Intro: Imagine you’re a college student going to their part-time job at a convenience store. Stacking the shelves, taking out the trash, fixing things that your boss could probably fix on his own, but hey, that’s why he has you there right? All is normal in a job that gets you to feed while studying for your next exam. Just don’t disturb the ancient convenience store spirits, or and you will walk away with your head intact, and bowels in their proper place
It’s just the Usual Routine:
Living as a student earning their way is tough enough, throw in a stalker and creepy vengeful ghost and you have a combination of the god's will and Sadako vs. Kayako both very popular Japanese horror films. The game starts out rather boring to be frank and goes through the motions of essentially a student who works part-time in a convenience store. Earning their pay or “getting that coin” as the kids say and making good ol’ mama and papa proud. Through each chapter or level, you get a tape, (very The Ring I know) and each tape shows you cryptic pictures of different places. The tapes are short, creepy, and to the point. There are two endings depending on what tape you grab, and if you are protected from the spirit with a talisman that you are given. It’s very classic nineties horror movie vibes where the mechanics are simple, the scares are genuine and well crafted, and the tasks are mundane enough that it doesn’t distract from the core of the game is and how it's trying to convey its story to you.
Horror, But Done Right. I’ll let you all in on a little secret. Good horror is slow to start, then progressively picks up in speed, execution of plotline, and closes with an intentional cliffhanger or tight seal to conclude said storyline without possible confusion or lingering questions. Horror “back in the day” was slow-paced but it got the job done in a seamless manner that conveyed a message. There was nothing lost in translation I feel. A lot of games, for the majority of the time in recent years, are fast-paced, eager to get you from point A to B, and never give you a satisfying ending. Not all games are like this, obviously, but a lot of them are, for example, The Evil within Two. The story is all over the place with optional parts of the game that should have been mandatory and a cliffhanger that leads me to believe that there is a third game in the works when in actuality it might be the way the franchise decided to close off a very confusing storyline and game. But in this game, one minute your boss says boo, then the next he’s in a shed with his eyes gouged out. Tough times. This game, however, left me feeling satisfied, and wanting a longer game of this type! Even the puzzle at the very end was tricky and well worth it!
New age, but It’s Old-Age, But it's New? The graphics in this game were….ok. Some of it was nostalgic, some of it was downright funny with how a lot of it was accomplished. Even the mechanics were ok, not the greatest, then again it was very simple tasks you had to complete throughout the game so I’m not complaining. There is even an option to view the game from the lenses of an old VHS tape. So the game has very old-school cute aesthetics that make the game have that classic feel to it.
The Haunting Ends, Or Does it? This game was simple, straight to the point, and very easy. There were two endings that were possible like I've stated earlier and how the game was approached really made each choice count in which ending you obtained which I quite enjoyed. The horror aspect of walking from your apartment to work at night by yourself is a realistic fear I think many of us have and the game played quite well on that emotion of fearing the unknown. I would highly recommend this game to anyone who loves classic horror, or nineties-inspired horror in general. This game really took me by surprise and I’m so glad I was able to play it!
Bình luận