Just to preface I actually played this one on a browser-based emulator. Not something I would normally do but given that the game is nigh impossible to find legit and isn’t exactly a hardware intensive one, I figured why not. It doesn’t affect the game at all, besides simplifying the save and data reload system. Anyway, just wanted that said for the sake of transparency.
I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with point-and-clicks. Not necessarily of the genre itself but of how it’s frequently executed. Some are silky smooth in their transition from story-progressing logic to clicking while others are forgetful that they’re supposed to be fun and deductive. Good ones don’t overload you with a thousand items to click on, all of which equally unimportant and uninteresting. They slowly envelope you into the world, in spirit and in gameplay. They reward paying attention to little things without simultaneously having you memorize the layout of every single room you enter. The setting is deep in lore but not suffocating in depth, divided by distinct landmarks, instead of a labyrinthian design pattern fit for any circle of hell. On every point but that last one, Clock Tower easily hurdles. The game makes the manor just a lick too long, horizontally speaking, and some of the wall colors repeat, making finding easy markers of progress a bit of a hassle to remember. A minor setback all things considered.
With a character undeniably based on Jennifer Connelly and a manor design not out of place in a vibrantly colored horror-thriller like Suspiria, the game wears its inspirations on its sleeve. An inspiration that I am so here for. You play as Jessica Simpson, an orphan suspiciously getting adopted with some fellow girls by a wealthy benefactor who is not immediately revealed to you. After being taken to a manor to meet your new foster parents, things go awry when the game swiftly remembers this is a slasher love letter and not a hallmark movie, leaving you after the slasherific intro sequence to explore the manor with a juicy amount of freedom and defeat the mysterious scissor-wielding killer, who’s decided you’re just not meant for this world.
Of course, being an unarmed teenage girl means that will be easier said than done. You have what’s referred to in external discussions - since the game doesn’t point this out - as a “Panic” mode, which for this game is tied to health directly. What this means is that when you get caught, the color behind your character portrait on screen will affect how successful you are in throwing off the killer. In order to lower your panic after having reached the lowest mode, “demented” mode, you can stay AFK for a few seconds and you’ll automatically sit down, slowly healing back to full calm, or “fine” mode. This isn’t a bad system, my only wish is some prerequisite explanation, at least for how to lower it, her facial expression in the portrait does well enough to explain how she’s getting worse. Seeing as you don’t want to fight the killer every single room you go to, your main form of defense is in hiding and running. Running is self-explanatory, but I’d like to note how tripping is integrated into the chase sections. In addition to being another homage to the horror movie genre, it also provides some balance and urgency given you’re much quicker than the killer by default.
Now I happened to get lucky and only saw the Scissorman a handful of times. Still let me say, those first few times were quite the learning experience, for finding spots and for breaking out of the killer’s hold. From my fingers to your eyes, be sure you hide extremely well, because I found the breakout mechanic to be a bit clunky, leaving me dead and vivisected more than I should have been. Nevertheless, the cat and mouse chase style were fun but punishing in that classic send you back to menu style. Trying to find a place to hide can be a fun minigame, certainly more than trying to break out of his hold. He’s a smart fellow, so be sure to not run when he’s close if you’re trying to hide. When in doubt, running is your safest bet when he’s far-ish, hiding for when he’s close.
Point and click horrors are usually a bit cheesy/hard to make scary (though I still have a soft spot for them), so take it as gospel when I say this game is about as tense as it can get within the bounds of the genre. A fact bolstered by the tubular sound Clock Tower has. Be it the weird little police siren-like tune when you find something gruesome, the electronic melody that undercuts every contemplative moment that’s somehow soothing AND unnerving, or the sections where the only sound you hear are the echoing knocks of your steps on the wooden floors of the manor, this game just gets it. It’s such a phenomenal benchmark for sound in horror gaming.
Clock (tower)ing in at 3-4 hours, it really is the perfect pace for what it’s going for. With how much it gets right, I can see how and why it has influenced later titles so much too. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on the remake that was announced last year with keen interest and a critical lens.
I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with point-and-clicks. Not necessarily of the genre itself but of how it’s frequently executed. Some are silky smooth in their transition from story-progressing logic to clicking while others are forgetful that they’re supposed to be fun and deductive. Good ones don’t overload you with a thousand items to click on, all of which equally unimportant and uninteresting. They slowly envelope you into the world, in spirit and in gameplay. They reward paying attention to little things without simultaneously having you memorize the layout of every single room you enter. The setting is deep in lore but not suffocating in depth, divided by distinct landmarks, instead of a labyrinthian design pattern fit for any circle of hell. On every point but that last one, Clock Tower easily hurdles. The game makes the manor just a lick too long, horizontally speaking, and some of the wall colors repeat, making finding easy markers of progress a bit of a hassle to remember. A minor setback all things considered.
With a character undeniably based on Jennifer Connelly and a manor design not out of place in a vibrantly colored horror-thriller like Suspiria, the game wears its inspirations on its sleeve. An inspiration that I am so here for. You play as Jessica Simpson, an orphan suspiciously getting adopted with some fellow girls by a wealthy benefactor who is not immediately revealed to you. After being taken to a manor to meet your new foster parents, things go awry when the game swiftly remembers this is a slasher love letter and not a hallmark movie, leaving you after the slasherific intro sequence to explore the manor with a juicy amount of freedom and defeat the mysterious scissor-wielding killer, who’s decided you’re just not meant for this world.
Of course, being an unarmed teenage girl means that will be easier said than done. You have what’s referred to in external discussions - since the game doesn’t point this out - as a “Panic” mode, which for this game is tied to health directly. What this means is that when you get caught, the color behind your character portrait on screen will affect how successful you are in throwing off the killer. In order to lower your panic after having reached the lowest mode, “demented” mode, you can stay AFK for a few seconds and you’ll automatically sit down, slowly healing back to full calm, or “fine” mode. This isn’t a bad system, my only wish is some prerequisite explanation, at least for how to lower it, her facial expression in the portrait does well enough to explain how she’s getting worse. Seeing as you don’t want to fight the killer every single room you go to, your main form of defense is in hiding and running. Running is self-explanatory, but I’d like to note how tripping is integrated into the chase sections. In addition to being another homage to the horror movie genre, it also provides some balance and urgency given you’re much quicker than the killer by default.
Now I happened to get lucky and only saw the Scissorman a handful of times. Still let me say, those first few times were quite the learning experience, for finding spots and for breaking out of the killer’s hold. From my fingers to your eyes, be sure you hide extremely well, because I found the breakout mechanic to be a bit clunky, leaving me dead and vivisected more than I should have been. Nevertheless, the cat and mouse chase style were fun but punishing in that classic send you back to menu style. Trying to find a place to hide can be a fun minigame, certainly more than trying to break out of his hold. He’s a smart fellow, so be sure to not run when he’s close if you’re trying to hide. When in doubt, running is your safest bet when he’s far-ish, hiding for when he’s close.
Point and click horrors are usually a bit cheesy/hard to make scary (though I still have a soft spot for them), so take it as gospel when I say this game is about as tense as it can get within the bounds of the genre. A fact bolstered by the tubular sound Clock Tower has. Be it the weird little police siren-like tune when you find something gruesome, the electronic melody that undercuts every contemplative moment that’s somehow soothing AND unnerving, or the sections where the only sound you hear are the echoing knocks of your steps on the wooden floors of the manor, this game just gets it. It’s such a phenomenal benchmark for sound in horror gaming.
Clock (tower)ing in at 3-4 hours, it really is the perfect pace for what it’s going for. With how much it gets right, I can see how and why it has influenced later titles so much too. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on the remake that was announced last year with keen interest and a critical lens.