Pinetears
Favorite Games
038
Total Games Played
000
Played in 2024
010
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The mere fact that we got a game based on the Omen is pretty wild but when you think about it, the concept fits the medium and it is pretty fun.
There is some weird pleasure in playing the villain, especially when you can be that inconspicuous.
It is basically a Hitman game but you're a sociopathic rich kid.
And it's a lot of fun for a while. The large cast is so fun to terrorize, gaslight and manipulate into killing themselves or eachother. The physics are pretty fun and speeding your way around the house on the tricycle never gets old.
Uncovering the secrets of the house and this old family is also quite fun. You got the classic hidden torture cave under the basement and some pervert uncle with a sex dungeon, abusing the help. The whole thing being swept under the rug by this rich influential family. Gotta love it.
But some weird design choices just bring the experience down a lot. The game is janky sure, but that can be overlooked graphically. What can't be are the oddly obtuse riddles, frustrating stealth section and stupid boss fights if you can call them that.
All in all, still worth it if you like the social stealth of Hitman or if you're a horror fan and just want to watch cool gory cinematics of nailguns punching through skulls and torturing poor NPCs.
There is some weird pleasure in playing the villain, especially when you can be that inconspicuous.
It is basically a Hitman game but you're a sociopathic rich kid.
And it's a lot of fun for a while. The large cast is so fun to terrorize, gaslight and manipulate into killing themselves or eachother. The physics are pretty fun and speeding your way around the house on the tricycle never gets old.
Uncovering the secrets of the house and this old family is also quite fun. You got the classic hidden torture cave under the basement and some pervert uncle with a sex dungeon, abusing the help. The whole thing being swept under the rug by this rich influential family. Gotta love it.
But some weird design choices just bring the experience down a lot. The game is janky sure, but that can be overlooked graphically. What can't be are the oddly obtuse riddles, frustrating stealth section and stupid boss fights if you can call them that.
All in all, still worth it if you like the social stealth of Hitman or if you're a horror fan and just want to watch cool gory cinematics of nailguns punching through skulls and torturing poor NPCs.
Those damn skinwalkers man...
Dusk is my first experience with the classic shooter genre so I can't compare it to its main inspirations or get all the references and tropes the game uses/parodies/subverts, but I still really liked my time with it!
The game tries many different things and the levels feel quite varied because of it, you really get the impression the dev had fun coming up with a lot of it.
Going from claustrophobic horror levels to open levels relying on movement and pure combat is quite fun and keeps the experience fresh. The weapons and enemies compliment well these different styles.
I particularly love those suffocating levels whose intricate design full of shortcuts and secrets reminded me of Thief (with a straight up reference to it in the lab level with the crazy screwed corridor appearing in The Sword)
There is a great sense of scale and atmosphere throughout. Some levels are truly stunning like the lava/snow one or the cathedral. There is beauty to be found among the horror and hopelessness.
Dusk is my first experience with the classic shooter genre so I can't compare it to its main inspirations or get all the references and tropes the game uses/parodies/subverts, but I still really liked my time with it!
The game tries many different things and the levels feel quite varied because of it, you really get the impression the dev had fun coming up with a lot of it.
Going from claustrophobic horror levels to open levels relying on movement and pure combat is quite fun and keeps the experience fresh. The weapons and enemies compliment well these different styles.
I particularly love those suffocating levels whose intricate design full of shortcuts and secrets reminded me of Thief (with a straight up reference to it in the lab level with the crazy screwed corridor appearing in The Sword)
There is a great sense of scale and atmosphere throughout. Some levels are truly stunning like the lava/snow one or the cathedral. There is beauty to be found among the horror and hopelessness.
This review contains spoilers
Pure ludo.
I can't believe how hard they've push the console limitations.
There is a crispness that I felt while playing that I rarely find in other games, especially of that era.
The tank controls and combat take some getting use to but ended up being quite simple and satisfying. It fits the idea of controlling a confused father with no combat experience. The encounters can easily turn against you fast but some good timing and a bit of luck allow you to steamroll some creatures in really satisfying ways. Beating up a dog with a pipe as it jumps towards you feels intense.
This feeling holds up well thanks to some TIGHT animations, atmosphere and attention to detail. The way creatures heave slightly and wheeze as you finish them off, the way Harry pushes against surfaces if you send him running into walls...
It is genuinely impressing to me.
The atmosphere itself is perfect. The visuals are simple but striking, the locations don't feel gamey and there is a realistic sense of space (well, except from the abnormally large streets).
This is where the sound design and especially Yamaoka's music really come in to play.
Running through the dreamy streets, full of fog and snow, hearing the radio chatter getting stronger as you make out a figure in the distance.
Walking through the silent school classrooms with your flashlight (impressive lightning effects btw) while listening to the quiet drone and whispers and finally rising metal grinding as you enter the next room and are surrounded by knife wielding grey children.
All those elements mix elegently to create a tension you could slice like butter.
There's a lot of areas you can make looping gifs off since they look so easthetically pleasing and calm.
As an aside, the OST has a place of its own in my heart and I believe it really makes the game. Yamaoka is a genius.
The story is laid out in quite a simple and unfocused series of events, but behind that basic frame lies quite a bit of world building and a cryptic story.
The game deals with strong themes like child abuse, loss, identity, yet delivers its story through extremely basic dialogue and cheesy voice acting (obviously due to limitations) and it makes for quite a dissonent experience and a lot of unintentional humor.
Harry's braindead comments with that so recognizable font have indeed made it into the series soul and are a lot of fun.
("Probably a doghouse, though I'm not sure as there's no dog around")
There's some inspiration from Twin Peaks and the ethereal exchanges and cryptic and dreamy logic of the story beats really fit well I think.
Behind the seemingly basic framework of the story lies a lot of easily missed details that you can find only by analysing the environment or approaching it the same way Dark Souls delivers its story. Alessa's trauma and manifestation as monsters, the religion and drug backstory and general history of the town, all these elements can be guessed from small details, out of place decorations and objects.
There's this confusion or brain fog with all the characters interaction or monologues that makes it feel like they're all in the same nightmare and like in nightmare, unable to act upon the horrors they see. Unable to stick together and always part once they meet again.
When you get over the B-movie voice acting, there is a feeling of dread to be find in those dialogues.
Other strong elements I forgot to mention are the creature and boss designs, which are varied and horrifying in the best of ways.
They really feel original and not basic monsterish if that makes sense.
Having to fight a giant moth through multiple stages of its life (larval and adult) as different boss fights is just genius.
Once you fight through a literal god to find and save Harry's daughter, you are presented with a result screen with a banging song and there it hit me that I had experienced a game I found perfect in all its imperfections.
I can't believe how hard they've push the console limitations.
There is a crispness that I felt while playing that I rarely find in other games, especially of that era.
The tank controls and combat take some getting use to but ended up being quite simple and satisfying. It fits the idea of controlling a confused father with no combat experience. The encounters can easily turn against you fast but some good timing and a bit of luck allow you to steamroll some creatures in really satisfying ways. Beating up a dog with a pipe as it jumps towards you feels intense.
This feeling holds up well thanks to some TIGHT animations, atmosphere and attention to detail. The way creatures heave slightly and wheeze as you finish them off, the way Harry pushes against surfaces if you send him running into walls...
It is genuinely impressing to me.
The atmosphere itself is perfect. The visuals are simple but striking, the locations don't feel gamey and there is a realistic sense of space (well, except from the abnormally large streets).
This is where the sound design and especially Yamaoka's music really come in to play.
Running through the dreamy streets, full of fog and snow, hearing the radio chatter getting stronger as you make out a figure in the distance.
Walking through the silent school classrooms with your flashlight (impressive lightning effects btw) while listening to the quiet drone and whispers and finally rising metal grinding as you enter the next room and are surrounded by knife wielding grey children.
All those elements mix elegently to create a tension you could slice like butter.
There's a lot of areas you can make looping gifs off since they look so easthetically pleasing and calm.
As an aside, the OST has a place of its own in my heart and I believe it really makes the game. Yamaoka is a genius.
The story is laid out in quite a simple and unfocused series of events, but behind that basic frame lies quite a bit of world building and a cryptic story.
The game deals with strong themes like child abuse, loss, identity, yet delivers its story through extremely basic dialogue and cheesy voice acting (obviously due to limitations) and it makes for quite a dissonent experience and a lot of unintentional humor.
Harry's braindead comments with that so recognizable font have indeed made it into the series soul and are a lot of fun.
("Probably a doghouse, though I'm not sure as there's no dog around")
There's some inspiration from Twin Peaks and the ethereal exchanges and cryptic and dreamy logic of the story beats really fit well I think.
Behind the seemingly basic framework of the story lies a lot of easily missed details that you can find only by analysing the environment or approaching it the same way Dark Souls delivers its story. Alessa's trauma and manifestation as monsters, the religion and drug backstory and general history of the town, all these elements can be guessed from small details, out of place decorations and objects.
There's this confusion or brain fog with all the characters interaction or monologues that makes it feel like they're all in the same nightmare and like in nightmare, unable to act upon the horrors they see. Unable to stick together and always part once they meet again.
When you get over the B-movie voice acting, there is a feeling of dread to be find in those dialogues.
Other strong elements I forgot to mention are the creature and boss designs, which are varied and horrifying in the best of ways.
They really feel original and not basic monsterish if that makes sense.
Having to fight a giant moth through multiple stages of its life (larval and adult) as different boss fights is just genius.
Once you fight through a literal god to find and save Harry's daughter, you are presented with a result screen with a banging song and there it hit me that I had experienced a game I found perfect in all its imperfections.