Forgot password?  |  Register  |    
User Name:     Password:    
Blog - General Entry   

Layers of Fear


On 06/02/2019 at 11:30 PM by KnightDriver

See More From This User »

Another game off my short games list and on Xbox One's Game Pass. This is a horror point-and-click adventure that would probably work very well in VR. It's in first-person and a lot of crazy stuff happens to warp your perception of the environment, stuff like the sudden appearance of baby doll heads (pic below). I expressed many mock emotions of shock and horror playing this game just to entertain my friend Mark, who was playing Golf.

Baby doll heads appear

As much as I liked to express mock fear playing this, the game does a pretty good job of spooking you from time to time. In VR this would definitely spook me.

You explore a house and learn of the terrible things that happened there. It seems like a normal house at first but then a door disappears as you turn around in a room, and then pictures melt off the wall and change. You search about for clues, and when you find one, there is some narration which delivers part of the story of this family gone wrong. After a while you realize that you are returning to the same room that functions as a kind of hub area where you can look at past clues, found items and view your progress. Once you leave the room though, anything can happen. 

I got stuck in an area that has an old rotary phone that you can dial. I almost forgot how to use one of those things, it's been so long. Well, I called the number I got from a clue and then found myself at another phone. What number to call? How the heck do I know. There was no clue I could find.

You can die in the game, and I did by falling from a height. You aren't penalized. You just restart the most recent area you are in. I did that a bunch of times without coming across a clue to the phone number. So I dialed 911 and got an achievement. Wee! But I'm darn stuck! There's no going back to the hub room or looking at old clues. I assumed the clue was in the room somwhere, but I searched every drawer, every closet, read every piece of paper, looked at every painting, etc... Nothing. So I ended the game. 

Think I'm wasting my time looking up the answer? No way! I've got 300 games in my digital library now. Hear that devs? Stop hidding things so well, or I'm out!


 

Comments

Matt Snee Staff Writer

06/03/2019 at 09:38 AM

I had this on my steam wishlist for a while before I finally took it off recently. Not enough time. 

also, I saw on Twitter you read The Naked and the Dead by Mailer. I did a report on that back in high school. Would probably understand it better now though. 

KnightDriver

06/04/2019 at 11:55 PM

I got through page 150 before my deadline ended. There's no way to note that on Goodreads.

It was a 50th anniversay edition with a preface by Mailer. He said some interesting things about being influenced by Tolstoy. Something about developing empathy for the characters. I noticed he used an omniscent narrator and got deeply into the heads of all the characters.

I also noticed his use of the word "fug" in place of the other "f" word. I guess that curse was unacceptable in 1948. If it was acceptable, the book would've had the most uses of the "f" word in any book, I think. 

Matt Snee Staff Writer

06/05/2019 at 10:22 AM

ha ha.  I forgot that!

KnightDriver

06/09/2019 at 09:28 PM

I heard the band The Fugs were named after Mailer's use of the word. 

mothman

06/03/2019 at 10:31 AM

I have the game on Switch and PS4. I started it on PS4 but only played about 20 minutes worth.

KnightDriver

06/04/2019 at 11:47 PM

When you get to that phone bit, let me know how you did it. I may return to it. 

goaztecs

06/03/2019 at 12:33 PM

There's something creepy about those dolls with the eyes that open and close.  The game itself sounds perfect for a First Person VR game. Roaming around looking for clues, scaring the crap out of yourself actually sounds fun. Oh it must be hilarious to watch kids try and use a rotary phone. 

KnightDriver

06/04/2019 at 11:43 PM

I think rotary phones were even a bit outdated when I was growing up in the 80s. It took me a minute to remember how to do it. 

Log in to your PixlBit account in the bar above or join the site to leave a comment.