Maeossum
5 reviews liked by Maeossum
My first time playing a point-and-click survival horror game so this felt kinda jarring but for the most part, I enjoyed what this game was trying to do.
The story was solid and served its purpose well enough without being overly complicated. The atmosphere was incredibly dense and Scissorman was a good antagonistic force and was surprisingly handled so well in terms of being the first (I believe?) stalker enemy in horror games.
Exploration was a huge criticism for me because while I felt frustrated with the same-y designs for every hallway I was also impressed with how well the randomly generated content was handled.
Good game but ultimately my overall experience with the game was pretty poor because the exploration and puzzle progression felt so weak that I just couldn't look past it.
The story was solid and served its purpose well enough without being overly complicated. The atmosphere was incredibly dense and Scissorman was a good antagonistic force and was surprisingly handled so well in terms of being the first (I believe?) stalker enemy in horror games.
Exploration was a huge criticism for me because while I felt frustrated with the same-y designs for every hallway I was also impressed with how well the randomly generated content was handled.
Good game but ultimately my overall experience with the game was pretty poor because the exploration and puzzle progression felt so weak that I just couldn't look past it.
Fatal Frame
2001
An excellent piece of psychological survival horror to compete with the likes of Silent Hill as one of the scariest. The ingenious mechanic of the camera obscura forces the player to let ghastly apparitions get dangerously close before being able to vanquish them - a truly inspired and frightening piece of gameplay.
As much as it'd be interesting to see a Fatal Frame set in a Western suburban environment, it would just be sacrilege to the unique atmosphere set here. The haunted Japanese house location is shrouded in evil; you never feel safe as you play as Miku, a young girl (powerless without her camera) looking for her brother and consequentially uncovering a truly disturbing ritual. Nightmare fuel!
As much as it'd be interesting to see a Fatal Frame set in a Western suburban environment, it would just be sacrilege to the unique atmosphere set here. The haunted Japanese house location is shrouded in evil; you never feel safe as you play as Miku, a young girl (powerless without her camera) looking for her brother and consequentially uncovering a truly disturbing ritual. Nightmare fuel!
wonderful little game. very relaxing and great environment. controls are a bit clunky and take a minute to get used to but this great game to just enjoy watching play out
Rule of Rose
2006
The rarest PS2 of all time due being banned in the UK and selling poorly consequentially and so on. The questionable content - mainly cruelty to and involving child enemies' - is not as bad as it has been made out and the game in question is often compelling.
What is most significant about Rule of Rose, as a horror game, is how uncomfortable it makes you as you play as Jennifer, 'the poor unlucky girl' who undergoes some nasty physical and psychological torment under the rule of the Red Crayon Aristocrat Club (some shitty posh kids). My stomach turned at a particular moment in which my character is assaulted by rat tied to the end of a stick dangled over my eyes!
The bizarre setting (an airship for the most part) and olde style of fashion helps create a unique atmosphere and a sense of being the puppet to some greater power.
Although the combat is not as unbearable as people make out, it is quite annoying in places and the enemies just aren't very frightening. The core gameplay of finding items using the scent followed by your dog, Brown, is an interesting mechanic but runs dry rather quickly.
I would certainly still recommend it to fans of the genre if they can find it. I don't normally condone piracy, but if you can emulate this game on your computer, it could save you a few hundred quid!
What is most significant about Rule of Rose, as a horror game, is how uncomfortable it makes you as you play as Jennifer, 'the poor unlucky girl' who undergoes some nasty physical and psychological torment under the rule of the Red Crayon Aristocrat Club (some shitty posh kids). My stomach turned at a particular moment in which my character is assaulted by rat tied to the end of a stick dangled over my eyes!
The bizarre setting (an airship for the most part) and olde style of fashion helps create a unique atmosphere and a sense of being the puppet to some greater power.
Although the combat is not as unbearable as people make out, it is quite annoying in places and the enemies just aren't very frightening. The core gameplay of finding items using the scent followed by your dog, Brown, is an interesting mechanic but runs dry rather quickly.
I would certainly still recommend it to fans of the genre if they can find it. I don't normally condone piracy, but if you can emulate this game on your computer, it could save you a few hundred quid!
My heart yearns to go back to that summer. I want to stay there.
Boku no Natsuyasumi 2 is a beautiful game full of so much heart. You spend a summer as a child, called Boku, staying with his aunt and uncle in a small island village by the sea. You spend your days fishing, swimming, catching and fighting bugs, the usual holiday fare.
But you also form deep connections with everyone on the island and their visiting friends and relatives. You help so many people with their issues. No one is surface level, everyone is genuine and well thought out.
This game gracefully and realistically explores aging population, neglect, death and grieving, love, crime, cultural differences and more.
You have no goal in this game. You can choose to, or not to do any of this. Its entirely up to you what you do with your summer holiday. But its hard, truly to do nothing. There is an undescribable amount of love and care put into every element of this game, it feels me with deep peace and joy knowing that something like this is out there and was highly popular in Japan.
Play this game if you want summer, if you want to swim, if you miss home, your family, childhood, if you miss humanity and colour and you find yourself drowning in the greys and cruelty of the city. Go and spend your summer in the country.
Boku no Natsuyasumi 2 is a beautiful game full of so much heart. You spend a summer as a child, called Boku, staying with his aunt and uncle in a small island village by the sea. You spend your days fishing, swimming, catching and fighting bugs, the usual holiday fare.
But you also form deep connections with everyone on the island and their visiting friends and relatives. You help so many people with their issues. No one is surface level, everyone is genuine and well thought out.
This game gracefully and realistically explores aging population, neglect, death and grieving, love, crime, cultural differences and more.
You have no goal in this game. You can choose to, or not to do any of this. Its entirely up to you what you do with your summer holiday. But its hard, truly to do nothing. There is an undescribable amount of love and care put into every element of this game, it feels me with deep peace and joy knowing that something like this is out there and was highly popular in Japan.
Play this game if you want summer, if you want to swim, if you miss home, your family, childhood, if you miss humanity and colour and you find yourself drowning in the greys and cruelty of the city. Go and spend your summer in the country.
