Showing posts with label Horror. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Horror. Show all posts

May 10, 2015

Viriax, Achoo!

Review #87 – Free Video Game

Viriax, Achoo!

Today I'm really sick. So... Viriax! Viriax is a... shooter? I guess? You don't really shoot, but you move vertically and are shot at. Mmm... Ok, perhaps it's not from a “traditional” genre.

Let's try again. In Viriax, you play a a virus. You travel through the body, infecting different organs. To access new ones, you have to earn enough points during your previous runs. So yeah, as I said, it's not easy to classify.

The game has a lot of different power-ups and enemies, and the randomly generated levels keep it fresh for a long time. What else could we expect from our good friend Locomalito?

- The Storeman


Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

External Download Link: http://www.locomalito.com/viriax.php

Mar 1, 2015

I See You

Review #78 – Free Video Game

I See You

Warning: This is an actual horror game. So tread carefully, I guess.

I'm not an expert in Horror Games, so maybe I haven't developed the natural immunity to horror tropes, but I See You was a terrifying experience. Unlike other horror games, it felt like you actually have a chance at avoiding the creatures, which made it more scary when you stumbled into one.

The game is really good, has a great atmosphere and easily draws you in. The design is simple, and the “game” starts to become a character by itself as you progress.

It's not particularly challenging or long, though. Still, that's good, as you'll never get stuck, unless you decide you can't take anymore and run away.

For better effect, dim the lights and play alone. Enjoy.

- The Storeman

Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

Oct 19, 2014

The Crooked Man, that lived in a Crooked House...

Review #62 – Free Game

The Crooked Man, that lived in a Crooked House...

At the end of the review, there is the link to a translation of a game by Uri. I Assume that, if you are reading this blog, you come looking for games in English. In that previous link is the original, if you'd rather play that.


Now, today in Horror October, we have The Crooked Man. It's a Horror RPG game that puts you in the role of David, a new homeowner with a troubled past. As you play, his story is revealed while you fight to survive. I'd say more, but I don't want to spoil anything.


So, you might look at the screenshot above and say: “That's not going to be scary, it looks like a polished Final Fantsy Tactics”. Well, that's not exactly true. The Crooked Man uses al the classic horror movie moves: flickering lights, flashing screens and a great soundtrack to set the atmosphere. Add to all of this that you are actually “behind the wheel” controlling the character, and you'll find yourself in the zone pretty quickly. So, yes, this game is scary, don't take it lightly.

The story is fun and well written, and it's full of puzzles that are hard, but not impossible. My only complain is that some “challenges” take really long to complete. But don't despair, because it's worth it.

- The Storeman


Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

Oct 12, 2014

A Mother's Inferno

Good evening, and welcome. I am Doctor Blockhead, curator to the Museum of Curiosities; a home for the freakish, disturbing, and grotesque.

You may think you have found your way here by accident, though I assure you, it was not. You might think you were looking for something else, but I am certain you weren’t. A morbid fascination, deep within your being, an obsession with the macabre, the strange, the unknown has compelled you here.
 
Now that you’ve arrived, please, take your time, peruse the dusty shelves, find something that scares and excites you. It won’t take long.

And let me warn you: Today’s the first actual horror review of this event. Enter at your own risk.

A Mother’s Inferno

A Mother’s Inferno is a free, single-player game available for play through a download or web browser. It is possible to complete the game in about 30 minutes, making it perfect to play in the dark hours before bed.
 

In A Mother’s Inferno, a mother and her young son ride an empty train to an unknown destination. Without warning, the boy is ripped from her side by demonic forces, and she falls unconscious. After she wakes, she sets out to face the psychedelic inferno the train has become, her only defense a shard of glass, to save her son from the darkness.

A Mother’s Inferno is a truly unique game. A modern, horror-oriented interpretation of Dante’s Inferno, it distills the deepest fear of all parents: losing their child. This fear is palpable and constant, conveyed through the often frenetic first-person view, perverse and hallucinatory landscapes, and the mother’s persistent gasps for air as she claws her way through five train cars, each one more hellish than the next.
 

As the game progresses, the environments become less like train cars, and more like ancient cathedrals to the dark and unholy. At points, it’s easy to forget the terror unfolds within the belly of a moving train; however, the subtle, almost subconscious clatter of steel wheels on iron rails rings constantly beneath all things.
 


The mother’s journey is an exhausting tribulation, but she bears it with the ferocity of an animal with nothing to lose. It is easy to feel her struggle, to become her, to seek not her son, but yours. You will cross the River Styx on the back of a corpse; you will cut your own eyes out with broken glass; you will gut monstrous beasts like fish.

Your struggle will guide you through the five stages of grief, each train car representing a stage, until you arrive at the terminus of loss: acceptance.

But what do you accept? The return of your son, or his permanent disappearance?

That answer is yours alone to discover in A Mother’s Inferno. Fight for it.

Doctor Blockhead


External Download Link: http://amothersinferno.dadiugames.dk/
(Check the "Play" Tab to play online).

Aug 10, 2014

ViViD, Prepare your Mind

Review #54 – Free Game

ViViD, Prepare your Mind

ViViD is an action platformer game. It includes: high precision jumping, flashing colors, and a restless screen. Don't play while operating heavy machinery or while pregnant.

Ok, now seriously. In ViViD you take control of Burt, a subject on a drug trial. After the first dosage things start to get a little... weird. The game combines pretty strict jumping with a vast selection of visual obstacles: moving screens, bouts of static, upside down view, and many more. It can get really frustrating, but it's not that hard, and certainly not impossible.

This game is obviously not designed for young audiences, and it includes an epileptic warning, so be careful. Other than that, don't play if you get mad easily. It gets very tough from time to time, and laptops may be thrown across the room.


- The Storeman

Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of virus and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.

Jul 22, 2014

David vs. Goliath



Babbling at the Counter #51 – Pen and Paper

David vs. Goliath

I guess most roleplayers can say they’ve had this moment: Your party and you get into a fight (as parties are wont to do) and after the first round you realize the though brute in front of you can shrug your attacks like they are nothing. So… what to do now?

I’ve already covered unstoppable juggernauts before, but inspired by a recent experience and Aaron's latest Tiny d10 post, I wanted to revisit and add to the idea.

My invincible monsters had a simple but effective rule, to know: They should deal average damage. There were reasons for that (see link), but let’s break that rule and think outside the box. How can one handle a creature that’s really powerful and really dangerous?

A few weeks ago, my group and I (I wasn’t the GM) found ourselves fighting inside a prison. We didn’t had access to our weapons or armor, the mage couldn't perform magic and our rival was a giant crocodile man (so bite and tail club were natural weapons, oh, and he had natural armor).

We were done, we knew that. But given the GM, he clearly expected a fight, and we didn’t disappoint. I don’t like fights, so our most tactical player took the lead. We scoured through our character sheets, looking up any kind of skill trick or combat advantage we could use.

I must say, we feared for our characters. The GM is new to GMing, and the encounter was completely unfair. Still, we survived, and it was awesome!


The thing is, some GMs don’t like killing characters. I know I don’t. When I read the Horror of the Lake for Tiny d10, I kept thinking “Instant Death? That’s not cool”. Then I remembered Power Points could help with save rolls. I started thinking that, yeah, T10 Toughness is a problem, but it’s not impossible to beat. Now I actually want to fight against that.

Yes, this is a delicate art, and can easily be the end of inexperienced or lazy players. That’s the main reason I said no “overpowered” monsters in my previous post. So, while not restricting yourself, thread carefully. And if you have any advice on how to run monsters out of the character’s league, drop by the comments and let us know!

- The Storeman

Aug 13, 2013

Invincible Monsters, Fear and Tension or Cheap shot?



Babbling at the Counter #03 – Pen and Paper

Invincible Monsters, Fear and Tension or Cheap shot?

GMs, listen, if there’s something roleplayers are used to, it’s maiming and killing whatever you put in their way. So it can be fun to play and twist their expectations, don’t you think? And even though there are certain kinds of enemies that can only be hurt with a specific kind of weapon or spell, that’s not the same as deciding to use a truly impossible to damage foe.

First, you should ask yourself this question: Is it worth it? Because not everyone will enjoy an unstoppable punching bag that just keeps going. If you think your players won’t react well, don’t try to push it. But if you think they will, then don’t restrict yourself and go ahead. And let me tell you that you have awesome players.

Now, there are two things that unstoppable monsters should not be: Overpowered and Inescapable.

Why not Overpowered: You want your players to be afraid of the monster, not to create a Total Party Kill. Sending a monster that’s too strong for the characters is not the idea here. Such a monster would kill the players too fast, and they’ll feel cheated. Now if your creature deals normal damage, not only they’ll have time to realize that THEY CAN’T KILL IT and that they should RUN, but you will also have a better control over how fast the encounter moves.
So don’t send a creature that doubles the characters level; instead send a normal creature that’s immune to damage. Only don’t let them know it’s normal. Describe it in a supernatural way, with an impressive armor or an ethereal quality so they know they are not dealing with a normal foe, even if its stats are completely average.

Why not Inescapable: This one is more obvious than the last one. If they won’t be able to kill, they’ll have to find another way to survive. Maybe the creature can’t enter a specific kind of place (like holy ground) or can’t be exposed to a specific element (like sunlight). Maybe it can’t leave a place (like its tomb). Or maybe it can be stopped, but only in an intricate and non-final way (instead of destroying it, the characters seal it up in some kind of place. Since it’s not really gone and they can’t carry the prison around, they won’t know if the creature ever escapes).
What we are trying to do here is put some sort of built-in weak spot. This will allow you to make it survive almost anything and make the players burn a lot of resources and get very creative to survive, but won’t create a TPK. It will also give you more control over when they can finally escape.

The general idea is to make them fear the monster, while giving them enough hope to keep fighting. And I realize that all the examples I’ve given are clearly pointing towards some kind of undead monster, but this can easily be used to create a spirit avatar, a demigod, or even an imaginary enemy that stalks your players. Have fun!

- The Storeman

Aug 12, 2013

Madness, Psychological Horror Rogue-like


Review #3 - Free Video Game

Madness, Psychological Horror Rogue-like

This is a very good game but there something I’ve to ask you first: Do you know what a Rogue-like is? If you do, skip the next part. If you don’t, please read it.

What is a Roguelike?

A Roguelike is usually described as a free turn-based computer game with a strong focus on intricate gameplay and replayability, and an abstract world representation using ASCII-based display, as opposed to 3D graphics. Of course, as with any genre, there are deviations from the norm.
Roguelikes allow the player an indefinite amount of time in which to make a move, making gameplay comparable more to chess than to reflex-based games like first-person shooters. Since graphics are limited (if not completely shunned), the player's imagination must come into play - gameplay is more like reading a book than watching a movie.
Of course, the best way to understand what Roguelikes are is to download and play one.”

Madness puts you in the shoes of an adventurer inside an undefined dungeon. Your goal? Reach the tenth level and face the Dungeon Master. With this simple set up Madness hides the fact that it’s anything but simple.


Inside the dungeon, alone, surrounded by monster and darkness, your mind will start to slip away from reality. The longer you stay inside the dungeon, the crazier you’ll get. And the harder it’ll be to distinguish reality from hallucinations. Try to keep everything together and use your light sources wisely if you want to succeed.

A nice, very immersive game to play during a coffebreak. (A good concept to add to my “Babbling at the Counter” about Replayability, read more here http://roguebasin.roguelikedevelopment.org/index.php?title=Coffeebreak_roguelike)

- The Storeman

Disclaimer: I didn’t upload any of the content in the following link. I have downloaded and checked it as I always do. I have even executed it in my own computer and did not experience any kind of problems. But I can’t ensure that it is free of viruses and/or malware that my anti-virus programs couldn’t find. That’s the author’s responsibility.



(I'm sorry this post was delayed, I've been having problems with my internet connection)