A free collection of four short, experimental games previously released as monthly rewards for Kitty Horrorshow's Patreon.
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scarlet bough alone had so many moments that made me jump. i can't ever accurately sum up my love for kitty horrorshow and the works she makes, theres something so awesome about her style and i love her appreciation for body horror and insects and all kinds of creepy crawly things. really cool stuff!! though each of her games in these collections are rough little samples, i love her distinct atmosphere and style and her work really inspires me
Overall I liked this one less than Volume 1 and 4, but I still think it's a solid selection of games, though there's less "Horror" going on here than the other 2 packs I've played.
Starting off with the two non-horror games, Gloompuke was definitely my least favorite as it's a bit aimless by design, but I still enjoyed talking to all the weird little characters. Then we have Roads, which is by far the most tonally unique of all the haunted cities games, and I was a big fan. It's a touching little tale about two star crossed lovers leaving their mark on the abstract world around them, and I thought it was short, sweet and effective.
Getting to the horror side of the pack, we have Monastery, which is probably the best of the bunch. I really liked the vibe of exploring this old worship site, and I love Kitty's constant use of leeches and body horror elements. And even though the progression can be the definition of unclear at times, I still enjoyed it, despite the rough edges. And then lastly, we have Scarlet Bough. Its a simple, but cool little spooky town that to me feels like a less fleshed out version of Kitty's other game, Leechbowl which I am a huge fan of. That comparison seems fitting, as Scarlet Bough actually contains a note that directly references the town of Leechbowl, which is not only a cool little nod to tie the games together, but it also makes me wish that Kitty would make an entire set of haunted cities games that were entirely made up of small, run down, US towns.
Haunted Cities is 3 for 3!
Starting off with the two non-horror games, Gloompuke was definitely my least favorite as it's a bit aimless by design, but I still enjoyed talking to all the weird little characters. Then we have Roads, which is by far the most tonally unique of all the haunted cities games, and I was a big fan. It's a touching little tale about two star crossed lovers leaving their mark on the abstract world around them, and I thought it was short, sweet and effective.
Getting to the horror side of the pack, we have Monastery, which is probably the best of the bunch. I really liked the vibe of exploring this old worship site, and I love Kitty's constant use of leeches and body horror elements. And even though the progression can be the definition of unclear at times, I still enjoyed it, despite the rough edges. And then lastly, we have Scarlet Bough. Its a simple, but cool little spooky town that to me feels like a less fleshed out version of Kitty's other game, Leechbowl which I am a huge fan of. That comparison seems fitting, as Scarlet Bough actually contains a note that directly references the town of Leechbowl, which is not only a cool little nod to tie the games together, but it also makes me wish that Kitty would make an entire set of haunted cities games that were entirely made up of small, run down, US towns.
Haunted Cities is 3 for 3!
Gloompuke: Pretty weird little world to explore, but no real narrative progression or gameplay- just walking around and talking to the various characters, whose dialogues are pretty clever.
Monastery: The highlight of Volume 2. Controls are janky, but it's genuinely spooky exploring this old monastery and trying to guess what weird fucked up experiments the monks were doing. I love all of KH's themes of parasites and bloodsuckers and bodily transformation. Having to cut open creepy crawlies and dig up corpses to find keys is fun, but you spend a lot of time looking for tiny little out of place things to click on that are really easy to miss.
Roads: A strangely beautiful higher res version of Pente from Volume 1. This time, there are strange dreamlike twisting and intertwining paths taking you from floating stanza to floating stanza, all twirling around these classic vaporwave fairytale castles. A meditative journey to reveal a poem, without any "endgame."
Scarlet Bough: This one actually wouldn't load for me unfortunately, but I've watched gameplay of it and it looks like its got a pretty great Silent Hill kind of atmosphere. Thematically resonant with Monastery.
Monastery: The highlight of Volume 2. Controls are janky, but it's genuinely spooky exploring this old monastery and trying to guess what weird fucked up experiments the monks were doing. I love all of KH's themes of parasites and bloodsuckers and bodily transformation. Having to cut open creepy crawlies and dig up corpses to find keys is fun, but you spend a lot of time looking for tiny little out of place things to click on that are really easy to miss.
Roads: A strangely beautiful higher res version of Pente from Volume 1. This time, there are strange dreamlike twisting and intertwining paths taking you from floating stanza to floating stanza, all twirling around these classic vaporwave fairytale castles. A meditative journey to reveal a poem, without any "endgame."
Scarlet Bough: This one actually wouldn't load for me unfortunately, but I've watched gameplay of it and it looks like its got a pretty great Silent Hill kind of atmosphere. Thematically resonant with Monastery.