Horror games aren’t usually meant to be ‘fun’ or known for being ‘a laugh’. Scrambling around in the shadows for ammo in The Evil Within, or managing a tiny inventory in Resident Evil can be harrowing and stressful experiences. And then there’s the nerve-shredding trauma of Bloodborne.
But what about horror movies? Beyond the blood and gore, we’re waiting for inevitable scare lurking around the corner to make us jump out of our skins and then laugh it off with friends. Until Dawn is the gaming equivalent of that horror movie experience and it’s been well worth the wait. Continue reading Until Dawn Review – A night to remember →
White Night blends classic themes that sound fantastic on paper. It’s essentially a survival horror/adventure title hybrid, inked with a gorgeous Sin City-esque graphic novel style, toned with a classic 1930s detective noir vibe. I already want a film version.
We begin the tale with a car accident, which sees our protagonist hobbling towards a nearby mansion for help. And boy do I mean hobble. I’ve never endured such a slow opening 30 minutes in my life. I plodded up to the gates when the camera eventually let me see them, then up to the porch, then around the graveyard until I found the key, and then around the house for ages until I found the first save point, a couch. Thankfully, when our hero awoke, his injuries were healed and I was treated to a run button too. Continue reading White Night (Review) – A noire in the dark →
Weeks after my first night in Yharnam, it’s time for a verdict on my adventures in Bloodborne. Well, a number for the experience so far at least. Fresh tales about From Software’s new title are appearing online every day. This is a game that nobody can really claim to have mastered yet. Secrets are still being unearthed, much of the lore has yet to be agreed and rumours whisper through the net about everything from werewolf modes to hidden boss fights.
One thing’s for sure though, Sony has done very well for themselves by nailing Bloodborne down as a PS4 exclusive. As enjoyable as Infamous, DriveClub (eventually) and Killzone were, they never rode such a continuous wave of hype after release. Bloodborne’s appeal won’t be a surprise to fans of From Software’s Demon’s Souls or the Dark Souls series, but what is surprising, is that it’s pulling in people who aren’t fans of the Souls games. People like me. Continue reading Bloodborne (Review) – Hunt. Die. Learn. Grow. →
Missed the earlier episode reviews? Use these links to get to Episode 1, Episode 2 and Episode 3. Unlike the previous episodes, I’ll be putting a score at the end of this one that reflects the complete Season Pass / retail release.
This is it then, the finale to what has been a very encouraging episodic series debut from Capcom and the Resident Evil series. This is where we find out what happened to Claire and Moira as they make their way to the top of the tower and we’ll find out if Barry and Natalia can catch up with them and get some answers of their own. Continue reading Resident Evil: Revelations 2 Episode 4 – Metamorphosis Review →
Missed the previous episode reviews? Here you go: Episode 1 | Episode 2
Capcom’s penultimate episode to Resident Evil: Revelations 2 edges us ever closer to what has so far been a very successful experiment for the series as it tries out an episodic model with four episodes over as many weeks.
Like previous episodes, you’ll control Claire and Moira for the first part and Barry and Natalia for the second. Given the ending of the last episode, you may be desperate to find out what happens to the latter pair, but you’ll just have to wait. Continue reading Resident Evil: Revelations 2 Episode 3 – Judgement Review →
Here’s a link to our review of Resident Evil: Revelations 2 Episode 1 – Penal Colony
After a hugely promising opening episode, I couldn’t wait to get into stuck into the next one this week. It looks like the new series has some staying power as Capcom have delivered again with the episodic model looking like an increasingly natural fit for the series.
Again, the episode is split in two with the first half following Claire and Moira and the second continuing from where we last left Barry and Natalia. Claire and Moira come across another group of survivors and they team up to find some helicopter parts to make an escape attempt. Nothing’s ever that easy, especially when a hoard of infected lay siege to your safe house. It’ll be very familiar to Resident Evil 4 fans and is a fantastic scene as you defend multiple windows while the hoard attempt to smash through. Continue reading Resident Evil: Revelations 2 Episode 2 – Contemplation Review →
Episodic titles have proved to be a big success for games like The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us and more recently, Life is Strange. But how will the episodic model fare with a genre like survival horror? Well, if Episode 1 of Resident Evil: Revelations 2 is anything to go by, it could go rather well.
Unlike the aforementioned episodic titles, Revelations 2’s four episodes will be released weekly instead of every six weeks or more that we’re used to seeing. The benefits of this are obvious to everyone involved and it keeps the episodic/TV ideology plausible.
Continue reading Resident Evil: Revelations 2 Episode 1 – Penal Colony Review →
The original survival horror brand is back and for once we’re not rolling our eyes at another HD makeover. Rather than an unnecessary PS4 port of Resi 5 or 6, this is a HD makeover of the 2002 GameCube exclusive remake of the 1996 PS1 Resident Evil. For those of you yet to play the GC version, this will be a remarkable experience if you enjoyed the original game.
The remake was extremely faithful to the original, meaning lots of fixed camera angles and pre-rendered backgrounds. There’s no need to worry about the dated ‘tank’ controls as there’s an option to switch to modern analogue movement rather than having to spin on the spot before moving. The different camera angles as you move onto a new screen can still have disastrous results that see you accidentally turn around and run straight back into a zombie’s bitey embrace though.
Continue reading Resident Evil HD Remaster (Review) →
They always say you should never go back. And considering the gruesome nightmares of the body and mind that the Silent Hill tourist board have been selling for years, perhaps we should heed the old adage. Against our better judgment though, we’re going to go and poke its festering corpse with an HD stick.
There have been plenty of HD re-releases of late and the majority of them have been awesome.God of War, Metal Gear Solid and Sly Raccoon are still fantastic games to play. Silent Hill may prove to be a rotten horse flaying too far though.
Continue reading Silent Hill HD Collection (Review) →
Survival Horror has been a festering corpse for a while now. Resident Evil and Dead Space have mutated in shooting games with limited ammo and we’re left with the Silent Hill series that’s been struggling since SH3. Nowadays we have Demon’s Souls (ish) and Amy, the later being my frontrunner for worst game of the year.
I’m all for giving Silent Hill: Downpour a shot as it has to be better than SH: Homecoming at least. And I’m glad to say it is. Thankfully, the new developers, Vatra have at least played Alan Wake, one of the rare gems the genre has produced in recent times. Hold it; I should probably put a hold on the semi-optimistic slant this review was heading. This game’s no Alan Wake beater, just so you know.
Continue reading Silent Hill: Downpour (Review) →
Survival horror continues its search for a new host as this promising download-only effort fails on all fronts. A technical nightmare that feels rushed, untested, unloved, thoughtless and irritating. Amy, we are upset and disappointed. More so because before we got to hold your hand we thought this would be the post-Ico hit we’ve needed.
The premise was so deliciously tangible it was hard not to get excited about this ambitious studio bringing survival horror to the downloadable market, especially seeing as the genre has ebbed in recent years on modern consoles.
Continue reading Amy (Review) →
Heavy Rain made with a cheap video recorder is a good way to think of this game. The video footage is blurry on the small screen but in fairness, as a Minis title it has to be a small file size and it’s a lot of footage compressed into 80MB.
This ‘interactive (college student-esque) movie’ has you playing as a potential murder victim from a first-person perspective. Everything is shot on camera with no real graphics to speak of. The ‘story’ is simple, escape from captivity and get out of the woods before the hooded axe murderer catches you.
Continue reading Hysteria Project (PSP Minis Review) →
How do you make a game of the megabucks-making gorno series? Well developers Zombie ran into trouble when their original publisher went bust, but Konami swooped in and picked up publishing rights and seemingly had an influence on the game itself too. So we’re left with this inbred Silent Hill knockoff with more torture scenes and poor hand-to-anything coordination.
You are Detective Tapp (played by Danny Glover in the first film) who after his injuries has been nursed back to health by Jigsaw purely for the purpose of f**cking him around in his own purpose built asylum. Jigsaw’s lair is suitably littered with dozens of his victims’ destroyed corpses in various devices you’ll recognise from the movies. Jigsaw’s game is to try and convince Tapp to forget his obsession with catching him (this’ll help). Continue reading Saw Review – Pure Torture →
This ‘fright simulator’ loosely borrows from the films to provide a few cheap jumps and puzzles. You control a girl that enters an abandoned warehouse to retrieve her wandering dog. Naturally it’s cursed, now you are too and you better start to work out how to appease the spirits of these spiteful child ghosts before they claims your soul, or something.
You navigate your way around the darkness in a first-person viewpoint with your wiimote controlled torch that works well when moving forwards but struggles to keep up if you try and turn too quickly. Poking around the chilling locations in the dark does feel quite immersive though as you are in direct control of what you aim the light at. Continue reading Ju-On: The Grudge (Review) →
Gaming reviews, previews and features by Brendan Griffiths
The No Sleep Gamer 