feel as if I am biting into a sweet cake and we know that too much sugar is not good!
I am glad you figured out your destiny but it’s unnecessary to project it in your game.
By the time I reached the end, I was so unconvinced with the story with what it was trying to tell that I felt as if the game was more about showing off than actually creating a genuinely good horror game. Because like the protagonist… ” Sorry to dissapoint you, I can see monsters and ghosts since I was born, and I have seen more frightening stuff than this.”
Thank you for speaking out my mind because that’s exactly how I feel about this game.
I know cut them some slack. It’s a RPG Maker game, but you can’t improve if you think you can get away with pretty drawings. Make it less about you and more about the player because someone is paying for it. But of course, that’s just one customer’s opinion. 🙂
P.S.
For short version of my reviews and reccomendations you can find them here on my Steam account.
Spirit Hunter NG, released Oct. 10, 2019, developed by Experience, Ghostlight LTD, and published by Aksys Games, is a sequel to the horror visual novel Spirit Hunter:Death Mark. The game is available on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Nintendo Switch. I am surprised horror fans aren’t talking about it. The lack of word-of-mouth testimonies is the cause for this game not receiving more publicity. So as a horror game enthusiast, I am here to promote and tell you about a visual novel horror game I enjoyed playing in 2019! In my humble opinion, I enjoyed it more than The House in Fata Morgana, which is also a decent visual novel game with great original soundtrack.
If you like ASMR videos, the sound and the visuals in this game can be quite relaxing, especially at an empty bar.
This game is thematically refreshing for a horror visual novel that takes place during hot summer nights, although I first played this game during cooler months. I remember sitting at my desk at work and one of the horror scenes from the game popped into my head. It made me chuckle. My co-worker, an older gentleman asked me what was so funny and asked me if I minded sharing. I tried to explain to him but it didn’t come out right. He looked puzzled. I suppose I can’t explain my morbid sense of humor, but the game developer knows its targeted audience all too well when it subtly brings up the subject to the audience.
I think the humor is exclusively meant for females like myself who enjoy a good suspenseful, horror mystery.Some of us are just weird like that.
Story
The story follows a “muscle-freak” (borrowing the description from the game) teenage boy by the name of Akira Kijima who happens to be adopted by his aunt, a popular horror novelist who owns a bar as a side job. One day, an evil doll kidnaps his precious, beloved niece. So he finds himself playing a strange game with an evil entity that involves destroying and/or purifying spirits. Along the way, Kijima the devout uncle is accompanied by his good friend Seiji Amanome, a member of the Yakuza, and Momo Kuruse, a gothic pop idol to search for his niece’s mysterious disappearance. Later down the road, he meets older and more professional folks: a gambler, a female cop, and a ghost hunter. The variety of ages and professional backgrounds balanced out the story quite well. There are times when the side characters poke fun at Kijima’s bravery and youthfulness for stupidity, which to the contrary, he has a reason for being. As the story progresses, I find the protagonist quite sympathetic which gives him all the more reason to reunite with his kidnapped niece. I like horror, but I also like rewarding, strong endings. Of course, that’s not the only reason why I enjoyed the game. What intrigued me about this game is the villain, the eternal doll who wants to play and who does not always play fairly. The doll character had such an impact on me that I composed an original song based on it. I still sing the song to this day. That’s what you call a great piece of art when it becomes the source of creative inspiration.
Gameplay
Now let’s talk about gameplay. Is it fun? Is it scary? Well, yes to both questions but it’s not going to give you nightmares. It’s not that immersive type of horror but more like a thematic haunted house ride, you’d find at the fairground. You know the feeling of walking inside a haunted house, hoping for a good fright? Yes, the game allows the player the option to select Scary Mode for those who want a jump scare experience. I selected Default Mode because I wanted to enjoy the game in its original form. Even without the additional scary factor, the story’s chilling tale combined with memorable soundtracks would strike a chord with any woman out there who is often accompanied alone. In every woman, there is a little girl that lives inside of her. Girls love fairytales because real life is rarely happy ever after. So, stay away from male doctors! Oops, did I say too much? Well, I hope I entice you rather than dissuade you from playing the game. Overall, it was a fun adventurous, horror game. I played the game with a guide to save time because, like most games with multiple endings, there is a true ending.
Conclusion
For horror fans, this is a game worth playing. Add to your collection of horror games to play because horror is a genre that is difficult to execute in video games. So, it’s nice to find a piece of gem. The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the slightly erotic graphic pictures of tortured women. Why was it necessary? It’s a mystery to me. There are some things in life I simply can never understand.
Originally published on June 28, 2021 12:00 am; revised October 26, 2023
Recently, I finished Soma, a science-fiction horror game released back in 2015 developed by Frictional Games. I heard about the game a few years ago but never took much interest because of the first-person view aspect. Well fast forward to the year 2023, I decided to play it for this year Halloween’s season and also to challenge myself. I played the game on and off because I was not accustomed to controlling the camera angle. Eventually, I got used to the view after quitting and starting the game every 15 minutes. I am so glad of my determination because I haven’t been scared of playing a horror game for a long time.
Story
The game begins with Simon Jarret getting ready to leave his apartment for a brain scan appointment with Dr. David Munshi due to a recent car crash that left him with severe brain damage. Things started to feel unsettling once Simon arrived at his destination at the Pace Laboratories for the brain scan. We learn that Simon has recently signed up for a research study that is in its early stage conducted by Munshi and his colleague Berg who are both neuroscience grad students. So, already right there, I started to feel uneasy about the situation. There’s no guarantee that Simon will get better. He is just a lab rat. But what choice does he have? He only has a few months to live. Some hope is better than no hope at all. After the brain scan, Simon wakes up confused inside a dark, strange facility where Munshi is nowhere to be found. It is until he meets the character, Catherine Chun that the story gets more disturbingly interesting.
Gameplay
Players can select Normal or Safe Mode. I played the game in Normal Mode but I heard the Safe Mode is the better option if you just want to experience the story and explore the atmospheric environment. I didn’t mind encountering the monsters so much in the normal mode. It adds a bit of a challenge that I am all too familiar with–the game over screen. In this game, you don’t kill the monsters, you tiptoe around them to avoid being seen. So for those who enjoy stealth games, this game is fun! Now I wonder if playing in Safe Mode would create a more seamless experience even though I got stuck on one of the puzzles; it was not overly difficult. I just didn’t have the patience to solve them since I was more interested in the storyline. So, yeah I want to know what it’s like to play in Safe Mode.
Visual Presentation
So then let’s talk about the atmosphere and the environment which tied in well with the story. The atmosphere creeped me out. I am used to being in space, in hospitals, abandoned schools, in deserted towns but underwater…. not so much. The majority of the game’s environment takes place in Pathos-II Research facility which consists of multiple facility sites all spread out in the ocean’s floor. The landscape feels compressed and massive at the same time linear. Certain times I am surprised that I didn’t wander off too far from the right direction and certain areas inside the facility feel dark and claustrophobic. I keep circling in circles when I try to escape from the monsters. Some of the monsters aren’t all that unique. I could see inspirations coming from Silent Hill 2 (2001), Dead Space (2009) and Resident Evil (1996). It’s not a bad thing. I didn’t get the impression that Soma was trying to imitate–it was more like paying tribute to the classic horror games without jeopardizing its originality. As I mentioned earlier, this is the first horror video game I played from the first-person point of view. So, the experience is uniquely refreshing especially when the climax of the story is reached. It just made sense why the game is in first-person and not third-person. The first-person view makes me more empathic toward Simon who eventually comes to terms with his new reality. I remember feeling smothered navigating in the ocean’s water. I want to swim for fresh air but I keep descending lower and lower into the bottom of the ocean. The game just gets deeper and deeper until it reaches the lowest point. It becomes depressingly poetic.
Sound
I don’t think I had ever associated horror with machines before until I played this game. The sound coming from psychotic machines and the voice recordings of conversations between powerplant engineers produce a disturbing picture of what went wrong with Pathos-II research facilities. Unlike DeadSpace where I feel like I was the only living soul, I wasn’t entirely alone in this game. The voice of Catherine Chun makes the journey bearable but that doesn’t mean it undermines the scariness and intense atmosphere of the game. Most of the gameplay involves submerging underwater and exploring abandoned facilities controlled by the WAU–an artificial intelligence that oversees the operation of the research facilities. It’s responsible for all the monsters that come across the player and thus is the main antagonist. Some of them can be pretty creepy. The grunting, metallic sound coming from them is just eerie.
Conclusion
This game is intense and atmospheric. I felt like I was drowning inside my head. How bad can things go for Simon when all he ever wanted was some hope to live? After all, Simon is in the process of dying from a brain injury. Luckily the story isn’t entirely tragic. Yes, something has been lost, but also something has lived on. I think that is one reason why I enjoyed the game a lot. It’s philosophical. It asks big universal existentialist questions that leave an everlasting impression on me. It is truly a horrifying and bittersweet experience that made me reflect on my existence.
NightCry developed by NudeMaker, and published by Playism Games was released in 2016. It was originally made for the mobile game the PlayStation Vita and the PC. It is one of those survival horror games that has an interesting concept but failed to impress some survival horror fans. Some hated it, and some enjoyed it. I am one of those who love it! After all, it’s all about introspection.
The story takes place on a luxurious cruise ship. There are three playable characters in this game. They are all well-designed and serve their role effectively. Monica’s determined persona, Leonard’s mysterious allure, and Rooney’s relatable charm added depth to the story and gave it a powerful ending. Like it or not, Rooney is a character that lives inside most of us. Some of us only come to life when our lives are threatened. The game developer might have wanted to express this concept by turning the story into a dark comedy. Depending on where you stand, you might find this sort of indirect bullying to be off-putting because you play as Rooney, a depressed college student who becomes stronger and stronger over time as she learns to fight for her life. Is the developer trying to say something about its audience? You see, there’s no “L” sound in the Japanese language so her name is Loony but is pronounced Rooney. Pun intended or not, it’s clear that the developer thinks poorly of Rooney. Her somber, docile nature proves it. You can read an article from Polygon that supports this statement. Now I wonder is that why the game takes place on a cruise ship. The cruise ship may very well be an allegory about rich people who have no reason to be depressed when there are less fortunate people out there who have no time to contemplate death because they are too busy trying to survive. Take Monica for instance, she is the stronger character compared to Rooney. Unlike Rooney, she is a college student with two part-time jobs and a parent to her younger siblings. Death is not a choice; it’s a luxury.
Now let’s talk about the gameplay. The gameplay itself is straightforward, featuring light puzzles, running, and hiding. However, you can’t rely on hiding in the same spot twice and failing to hold your breath properly by pressing the button on the screen can lead you to an early death. There are countless times I laughed at my failings and yet I didn’t find Scissorwalker the antagonist to be menacing. Instead, I think it is humorous. It likes to play peek-a-boo, catching players off guard when they least expect it. Carelessly examining every nook and cranny would trigger its appearance. Nevertheless, it is a necessary risk to take. The constant threat of the Scissorwalker, combined with the character’s limited stamina, forced me to be strategic and always be aware of my surroundings. And this is where some players find it frustrating. It is a point-and-click horror game. I remember struggling to get away from the Scissorwalker in the hallway by repetitively clicking the mouse to run and often dying because it failed to register my command. Yet, it isn’t a huge glaring problem for me as I am more interested in the game’s concept than the experience. In horror games, there should be some struggles–intentional or not. It’s not a horror game if it’s just a walking simulator with pixelated monsters. It becomes a digital, interactive art.
Overall, the concept of the game reminds me of a maze puzzle because the story follows a flowchart. Depending on your choices in the game, you can end up in a bad situation, which leads you to a dead end. There are many terrible shocking ways to die. If you have a morbid sense of humor like me, you will enjoy the game. For instance, I made a mistake entering a dark room without turning on my flashlight. I got killed. I laughed. Game over. You know what they say about laughter: It’s the greatest medicine. I’m so glad I didn’t let some negative reviews hinder me from playing it. It’s not going to vibe with everyone who is looking for a straight-forward horror experience but if you are looking for a game with some depth, this game deserves another chance. To me, a good game needs good art direction. It’s the overall package that triumphs over the small imperfections because I could say the very same thing about Yume Nikki, a popular indie horror game. As long as the players find value in a game that’s all it matters.
Note:This article isa response to tangomushi’s video game essay on NightCry.
Originally published January 22, 2017 9:53 pm; Revised October 10, 2023
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