Jared gave us his picks, which are pretty good for babies, and Michael gave us a few classic games to keep an eye on. As for me I eat horror for breakfast, and can’t keep my hands off a title whenever a new one comes out. I’m here to give you some of my best in recent years.
Outlast (PC)
Outlast was only released a couple of months ago, and is a title by new comer studio Red Barrels which is actually made up of a series of industry vets who have worked on titles such as Assassin’s Creed and Uncharted. It’s really tough to scare me these days, as a kid my parents rewarded good grades with games such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill, and as a really young kid my folks wouldn’t mind watching movies such as Child’s Play or Halloween around me. Yes, this explains a lot, and to scare me these days… Even if it’s only for a little while… is quite a feat.
Outlast is a first person exploration game that sets you in the shoes of investigative journalist Miles Upshur, who breaks into Mount Massive Hospital looking into reports of patient abuse and corrupt experiments, the story is loosely based in part on the real world MKUltra experiments. Seconds after entering the asylum Miles meets an armed soldier with a spike through his chest warning him to “get the fuck out the hospital” and “not to fight them.” A bit too late for that, and a warning both you and Miles wish was received far earlier.
There is no combat in the game, all you can do is run and hide, using your trusty camcorder to reveal puzzles and bits of the storyline. This is far from the first video game to utilize either of those, and I’d strongly recommend others (such as Haunting Ground, my favorite use of run and hide, Fatal Frame with its camera, or Silent Hill: Shattered Memories that combines the two) however it’s the way in which these mechanics mesh in this game that make this a worthwhile and new experience. The camcorder is your safety net, your navigation tool, and lets you into Miles’ head as he jots down his thoughts on the fucked-up goings on. The game also makes brilliant use of sound design, from Miles boots walking over blood soaked carpets to his whimpers and heartbeat adding to the game’s intensity. The game does have its share of problems, after the first several scares you get used to the gameplay model and some of the tension is drained. It’s also a beautiful yet burly game, so it will take a good machine and 64bits to run it. Still, if you want a strong scare-fest and to support a budding studio, Outlast is the way to go.
Alan Wake (Xbox 360, PC)
So Alan Wake isn’t exactly “new”, released for Xbox 360 in 2010 and re-released for Windows last year it’s still one of the more recent experiences. It’s also not what I would call scary, not in the heart pounding, beats per minute sense Outlast provides or the slowly crawling under your skin of the Silent Hill series. This game draws heavily from western authors such as Stephen King in conducting its horrific landscapes. Due to this slightly different approach in horror it’s hard for me to think of many other games quite like it, which makes it a worthwhile pick.
Alan Wake is more of a third person shooter. You play as titular character, writer Alan Wake, on vacation in the mountainous resort town of Bright Falls with his wife Alice as he attempts to recapture some of his lost creativity. After a series of freaky introductory events you wake up a week later, wife gone, in trouble with the law and with random folks hunting you down for a manuscript you don’t remember writing. Bright Falls is home you see to an ancient evil, a “darkness.” What sets Wake apart from most other horror games that isolate the protagonist (such as my other picks) is the fact Bright Falls is very much a living breathing town. During the day time sections you’re investigating your wife’s mysterious disappearance, meeting the town’s colorful citizens. However at night you’ll find yourself traversing long stretches of dark forests and mountain paths, “Taken” (this game’s term for the darkness infected baddies) hunting you down in swarms, your flashlight, gun and the occasional flare your only defense. While there are a few sections where you’re forced to fight, you’ll find yourself dodging attacks and running frantically for the next light source, which serve as the game’s checkpoints and “safety zones.”
Combat sections can get a little tiring, they’re long, and while Remedy attempts to mix it up with puzzles, detours and the occasional TV or radio show, they tend to drag on. Still the story is relatively unique, while it pays lip service to many western horror novelists it also mixes in its own mythos. Most Lovecraftian horrors will go after scholars and academics, the one in Bright Falls has a hardon for artists, and it’s interesting to see the interplay of powers from Alan’s ability as a writer, to a video game programmer and a pair of old musicians you meet later. There are also some genuinely fun set pieces, driving sections that let you ram theTaken down, a rock concert battleground where you destroy Taken with fireworks, and the game going pure lucid dream crazy mode towards the end. Alan Wake enjoys constant Steam sales, and is definitely worth picking it up if you see it.
Lone Survivor (PC, Mac, PS3, PSVita)
This is a gem that’s easy to miss, a true survivor horror with an emphasis on “survival,” the story and atmosphere really gets into your mind, and the entire thing is in 2D. Released last spring on PC and Mac, now available for PS3 and PSVita (and let’s face it, you need to feed that Vita) Lone Survivor was developed by Superflat Games and Jasper Byrne.
In Lone Survivor you are, as the title says, the last survivor of a virus that has wiped out humanity and turned anyone left into flesh hungry, featureless mutants attracted to sound and light… Supposedly. I say supposedly because the surgical mask wearing main character (referred to as You in game) is a completely unreliable protagonist, his mental state in continuous decay. The game starts in a decrepit apartment complex, your apartment is “safe”, but the rest of the world is a hellish landscape full of mutants, flesh covered walls and hanging corpses. You must navigate to other apartments in search of supplies, food, weapons and drugs with mood and mind altering affects. You’ll also run across two way mirrors that will return you to your apartment so you can save, get some meager sleep and cook food. You are able to engage monsters but given your limited amount of supplies, you’re better off finding ways to distract and sneak past them. As you explore the apartment complex and later, the city, you witness paranormal events, which could also questionably be, psychotic episodes.
Much of the game is open to interpretation, down to the multiple endings which could have several different meanings depending on how You interacted with the world. Where Outlast was traditionally scary, and Alan Wake was thriller wrapped in a horror skin, Lone Survivor is probably downright disturbing. You’re never quite sure if what you’re seeing is real or fake, if you really are the lone survivor of this outbreak gone mad due to lack of human contact and proper care, or if you’re in fact a monster withdrawn into his own shell to hide from the realities of your own life. It’s also a great example of getting a lot done with a little, it’s hard to think a 2D game with graphics reminiscent of the 16bit era could crawl into your head and this one does a great job.
Keep an eye on Enemy Slime up until Halloween to see other editor’s picks.
