Game/Trophy thoughts?

[Whirled03]

It seems that the game is currently on sale (on the US PSN store at least), and from the trailer, the game actually looks pretty good.

 

Problem is, I personally have to raise a suspicious eyebrow when it comes to survival horror games, particularly when the game comes from a studio I'm not entirely aware of.

 

To any current players - How is it? How would you describe the gameplay?

 

I saw someone linked a decently lengthy gameplay video in the only other topic on this board, and although it gives a rough idea, I did find it somewhat difficult to discern what the gameplay is similar to (as I didn't want to watch 45 minutes of someone potentially just wandering around).

 

I'm not really a fan of the whole "Outlast" formula, of being continually hunted by something throughout the entire game. I have less issue with it within subsections of the game (i.e. RE7), but having it happen all the time...not so much. I personally find the style more annoying than scary.

 

Trophy list seems simplistic on the surface; my guess is that most of them revolve around regular game progression (outside of the one for collectibles), but I could be wrong. Game progression trophies are great (if that is in fact the case), but if the game is...of questionable quality, even that may be painful (Jak 2 rings a bell).

 

So to that end - Anyone want to put in some input on how "difficult" they think the game is? Or does anyone know how long it is (roughly)?

 

On a side note - Does anyone else think that the main character seems to look like Jodi Foster, particularly from her role in Silence of the Lambs? The PSN store trailer was showcasing some sort of flying insect, and it could be a moth I suppose. Maybe there's some homage going on.

[CuteBoringLove]

It's a stealth survival horror game, much like Siren or Outlast where you need to complete objectives while someone is chasing you down.

The collectibles don't seem too bad, most of which are probably easy to come across naturally, but if you die, you seem to need to pick them up again.

I consider the game pretty difficult. Mostly because the enemy chasing you down is always pretty hard to shake off.

Once the enemy spots you, it feels pretty hopeless and I got stuck in many sections for up to 30 minutes.

The story is really interesting and weird though, so I like the game as a whole.

It doesn't sound like it's up your alley though.

 

[Whirled03]

I did end up buying it actually lol but so far, yeah, it's not really my style. I'll keep going with it though in hopes it changes my mind.

 

For anyone else that comes across the topic, I've played maybe 4-6 hours, and here's my view of it so far:

 

Gameplay - It's very similar to what I experienced in Alien: Isolation. Yes, as CuteBoringLove points out, you are in fact trying to avoid something that is wandering the halls. Unlike other games though, encountering the enemy doesn't necessarily mean instant-death (like Alien: Isolation, for example). Not only that, but you have a HP bar as well, and you can take a decent amount of hits before you die (and it's even possible to restore your HP at save points). This may read as a positive on the surface, but whenever you get spotted, things get really awkward...

 

It is possible to "escape" your pursuit, but it's very strange to do. There are a plethora of objects to pick up; certain items can be thrown at your pursuer to stun them momentarily. If you don't have one of these items, you basically have to sprint your way through the area in an attempt to shake the enemy off (which can be tricky). The other option is to use your "defense" item, but it's only usable if the enemy grabs you (which also prompts a QTE). If you successfully complete the QTE, the pursuer is stunned for a decently lengthy time.

 

The reason why it's so awkward is partially because of movement speed (your character is fairly slow), and the NPC movement speed seems to be slightly faster. So you really have to break line-of-sight very quickly and duck into a hiding spot. There are downsides to hiding spots as well - If a NPC sees you go into one, they'll pull you out of it (so you don't get any "invisibility" frames as you enter it); it seems you can't enter a hiding spot if the NPC is too close; if you manage to successfully break LOS and hide, the NPC will stop next to your hiding spot, and you have to do a mini-QTE game to ensure they don't find you.

 

So really it seems they wanted to reward not getting spotted at all, but unfortunately there are problems with that. First, the sound effects are indeed helpful to show where someone is patrolling, but they're also incredibly confusing. You can actually hear the NPC through walls, which is good, but the bigger problem is that you can hear them through different floors, which is bad. The way the NPC sounds (their voice is simply muffled) is no different if they are in a room right next to you, or in the room directly above/below you, on a different floor.

 

Throwing distractions seem a bit useless due to the main character's complete inability to throw an object more than 2 feet in front of them. You can place objects that make noise as well, but not all items make noise. Further, the NPC patrols are a bit erratic to a degree; they're not entirely random, but just sort of strange. As an example, I saw the NPC walk up to a door, open it, then just immediately turn around and walk the other way. Sometimes I saw him immediately do a 180 as he got to one end of his patrol, without stopping at all in movement (which is not what most AI behavior in stealth games do).

 

Happily, so far it's been possible to "brute force" things from reloading a lot (which is what I've been doing). The NPC placement has so far been semi-random, so sometimes it's possible to just keep reloading until you get the NPC on a decent pathway (or if he keeps spawning in the same spot, just learn the patrol). Unfortunately there are no auto-saves, but the first area had 2 decently placed save points (hopefully that trend will continue).

 

So far, some other positive notes are that the NPC doesn't explore the area fully; there were certain areas that he wouldn't go into unless you made a distraction for it. There are also environmental things that can be used for cover (such as a pillar) which helps avoiding detection.

 

In terms of progression, it plays out just like an old school RE or SH game - You need an item to interact with an object, to get some other item, which leads to another item for another object, and so on.

 

Presentation - The atmosphere so far is great; I do enjoy the level design, the lighting, the ambient sounds, and the music is spot on for a survival horror game.

 

The story is bizarre so far, and difficult to follow, but I'm not too far into yet. Other than that, it does seem to be a very strange amalgamation of some well known horror media titles. As I noted in my first post, the main character still (imo) looks like Jodi Foster from Silence of the Lambs (although aged maybe 10 years, with a voice actor that has a voice that doesn't fit her look at all), and the insect in question is indeed a moth. There is some talk so far about a pharmaceutical (RE), and of course the first area is a mansion. The overall look and feel seems more like a Silent Hill game (and I'm currently in a room full of mannequins), and save points are mirrors (Evil Within) that break when you restore HP. My impression of the story so far is you're kind of venturing into the antagonist's psyche (sorrrt of), which is fairly akin to what Evil Within was about.

 

The writing is a little strange, but what makes it worse is that it's paired with...not so phenomenal voice actors. The actors seem very rushed and aggressive in how they speak their lines, which makes it sound like a B rated horror flick.

 

Overall, at the moment, it's not bad, but it's not good either. In terms of difficulty, it's been pretty manageable, the gameplay is just immensely slow.

[Whirled03]

Well, that was fast. Sorry for the double-post, but I wasn't expecting it to finish it as quickly as I did.

 

The game is probably in total less than 10 hours, and I felt it went significantly downhill at the midway point (which is ironically right around when I made my previous post). The only reason why it's even 10 hours in the first place is because I wasn't looking at a guide (which I dunno if there even is one atm) and wandering back and forth in the first section of the game. The second section could probably be completed quickly too, because a lot of my time spent was just trial-and-error and the fact that it's significantly easier to die. If someone knew what they were doing, I could see the game being finished in 2-3 hours.

 

They basically stopped with all the "puzzles" and just threw everything you needed right in front of you, which also meant that they basically put you on a very linear pathway until the end of the game. It became less about stealth and just surviving whatever what was currently going on (such as being chased by someone).

 

The part in the dining room (near the end) was a gigantic mess, and clearly wasn't played before its release. There is absolutely no indication of what you're supposed to do, and the time frame you have to do it in is like 10-15 seconds. Even now, I'm not entirely sure how I managed to get beyond it, as all I did was kind of randomly press the shoulder buttons until I got the correct prompt to play out.

 

I purchased the game at a discount, and personally I think it's a rip-off (not sure why Chris Darril plastered his name all over it, it's not that good of a game). According to the PSN store, currently the game is $30:

 

https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP4448-CUSA12030_00-RM1RELEASE000001

 

Which I think is asking entirely too much. Not only did the gameplay tank in the second half, the writing did as well. Sure, some of the story was clarified, but the story itself was still pretty stupid (imo). And that ending scene - holy hell, talk about a massive exposition train that just went on and on.

 

As for trophies - (Edit) I previously thought that only 2 collectibles were missable (the ones outside the mansion), but I'm pretty sure I'm wrong about that. I know there's a collectible in the Sewer, and in the Wine Room, which I doubt you can get back to after you complete them. Off the top of my head, I'm unsure if there are any others. Still though, just as long as you're diligent about exploring areas, the collectibles weren't too bad to acquire, which is nice.

Edited December 2, 2018 by Whirled03
Info about collectibles

[jun1p1we]

@Whirled03  so you finished the game? you only have 2 trophies?

[Whirled03]

3 hours ago, jun1p1we said:

@Whirled03  so you finished the game? you only have 2 trophies?

At the time, my profile wasn't updated. It should accurately reflect that I have the game at 100% now (I think), in case you were skeptical lol

[UlvenFenrir]

Its a spiritual succesor to clock tower. If others are thinking of picking it up and youre not a fan of such gameplay then its probably a miss. Otherwise a decent game.

[jun1p1we]

2 hours ago, Whirled03 said:

At the time, my profile wasn't updated. It should accurately reflect that I have the game at 100% now (I think), in case you were skeptical lol

 

well sir then keep huntinh.

[Jermster_91]

I was thinking of keeping the game as a future to buy (not gonna pay $30 for a 4 hour game) because I saw the trailer for the games sequel..

 

Thought it might something like Until Dawn but it does not appear so.

 

Gonna pass