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Celebrating All Things Spooky: Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Celebrating All Things Spooky, Reviews, Video games 1 Response » Tagged with: amnesia: the dark descent, survival horror

Oct 092015

Apologies for the awkward post title caused by the colons.

It’s about time we talked about this game.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a huge name in the modern horror market. Many people don’t even seem to realize Frictional Games made other horror games before it (which we’ll get around to eventually).

We’ve discussed its free DLC, Justine, several times, but never the main game itself.

Amnesia was one of the first survival horror games I played. I bought it before I knew about Steam, which feels crazy now. And when it came out, the “helpless protagonist” style of horror wasn’t as widespread as it is today.

Today, first-person horror games with protagonists who must hide and flee are common. Five years ago, they weren’t, and I believe Amnesia represents an important milestone in the history of survival horror because of that.

(Whether that’s good or not is a topic for another time, though I’m pleased some games have returned to the fight-or-flight style instead.)

We’re here to discuss Amnesia on its own merits, but it’s important to bring that up to explain how it earned its moments of heart-pounding terror. As I fled through dark halls with this song to remind me of my pursuit, cowered behind barrels, and OH GOSH IT CAN BREAK DOWN DOORS, I’d never experienced such a game before.

It was terrifying and exhilarating, and best of all, it came accompanied by psychological horror and themes inspired by H.P. Lovecraft.

Told through journal entries and memories alongside the more overt plot events as you explore Brennenbug Castle, Amnesia slowly reveals a Lovecraftian story made all the more horrifying by what it says about Daniel. The monsters and chases create moments of panic, but the lasting dread comes from Alexander and Daniel themselves.

That’s something I feel many Amnesia clones lack. Being vulnerable wasn’t the true source of Amnesia’s impact. Neither was its sanity effects or horrific imagery.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent used psychological horror to amplify everything else and give it a strong–and disturbing–human element.

Gameplay itself is fairly basic. While you have to run from enemies, you also must balance whether you should stay in darkness (to hide) or use your limited resources to cast light (Daniel suffers from nyctophobia and loses sanity in darkness). There are minor puzzles to solve, slightly more practical than those in most survival horror games, but not as thought-provoking as the clever riddles found in some.

Some areas seemed far too easy to get lost in, but that might just be me. Overall, Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a frightening and enjoyable survival horror experience, especially if you want a Lovecraftian game.

Buy Amnesia: The Dark Descent from Amazon
Buy Amnesia: The Dark Descent from Play-Asia
Buy Amnesia: The Dark Descent from Steam

Alien: Isolation – Nostromo Edition on Sale at Play-Asia

Video games No Responses » Tagged with: alien isolation, survival horror

Sep 282015

I fully expected to review Mario & Luigi: Dream Team today, but I didn’t finish it in time because the final dungeon goes on for far too long. So as an emergency replacement topic, let’s talk about the weekly sale at Play-Asia!

And Alien: Isolation.

Alien: Isolation is one of the best modern survival horror games I’ve played, both for its unrelenting tension and the way it brings classic survival horror gameplay into a modern game.

If you’re a survival horror fan and you haven’t played it yet, you really should. And if you’re a fan of the original Alien movie, this sale will especially appeal to you, because it’s the Nostromo Edition. The Nostromo Edition lets you play as Ripley, Dallas, or Parker and try to survive one of the key moments of the film.

Play-Asia only lists the Xbox One version as part of the weekly special, but a search shows that the PS3, PS4, and Steam versions are also available at discounted prices (sorry, Xbox 360 players), though the deal isn’t as good. The Nostromo Edition is difficult to find anywhere else.

For those of you who have already played it or don’t care, Alien: Isolation isn’t the only game on sale this week, just the one I can speak about the most.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 is a game I intend to play someday, though I have low expectations. I have yet to play the original Devil May Cry games, let alone the reboot. I’ll try Final Fantasy Type-0 HD eventually, but although the deal is tempting, I don’t have a PS4 or Xbox One yet to play it on. I already have Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, I’ve heard mixed things about Natural Doctrine, and while I may play the Tomb Raider reboot someday, I don’t have a PS4 to play the Definitive Edition on.

My vote on what to buy from this Play-Asia sale goes to Alien: Isolation, but share your thoughts on the rest of the weekly special items in the comments below.

Don’t Boycott Fatal Frame V

Video games 15 Responses » Tagged with: fatal frame, fatal frame v, survival horror

Aug 242015

No box for us

This morning, I received an email from Nintendo that confirmed the rumored news–Fatal Frame V: Maiden of Black Water will be released in North America only through the eShop.

It comes out on October 22, with the start of the game available for free. After that, you can decide if you want to purchase the full game. It’s sort of a mixed demo/free-to-start method. It worked for Layton Brothers: Mystery Room, and I like its implementation here.

I expected fans to be displeased with the confirmation that Fatal Frame V is digital-only. What I didn’t expect was so many calls for a boycott of the game.

Four months ago, we rejoiced at the localization announcement. Until that Nintendo Direct, there were serious concerns we wouldn’t get the game at all. We’d sent tweets, letters, and petitions telling Nintendo that #WeWantFatalFrame.

After all that, we’re ready to abandon it just because we don’t get a physical copy?

Back when Dual Destinies, the fifth main-series Ace Attorney game, was released as a digital-only game, some fans wanted to boycott it. Their movement thankfully failed, but they accused those of us who bought and enjoyed Dual Destinies of ruining the future of Ace Attorney in the West. Hardly. If they succeeded, they might have doomed it.

The boycotters seemed to think if no one bought Dual Destinies from the eShop, Capcom would have said, “Hmm, we’re losing money on this game. Let’s spend even more money to release a physical copy!” No, a more realistic reaction would be, “Oh, it looks like there isn’t a market for Ace Attorney in the West after all.”

Fatal Frame hasn’t been released in North America in ten years. (Unless you count Spirit Camera, but that doesn’t help us.) Fatal Frame IV only came out in Japan, the second game’s remake came to Europe, and now Fatal Frame V is coming here.

We won’t get this, either.

Why does Europe get a retail release of Fatal Frame V (albeit a limited run only)? Because someone, whether it’s Koei Tecmo or Nintendo, has confidence in Europe’s Fatal Frame market. It got the Fatal Frame II remake, and it’s getting a physical copy of Fatal Frame V. Maybe it’s Koei Tecmo that’s unsure about the market here. Maybe it’s Nintendo of America.

But whoever it is, if Fatal Frame V sells poorly, they will attribute that failure to a lack of fans.

And then we might not get the next Fatal Frame game at all.

Like Koei Tecmo’s decision to not localize Dead or Alive Xtreme 3, there is no conspiracy theory here. Nintendo of America (or Koei Techmo) isn’t being mean. It’s being a company.

Petitions, letters, and tweets help. I believe companies like Capcom, Koei Tecmo, and Nintendo listen to their fans. You know what they listen to even more, though? Fans’ wallets.

The vote you cast with your wallet speaks louder than all the tweets you could ever send. That’s why some publishers have used Kickstarter as a measure of interest. When we go out there and say we want Dai Gyakuten Saiban or Fatal Frame V, we could be lying. Whether we buy it or not is what game companies really see.

Now, there are legitimate reasons to be upset about Fatal Frame V’s digital-exclusive nature. It’s almost 16 GB in size, which is massive when the Wii U is sold as an 8 GB basic model and a 32 GB deluxe model. So tell Nintendo you want a physical copy. Sign the petition.

But don’t boycott Fatal Frame V because it’s digital-only. You’ll only confirm the company’s decision to not spend money on a retail release, and you may doom the franchise’s future in North America. Agree? Disagree? Let me know your view on Fatal Frame V’s eShop-exclusive release in the comments below.

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