trades subtlety for arguably having far and away the most intense atmosphere of the first three games; viscerally terrifying. the sound design here is exceptional to the point where many sounds made me think they were coming from somewhere besides my headphones. environment design is much more consistently surreal here than it was in 1-2. 1's otherworld was [to memory] exclusively abandoned fogworld contrasted with rusted red metal otherworld while 2 had some standout otherworld areas in basically the entire portion of the game beginning at the Historical Society and ending at the voyage to Lakeview. 3's environments, however, beginning around a third of the way through the game are unafraid of having utterly nonsensical geometry for large portions of their levels. several entire levels are dubious in their status as a mirror of some real world location.
by the artifice of level design which i cannot hope to understand, or by a difference in mood, i found myself actually seeking to avoid many encounters to either conserve resources or because i was actually scared. that is to say: unlike 1-2, 3 has what you would expect a survival horror game to have, or so i've been told.
so about that lack of subtlety: firstly, much of the horror elements are a bit over the top, the blood-stained amusement park mascots being emblematic of this, and secondly, the writing, while still having the awkwardness signature to the series, feels almost amateurish in how exaggerated it is at times, despite having the same writer as 2. this isn't per se an issue, perhaps it's a reflection of Heather's being a teenager, but there is less naturalism this time around, at the very least.
what is an issue however is the handling of theme towards the very end of the game: Heather and Douglas each have uncharacteristic rants about how bad religion is as if this theme was not obvious up to this point. i don't disagree with the sentiment, it is just that it is expressed with the grace of an r/atheist tipping their fedora in euphoria, and you are hearing the voice of the writer rather than the character the entire time.
by the artifice of level design which i cannot hope to understand, or by a difference in mood, i found myself actually seeking to avoid many encounters to either conserve resources or because i was actually scared. that is to say: unlike 1-2, 3 has what you would expect a survival horror game to have, or so i've been told.
so about that lack of subtlety: firstly, much of the horror elements are a bit over the top, the blood-stained amusement park mascots being emblematic of this, and secondly, the writing, while still having the awkwardness signature to the series, feels almost amateurish in how exaggerated it is at times, despite having the same writer as 2. this isn't per se an issue, perhaps it's a reflection of Heather's being a teenager, but there is less naturalism this time around, at the very least.
what is an issue however is the handling of theme towards the very end of the game: Heather and Douglas each have uncharacteristic rants about how bad religion is as if this theme was not obvious up to this point. i don't disagree with the sentiment, it is just that it is expressed with the grace of an r/atheist tipping their fedora in euphoria, and you are hearing the voice of the writer rather than the character the entire time.
CretinWorkshop
2 months ago