Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Two Lines is a Short, Creepy Horror Game

 Reviews, Video games  No Responses »  Tagged with:
Mar 092020
 

Over the weekend, I played a short horror game called Two Lines after a friend recommended it to me.

When I say Two Lines is short, I mean very short. It took me 45 minutes, but that’s only because I kept dying and getting lost. So I won’t be able to go into much detail, or I’d spoil it.

You wake up in a bloody room and leave to find yourself in an ominous-looking town. Then you start searching for answers.

It’s set up largely like a maze, so you’re really looking for a way to progress and get to new places. I’m not crazy about the maze-like structure, because I felt like I was just wandering around, but that’s not a big problem in a game as short as this. And it isn’t long before you realize you aren’t alone in the town, either…

Two Lines has a great atmosphere. Even before I saw my pursuer, I was on edge due to the audio alone. The game is creepy and unsettling all the way through.

(There’s also a large nod to Silent Hill implying that it actually takes place there.)

Aside from my mixed feelings on the maze-like structure, the only thing I disliked was that I couldn’t find a way to pause. I see the appeal of a horror game where you can’t pause, but it meant I had to start over when someone started talking to me partway through my playthrough.

Two Lines was made in one week for a Game Jam, so I’m interested in seeing what the developer will do for his upcoming full horror game Nemeses, which has an alpha demo out now.

Anyway, if you’re interested in a short but very atmospheric horror game, go check out Two Lines.

Amnesia: Rebirth Announced for Fall 2020

 Video games  3 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Mar 062020
 

Fictional Games has been teasing their next title for a while, and now it’s been revealed as Amnesia: Rebirth.

Described as “a new story set in the world of Amnesia: The Dark Descent,” it is set in the Algerian desert and follows a new protagonist named Tasi Trianon. According to the official description:

Retracing Tasi’s journey and pulling together the fragments of a shattered past will be the only chance to survive the pitiless horror that threatens to devour you. Time is against you. Still, you must continue, step by step, knowing that if you fail you will lose everything.”

(While it’s unclear if Rebirth will connect to The Dark Descent’s story or not, it’s worth pointing out that Algeria is where Daniel came into contact with the orb and set the events of the game into motion.)

Amnesia: Rebirth is planned for PC and PS4, with a fall 2020 release window.

In a Playstation Blog post about the game, Creative Director Thomas Grip says Rebirth will be “built on what [they] learned from the original game” and promises “an emotionally harrowing journey.”

So far, everything sounds great. I didn’t enjoy Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs a lot, but since Rebirth is being handled by Frictional Games themselves and the announcement specifically references The Dark Descent, I’m optimistic that this new entry will play more like the original.

Frictional Games is working on another project as well.

I’m excited for Amnesia: Rebirth, and I really ought to play SOMA before it comes out. How do you feel about the newly-announced Amnesia sequel?

Thoughts on the Final Fantasy VII Remake Demo

 Video games  5 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Mar 042020
 

It’s been a long time since the public demo was first leaked/rumored, but now at last we can try out the Final Fantasy VII Remake demo ourselves!

I’ve played through it twice, once on Normal and once on Classic.

First off, the nostalgia from the music alone is unreal. I love the new version of the opening bombing mission theme, and it really helped drive home that this remake is really happening.

Moving on to more tangible things, Cloud and Barrett’s personalities feel on point so far, and I like what they’ve done with the Avalanche members.

I enjoyed the dialogue during the demo, and I’m looking forward to (presumably) getting to know Jessie, Wedge, and Biggs better across the course of the game. At one point there’s a little bit of background banter between Jessie and Biggs, and I hope there are more conversations like that in the full game.

Click for original Final Fantasy VII spoilers
Assuming things play out the way they do in the original, I hope the remake creates enough of a bond with them that it’s a real gut punch when they die.

Anyway, the public demo is missing flashbacks that will be present in this sequence in the final release, so I’m looking forward to that as well.

The gameplay feels pretty good. At first the camera felt odd, but it didn’t bother me much once I got into it. The normal combat system is interesting. It’s certainly action, but pausing to pick special moves and switching between characters made it feel slower and more tactical. I was also bad at it, so I’ll need to pay more attention to dodging and blocking if I go with Normal in the full game.

I tried out Classic mode for my second playthrough. Classic is locked into the Easy difficulty setting, so between that and the AI being much better at dodging/blocking than I was, fights were significantly easier (although I still had to heal myself occasionally).

Classic mode doesn’t feel like a true turn-based RPG, and battles against weaker enemies are a bit odd since sometimes the auto-attacks are enough to defeat them, but I still kinda like it. It’s… relaxing, compared to the regular gameplay mode, and it lets you really focus more on the choices you’re making. I’m interested to see how it feels later in the game when enemies get tougher. (I’d also like the ability to select Normal difficulty with Classic mode, but I don’t think they’ll add that.)

Overall I’m pretty happy with the Final Fantasy VII Remake demo. It doesn’t answer my major questions about how the bulk of the game will play out (how much exploration is there? what are side quests like? will the city actually feel alive?), but the start feels good and I’m looking forward to playing the full thing on April 10!

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