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Post by Catalyst on Apr 27, 2009 21:33:46 GMT -5
Wanted to know if any of you knew any obscure survival horror titles or anything if remotely survival horror related. It doesn't matter to me if the game is a rail-shooter, kiddie survival horror, more action oriented, handheld, light-gun, or even if the game is that good of a title. I just wanna hear about it. If you have a description of the title even better. I've gone through most of the main franchises like Fatal Frame, Silent Hill, Parasite Eve, etc., but now I'm looking for harder to find survival horror games. I've already found some of the more obvious rare survival horror titles like Kuon, Theresia, Curse, Echo Night: Beyond, Rule of Rose, Call of Cthulhu, so now I wanna know about the truly obscure titles.
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Post by Justinzero on Apr 27, 2009 22:00:56 GMT -5
There was a really good topic on this subject a few months ago, so try digging for it. I'll take a look in a bit and I'll be sure to post the link. I was blown away by how many niche horror games some of the members here knew about.
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Post by Catalyst on Apr 27, 2009 23:45:00 GMT -5
Thanx, I was searching to see if something had been posted, but I couldn't find it. I'm running out survival horror games I wanna try out, which is a scary thought.
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Post by zzz on Apr 28, 2009 0:08:13 GMT -5
Clock Tower for SNES is the best freaking survival horror game of all time. It's in Japanese, but it's been fan-translated, so go check it out. Sweet Home for NES is also pretty happening. It's also in Japanese, and it's also been fan-translated. You might also wanna take a look at these two lists of survival horror games: www.dreamdawn.com/sh/list.phpwww.dreamdawn.com/sh/close_calls.php
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Post by kitten on Apr 28, 2009 0:11:55 GMT -5
Edit: Also, backing zzz up on the Clocktower suggestion for the SNES. The only reason I didn't suggest it is because I thought it was popular enough that you might have already looked over it, anyway (if you haven't, you're in for a treat). Sweet Home is more of an RPG than a survival horror, though, but it's also worth a look if you haven't seen it, yet. You've probably heard of quite a few of these, but I'm hoping there's at least one in here you haven't! The original Siren (PS2) is an obvious suggestion, as far as more obscure ones go. I've heard it has even more obscure puzzles than most survival horror games, though. The remake of Siren (Blood Curse, stateside; New Translation, Japan) for the PS3 is a lot more well-known and has extremely little puzzle-solving. The game focuses a lot more on the "survival" and "horror" elements of survival horror rather than solving asinine puzzles. I've been meaning to pick it up when I get money for something like a year and the demo on the PSN is very nice. Michigan: Report from Hell, for the PS2, is one you might want to check out if you're a hardcore Suda51 fan. I've heard it's got some really neat stuff in it, but is, unfortunately, more for hardcore survival horror fans. It wasn't released stateside, but it did, curiously, get a Euro release. You also have D (lots of ports, I forget which is the best, you might want to youtube search HVGN + D and watch his review on the series), which is supposed to be more cinematic than a video game. The Happy Video Game Nerd, who generally has excellent taste in obscure titles, was rather fond of this one. There's the sequel, D2 (DC), which was really a lot different and met with mixed reactions. Illbleed (DC) is a pretty damned weird one that's worth checking out for both the horror aspects and the hilarious aspects. It's hard to tell if the game is trying to be funny or if it is unintentional, but the cult following this game tends to have makes it worth recommending for reasons you might understand that I don't. Last, but not least of my recommendations (I don't play many survival horrors, but I have some odd fascination with researching little bits about how absurd some of them are) is Deep Fear for the Sega Saturn (like Michigan, it was only released in Europe and Japan, for some strange reason). According to a lot of sources, this one is actually supposed to be just as good as Resident Evil, but didn't catch on because it was late in the Saturn's life cycle and after Resident Evil had already stolen the spotlight. It also, apparently, has even worse voice acting, so there's always that appeal, too. I hear the Japanese version is almost entirely in English, too. Well, I hope these help! There are quite a few and at least one should be interesting enough to occupy your time (:
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Post by Catalyst on Apr 28, 2009 0:15:27 GMT -5
Thanx, I've played Siren, been thinking about getting the third Siren for the PS3, played the 1st Clocktower and that was great, and now I'm going to go search for Sweet Home. Heard about it, but never played it. Also thinking about picking up a Dreamcast to play some of these DC Survival Horror games I've never played. Always been curious about Michigan.
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Post by Feynman on Apr 28, 2009 0:28:49 GMT -5
Nobody has mentioned Galerians yet? Shame on you! Damn fun sci-fi-themed survival horror (well, more like survival dystopia, but whatever) game with typical RE-style gameplay. A unique twist involves the use of not guns, but drug injections to fuel telekinectic blasts as your means of attack. You have to ration your injections as well, as taking too many drugs without the use of stabilizers will cause a nasty psychic backlash. Although it's not as polished as it's survival horror siblings, the atmosphere and one of a kind gameplay mechanics make it a personal favorite of mine in the genre.
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Post by Rash on Apr 28, 2009 1:22:16 GMT -5
Would Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem for the cube be considered survival horror? That game was creepy.
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Post by wyrdwad on Apr 28, 2009 1:44:34 GMT -5
Haven't played them yet, but I'm really intrigued by Fragile on the Wii, and Nanashi no Game (Nameless Game) on the DS, both of which are survival horror to some extent or another. Demon's Souls on the PS3 could loosely be considered a survival horror action RPG, too, from what I hear.
-Tom
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metazoa
Full Member
Vulgar Argot!
Posts: 222
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Post by metazoa on Apr 28, 2009 2:44:50 GMT -5
Pathologic is an excellent game from Russia: PC only, and it's a little less than stable, but I actually had to stop playing it before I finished the game. It was screwing with my head too much. It's available on Direct to Drive. Or, I guess you could steal it via torrents. Whatever.
Haunting Ground is an overlooked entry in the genre, with a few interesting mechanics. It's notable for being one of the few games in the genre that tries to suggest more with it's characters, locations, and themes than simple gore and violence. It's a PS2 game from Capcom, and can be had for less than twenty bucks.
On that same theme, Rule of Rose is a subtle and weird game for the PS2 developed by Punchline and released by Atlus here in the states. It deals with the cruelty that often occurs between children: it's essentially Silent Hill crossed with Lord of the Flies. One warning though: it's balls hard. It makes Siren look like a cakewalk.
Penumbra is a great PC horror title with incredible atmosphere. It's more of a first person adventure game than anything else, and it falls apart just a little at the end, but it's cheap, creepy, and doesn't require a beast of a rig to run well.
The Condemned series is one that I feel has been unfairly shunned by horror fans this generation. Nothing beats it for immersion and first person combat, and the story of the first game is completely top notch. Things start to crumble in the sequel (as I explained to Sotenga, evil hubcabs summon the tar from Satan's lungs to make hobos angry, and you sing to win), but the mechanics, suffocating environments, and audio are worth it. Plus, there's an evil bear.
Dementium: the Ward for DS is a neat little first person Silent Hill clone you can find practically anywhere for ten bucks. It's not long, and the checkpoint system is sometimes frustrating, but it's worth playing for the novelty of a decent horror game on the go. Headphones while playing are a must.
Obscure is Lost Vikings crossed with Alone in the Dark that takes place on the set of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. It's available for the PS2 and Xbox, and usually costs between twenty and thirty on Amazon. Stay the Hell away from the sequel though: it's utter crap.
I may or may not get shit for this, but the first Manhunt game is completely unnerving, and an interesting take on the genre. Play it on the Xbox and plug your headset in: the enemies can hear you if you breath too hard or gasp. That makes for some scary moments. Plus, some of the enemies later in the game are weirder and more unnerving than anything you'll find in Silent Hill. Piggy, for example. And his dangling mutant penis.
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Post by derboo on Apr 28, 2009 3:15:00 GMT -5
Pathologic is an excellent game from Russia: PC only, and it's a little less than stable, but I actually had to stop playing it before I finished the game. It was screwing with my head too much. It's available on Direct to Drive. Or, I guess you could steal it via torrents. Whatever. Even though it is arguable wether or not this one can be defined as horror, or just mystery, it deserves praise for being one of the very few games that put actual stress to the survival aspect more than "you are badly armed/ammunitioned, avoid getting killed by the monsters". It is actually very difficult not to die from starvation or sickness. I also very much like its time pressure and quest system (basically, you don't have to be successful in any quests to get to the worst ending, sidequests are just over when you can't manage them to do until the next day, and main quests are done by other characters, who sacrifice themselves for your failings). I may or may not get shit for this, but the first Manhunt game is completely unnerving, and an interesting take on the genre. Play it on the Xbox and plug your headset in: the enemies can hear you if you breath too hard or gasp. That makes for some scary moments. Plus, some of the enemies later in the game are weirder and more unnerving than anything you'll find in Silent Hill. Piggy, for example. And his dangling mutant penis. That game is actually completely prohibited in my country, selling it at all criminally punishable. Usually only games featuring swastika or neonazi homebrew get that doubtful honor.
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Post by America Young Fusion on Apr 28, 2009 7:52:04 GMT -5
I may or may not get shit for this, but the first Manhunt game is completely unnerving, and an interesting take on the genre. Play it on the X-Box and plug your headset in: the enemies can hear you if you breath too hard or gasp. That makes for some scary moments. Plus, some of the enemies later in the game are weirder and more unnerving than anything you'll find in Silent Hill. Piggy, for example. And his dangling mutant penis. Yeah hey playing the second one on Wii, I can see what you mean. It's not horror with jump and go boo monsters and moments as in Aliens and zombie films, it's human horror in an urban setting full of really scary individuals as in Death Sentence or 8mm. The hunters that start calmly talking to you as though they were your therapist and that they are trying to help as they chase and beat you down with a crowbar was a really messed up idea. And then that fucking army of fridge-shaped gimps on Sexual Deviants. That shit has me sold on this game being worth getting. Now opposite to this is D2 on DreamCast and it's my recommendation. How you feel about getting stranded in a well-known John Carpenter movie with creatures panting and screaming in complete agony at you like the normal people they used to be? Really good stuff.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2009 10:58:35 GMT -5
Edit: Also, backing zzz up on the Clocktower suggestion for the SNES. The only reason I didn't suggest it is because I thought it was popular enough that you might have already looked over it, anyway (if you haven't, you're in for a treat). Sweet Home is more of an RPG than a survival horror, though, but it's also worth a look if you haven't seen it, yet. You've probably heard of quite a few of these, but I'm hoping there's at least one in here you haven't! The original Siren (PS2) is an obvious suggestion, as far as more obscure ones go. I've heard it has even more obscure puzzles than most survival horror games, though. Michigan: Report from Hell, for the PS2, is one you might want to check out if you're a hardcore Suda51 fan. I've heard it's got some really neat stuff in it, but is, unfortunately, more for hardcore survival horror fans. It wasn't released stateside, but it did, curiously, get a Euro release. Illbleed (DC) is a pretty damned weird one that's worth checking out for both the horror aspects and the hilarious aspects. It's hard to tell if the game is trying to be funny or if it is unintentional, but the cult following this game tends to have makes it worth recommending for reasons you might understand that I don't. Siren: The recent article here really made me want to try it again. However, I didn't think it was quite as "fair" as some people believe, and felt that the enjoyment derived from playing it didn't really justify the demand for perfection; if anything it made me feel uneasy and stressed out, and not in a good way. It was like playing an OCEAN game. For some reason this makes me think of Hideo Kojima's concept of a "self-destructing game" that would die if you did; sometimes being more-realistic doesn' t translate to a fun game. Your mileage may vary. Michigan: I would like to play this, because apparently it has a cameo by pro-wrestler/racequeen Yinling (who gave birth to Akebono in the ring: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQLLCh9s6qk). Not sure you would like it, dual, if you didn't like Illbleed (for the reason I'm guessing you don't like it) because it basically is gore porn, and some of the ways to get points are to do upskirt (or downblouse) shots of the female reporters, or film them getting killed brutally -- note, this was some time before Dead Rising. Illbleed: Fun Fact: character designs for this (and Blue Stinger) were done by Masaki Segawa, who drew/adapted the manga "Basilisk" and "Y+M (Yagyuu Ninja Scrolls"; this is pretty evident from the way he draws the women. It's definitely not a "good" game, and is very broken, much like Blue Stinger; you're given the option to play as multiple characters, yet you probably never will since main character Eriko is superior to them all, especially after upgrades. Controls are not the best, and neither is the camera. Also, I'm sure it offended some people with the "New Game+" easter egg where the main character was stripped down gradually each chapter until only strategically placed bits of mud/cloth covered her private parts. However, it's definitely fun in a "kusoge" sense, and that it had an interesting system dealing with fear that hasn't been done since. The nonsense and black humor is pretty good in a lot of cases too, with some really disturbing (but funny) scenes. The whole "Toy Story" sequence was a better mind-fuck in many ways than MGS2, dealing with things like Toy Hell (good and bad versions), killing your new (kid) owner with a pokemon seizure to get to Toy Hell, and Zodick the Hellhog. Anyway, it's a lot of fun if you don't take things too seriously.
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Post by kitten on Apr 28, 2009 12:01:22 GMT -5
Speaking of "basically gore porn," I forgot to recommend Demonophobia, which is a freeware PC game that's actually pretty decent. Gets pretty damn fucked up on later levels, though.
Also, I've heard really good stuff about Penumbra, which Metazoa mentioned, and the first Condemned game isn't too bad, either, but I wasn't that big a fan of it (though I liked it more on my recent replay in which I tried to not look at it as a "first person Silent Hill," which it was described to me as).
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Post by dooz on Apr 28, 2009 12:07:53 GMT -5
Penumbra is a great PC horror title with incredible atmosphere. It's more of a first person adventure game than anything else, and it falls apart just a little at the end, but it's cheap, creepy, and doesn't require a beast of a rig to run well. Don't forget that there are several parts to this game, and not every part is similar. Overture is definitely first-person adventure with horror elements, but Black Plague is a lot more psychological horror, with terrifying hallucinations being an integral part of the gameplay. After Black Plague is Requiem, but I haven't played that, nor do I know much about it.
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