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BrawlMan

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It, "gets the message out" to the "hoi polloi". Think of it as intrusive advertising.
This reminds me of the last time a Jehova’s Witness vandalized my doorbell til the button got stuck and caused the motor to burn out. It took a minute to realize the caustic smell and the strange humming sound were connected. The latter stopped instantly after disconnecting it, but the former took a day or so to air out.

In any case, it led to finally getting an oft contemplated camera doorbell.
 

BrawlMan

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Why is horror so hard for so many companies?
The same reason making a Souls-like is hard for everyone except FromSoft.
Depends where you look. Whoever's making this game, I wouldn't even call it a company. More like small time scammers with nothing better to do. I do wonder why Nintendo and Sony are even bothering putting these people on their platform. They both know better than this.

There's plenty of great horror games in the AA and Indie sector.

An aside: not a lot of companies got it right either back in the PS1 and PS2 days. A lot of the shallow Resident Evil clones have not aged well. There are a few good ones of course, but most never made it past the PS1 or PS2 timeline, and are still stuck on the consoles they were made on. That includes the good ones.



 
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sXeth

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I mean, my usual thing with horror games:

The rules of engagement typically get laid out and leanred in like, the first hour. Dissolving all tension for the next 5-whatever nonsense the AAA ones try to do. Like, in the many (many, MANY) locker games, you know immediately no lockers = no threat in the area.

The protagonists also basically never even make a token attempt to act like real people. Rather then just noping the F out, or actively trying to improvise some weapons or defenses, nah, lets run around directly engage and actively play along with nonsense. Preferably with a flashlight at most because why would you want anything more when you're being viciously hunted and ambushed at any point.

(Then you loop around to stuff like RE, which I'm not even sure is meant to be actually horror, but more "ooh gross zombie stuff" and mostly spends its time being a third person shooter of mixed quality)
 

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The rules of engagement typically get laid out and leanred in like, the first hour. Dissolving all tension for the next 5-whatever nonsense the AAA ones try to do. Like, in the many (many, MANY) locker games, you know immediately no lockers = no threat in the area.

The protagonists also basically never even make a token attempt to act like real people. Rather then just noping the F out, or actively trying to improvise some weapons or defenses, nah, lets run around directly engage and actively play along with nonsense. Preferably with a flashlight at most because why would you want anything more when you're being viciously hunted and ambushed at any point.
Most of those type of horror games died out mid to late 2010s. The first person horror game with no combat, and all you got is a flash light or camera? Games like Clock Tower I & II are really the only ones to get this right. Because at least the protagonist(s) either find a small self-defense item, or make their best attempt to run away. As far as showing ingenuity and taking the initiation, at least most Silent Hill protagonist bother to pick up weapons or find something makeshift.

Then you loop around to stuff like RE, which I'm not even sure is meant to be actually horror, but more "ooh gross zombie stuff" and mostly spends its time being a third person shooter of mixed quality
Horror or action horror. It depends on which game you're talking about. Still some are straight up all action with barely any horror.
 
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sXeth

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Most of those type of horror games died out mid to late 2010s. The first person horror game was no combat and all you got is a flash light or camera. Games like Clock Tower are really the only ones to get this right. Because at least the protagonist either find a small self-defense item, or make their best attempt to run away. As far as showing ingenuity and taking the initiation, at least most Silent Hill protagonist bother to pick up weapons or find something makeshift.


Horror or action horror. It depends on which game you're talking about. Still some are straight up all action with barely any horror.
I mean, the one lauded horror game I"ve played this year, Dredge. You can beat the entire thing without ever going at night prettymuch. (You also only encounter monsters once your stress meter builds up. And the entire plot (as it is) unfolds because your dude acts like a video game protagonist and goes out collecting Cthulhu relics without so much batting an eye,.

RE4 was the other one and yeah.... Special forces dudes mowing through a place. If anything, Los Illuminados/Plagas seem more like a concession to explaining why the random mooks are bullet sponges then anything. The few times a more generally horror monster type shows up, Leon or Ada basically no sell it. And while I haven't played them all, seems to generally be the theme.

Dead Space was kind of anotherr one. Its got more Doom DNA in it then anything. Sure, stuff will jump out at you. But its definitely not putting much effort into acting like you're not supposed to be able to tear through it all.


Silent Hill (the ones I've played) also have that whole deal with the video game protagonist acts like a video game protagonist. Sure, handwave over the "its a dream" (effecitvely) logic, and the fact that like, 90% of the people in game are actually imaginary. But they're pretty blaise and unquestionably accepting of the weird universe around them.
 

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I mean, the one lauded horror game I"ve played this year, Dredge. You can beat the entire thing without ever going at night prettymuch. (You also only encounter monsters once your stress meter builds up. And the entire plot (as it is) unfolds because your dude acts like a video game protagonist and goes out collecting Cthulhu relics without so much batting an eye,
First I've heard of this game. The stress meter thing is something taken from Clock Tower, but it's clear Dredge doesn enough to make it distinct.

RE4 was the other one and yeah.... Special forces dudes mowing through a place. If anything, Los Illuminados/Plagas seem more like a concession to explaining why the random mooks are bullet sponges then anything. The few times a more generally horror monster type shows up, Leon or Ada basically no sell it. And while I haven't played them all, seems to generally be the theme.
That really only applies to RE4-RE6. They're more so action survivors transitioning into action heroes in the PSX-Dreamcast days. I'll give RE4R for having better emphasis on horror, but still be actiony and goofy in its own unique way.

Dead Space was kind of anotherr one. Its got more Doom DNA in it then anything. Sure, stuff will jump out at you. But its definitely not putting much effort into acting like you're not supposed to be able to tear through it all.
Dead Space is more Event Horizon and System Shock 2 than anything Doom related. Other than Isaac being silent in the original game. Like most horror games, Dead Space is only scary the first (two) time(s). The Remake does keep things more tense with AI director, and if you decide to backtrack to cleared areas from previous chapters.

Sure, handwave over the "its a dream" (effecitvely) logic
That really applies to only the bad ending in the first game, and the twist ending in Shattered Memories.

the fact that like, 90% of the people in game are actually imaginary.
Depends on the game, but most of those monsters are real. Or have their own monsters that they can only see (SH2). Though it's shown and implied the town as a mind of its own, and some people can see other's monsters.



But they're pretty blaise and unquestionably accepting of the weird universe around them.
Harry acts appropriately freaked out within certain scenarios and when someone turns into a monster.

Heather acts the most human and realistic out of all the SH protags. You do have your points, but they mainly apply to the characters in SH2 and 4. It's somewhat justified with James, because ,he and the few people in the town, are either death seekers or to embrace their sins and vices.[/QUOTE]
 

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Game Pass continues to suck.




@FakeSympathy, it's bad, but not a shocker.
 
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CriticalGaming

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Game Pass continues to suck.
No Activision game on Gamepass until 2024....ok so that's like 60 days. It'll take them that long to get those games onto the servers and into the Gamepass Ui registry. This isn't the headline people are claiming.
 

Specter Von Baren

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Game Pass continues to suck.




@FakeSympathy, it's bad, but not a shocker.
Someday we'll get a spiritual success to War of the Monsters...
 

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No Activision game on Gamepass until 2024....ok so that's like 60 days. It'll take them that long to get those games onto the servers and into the Gamepass Ui registry. This isn't the headline people are claiming.
I hate Game Pass. That's all.

Someday we'll get a spiritual success to War of the Monsters...
That would be nice.

I want a remake of Rampage World Tour ngl.
If WB would get off their candy asses and have NR (or any other of their in-house devs for the matter) do something not related MK or DC for once in a long time!

Until then, you're all either stuck with Dawn of the Monsters or Giga Bash. They're both excellent games! Giga Bash will especially have what you are both looking for @Specter Von Baren & @CriticalGaming.


 
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CriticalGaming

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Those are fighting games. I don't want a fighting game. I wanna smash buildings and flick away tanks like roaches.