In case you missed the previous post, I'm afraid my attention is otherwise engaged this Halloween - and, for that matter, the immediate future. So I'm turning Halloween over to some more productive folks behind some strong LPs of horror games I've enjoyed over the years. I'm trying not to list the warhorses like supergreatfriend's exhaustive & hilarious Illbleed LP or Run Button's blind Silent Hill LP here (but just in case: I've already listed many in this tag). I'm instead going for deeper cuts. Despite their lesser renown, all of these are worth watching.
Supergreatfriend VR playthroughs: Venerable streamer supergreatfriend posts LPs of horror games on VR platforms every October. Given the sequestered nature of the VR market, many of these titles will be completely unfamiliar even to most completionist horror fans. The entire catalog is worth a look; I'll give a few starting points.
Lies Beneath: In an inversion of the classic Silent Hill homage, a Native American college student back for a visit to her Alaska hometown searches for her father after he goes missing following a car wreck. I'll admit that I haven't watched this in a while and remember finding it at times a bit overly-long, but it has a foundation of quality, and I was struck by how something well-made, in a unique setting, can just sink so utterly off the map due to platform - there is next to nothing on this game on the open web, not even a Wikipedia page.
The 7th Guest VR: I know the original 7th Guest was a landmark game technologically, but nothing of my exposure to it has left me with the impression that it's anything but unpleasant schlock. This VR remake, then, is all the more a wonder: the 360° recordings for the FMV cutscenes, where you can actually walk around characters to enjoy different perspectives on a scene as it plays out, echo the killer-app cutting-edge wow factor of the original - but the FMV quality, in terms of technical fidelity, acting, and writing, is in another universe compared to the 1993 release. Just a class act. (Also, though this may not be intentional, I find Stauf's ultimate fate here uniquely horrific given his professional integrity as a puzzle craftsman (highlight to read): trapped in a roll-and-move.
The Exorcist: Legion: There are a lot of tie-in VR games, it seems, for movies old and new. I'm obviously not going to tell you this collection of five short stories - the misadventures of a police officer who finds himself forced to take up the exorcist's crucifix to solve a variety of demon-incited crimes, ultimately coming face-to-face with Pazuzu him/her/themself - is the equal of Jason Miller or even George C. Scott, but I find myself returning to them every now and again. The vibes are effective - the '70s vibe, the "busy police station" vibe, the contrast of examining demonic evidence with filling out routine police investigation paperwork amidst the hubbub of a lived-in downtown station and routine police investigation - and I thought the development of the case with the model was in places markedly touching and thoughtful. They make for good autumn stories.
While we're on that note, have some of that supreme fall song "Tubular Bells." (Well, for the first five minutes. It kind of loses the script eventually.)
Wilson's Heart: An homage to '50s black-and-white monster movies and horror comics, notable for its exceptionally stacked voice cast: Michael B. Jordan, Rosario Dawson, Alfred Molina, and Peter Weller (in a performance that initially comes across as phoned in but becomes a welcome cranky "done with it" counterpoint to increasingly fantastic events). Weller's character wakes up after an operation to find his heart replaced with an eldritch orb with magic powers, the operating doctor responsible murdered, and the hospital besieged with classic monsters. Features a surprisingly poignant ending, wisely played straight. (Seriously, though, at that post-credits stinger: <you couldn't spare that guy a single "Dr. Van Helsing"?)
Silent Slayer: Vault of the Vampire: A slayer is tasked to eliminate a clan of vampires as they sleep. This entails methodically disabling the ever-more-elaborate security devices in their coffins, guided by a talking grimoire that seems to be a conduit for another, unknown party. This is basically a puzzle & reflex game, but it's an example of how much a single strong voice performance (and a bit of writing - not exceptional, but serving its purpose, with a surprising bit of thought & characterization put in the multiple endings) can elevate a game.
By other creators:
Otzdarva, Resident Evil 3: I actually really love RE3. For me, it's a better implementation of the action movie vibe for which RE2 was going, combined with the sheer horror tension of the first game - plus some absolutely iconic elements: Jill's look, Jill herself, Nemesis. Here, leading Dead by Daylight streamer Otzdarva plays through RE3 following its release on GOG, with a slight (though not disproportionate) focus on comparing it favorably to the remake. I haven't played the remake yet and don't have an opinion there, but it's refreshing to see someone give original RE3 the respect it deserves instead of treating it as a negligible stopgap.
Nextlander & Abby Russell, Shadowgate: It may be a bit reductive and backward-looking to want to see the survivors of Giant Bomb play older games, but it makes for some of their best content. This has the crew pooling their minds and trying to puzzle through the classic "It's a sad thing your adventures have ended here!" Kemco-Seika game, which boasts largely sensible and non-ridiculous logic. Nextlander too often just follows guides step-by-step with these titles, with Alex reading the FAQ and controlling the LP like a big remote-controlled car. This has some of the old Giant Bomb energy and relies on guides relatively minimally. They've also explored the sequel, unseen by me.
Jeff Gerstmann, Jaws: The other Giant Bomb life raft. Gerstmann's on a quest to rank every NES game in a giant list after about 30 minutes to an hour of play of each title. Naturally, this method leads to some...odd rankings (man, as someone who owned that as a kid, is The Goonies II way too high)...but it also leads to some impromptu complete LPs, such as this one of LJN's Jaws. This isn't a horror game by any stretch - it's kind of a bright and inoffensive, friendly thing, albeit rather limited. Gerstmann's unexpected triumph here, though, makes for a nice little contained experience.
James Rolfe and Mike Matei, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest: OK, caveat: As you might know, Mike Matei, in his younger days, made some comics in the stlye of R. Crumb, attempting to be as offensive as possible in an era when some thought that doing so was funny "ironically." These comics eventually invited understandable scrutiny and might have factored into the decision to cut Matei from James Rolfe's channel. I'm not up on what's happened in the past few years, but unless something went on of which I'm unaware, I think we would have seen more ugliness from Matei if the comics represented what he thinks now. I personally think (if my read on the situation is correct) he should just explain what his mindset at the time and what was going on, avow that the comics don't represent what he believes now, and leave the matter. I understand, though, if this whole imbroglio is a dealbreaker for this rec.
I will say that this video showcases Matei and Rolfe at their best: their chemistry as longtime friends honestly can't be replicated, and Rolfe's passion as a horror historian and Matei's encyclopedic enthusiasm for retro gaming are perfect for exploring the mysteries of this enigmatic and confounding but beautifully spooky title. It's a thorough look at the title through many lenses: the frustrations of the game (not just those few inafamous puzzles but the bizarrely toothless bosses and a particularly frustrating jumping segment - you have to jump when the blocks are moving *up* for that one), classic Dracula film & horror trivia, and the uniquely unhelpful clues from the townsfolk (with help from this excellent site that shows what they said in the original). Simon's Quest was the game that started Rolfe's Angry Video Game Nerd channel, and it's a kick to see James & Mike go through it legit. It's informative and fun all the way through.
Two Best Friends Play, Phobia: This was part of the now-defunct channel's annual celebration of horror games - 31 days of horror videos, whose spirit endures on Matt's current channel. (Note, though: The videos on the defunct channel date back to 2012, and the early ones contain some dated jokes. Matt's current channel is fine.) If you look up a full LP of the game being played here, about a motorist who takes refuge from a snowstorm in an abandoned manor, there's not ultimately much actual meat on the bones. In the limited portion of the game that Pat & Matt, see, though, something curious develops: despite nothing happening, the tension - the expectation that something is going to happen - becomes utterly suffocating, until the unexpected denouement, which causes Pat to scream in utter joy and relief. This sounds like a joke, but it's an utterly curious, and deadly effective, exhibit of atmosphere at work. I haven't found another LP video quite like it.
Also, as a bonus:
I remember really liking Oxenfree. I can see, though, why its style of dialogue wouldn't hit it off with Pat. This is kind of a masterpiece of understated comedy, where what Pat thinks of the game is extremely evident with very, very little said. "...'Mostly positive.' Huh."
Woolie & Reggie, Crow Country: I've gone over my thoughts on Crow Country here and am not nearly as positive on it as others, but in trying to find what they saw in it, I've seen a few LPs. I'll mention here that the game is only about 6 hours long and has a variety of settings that can be adjusted to deal with many of its gameplay problems, so if you're interested, you might want to explore for yourself. If you want an LP, though, this is probably the best one - thorough, attentive, and smart.
A few links that are a bit off the mission statement:
Nitro Rad, Clock Tower II; The Struggle Within: This isn't an LP; it's a video review. It's the best examination of the problems with this game out there. It's also an excellent example of Nitro Rad's brand of criticism: genuinely, painstakingly appreciative of the good in a game, yet not out to downplay the bad in it, either (but not out to rub in any salt). An extraordinarily smart video. We'd all be better off if more of gaming on YouTube were like this.
Chris of the eponymous Survival Horror Quest, Resident Evil: This isn't an LP; it's an article, one I've referenced and linked a few times. It's an examination of what the author calls "recursive unlocking": the manner in which Resident Evil uses constructs its environment and employs repeated traversal of the environment to unfold it from its center while keeping item & map searches manageable, providing variety in its environments, and cultivating an illusion of a degree of nonlinearity. A very interesting and useful examination of how this element works in the best of survival horror games.
Kimimi, Resident Evil: Another Resident Evil article - this one a thorough, detailed appreciation of how the game teaches you how to play it from one of its foremost fans and speedrunners. Eye-opening; the equivalent for the first RE of all those appreciations of how World 1-1 is set up in Super Mario Bros., except expanded to the entire title. Some would dismiss Resident Evil being called "smart," but it only makes sense that a zombie game would have...brains!
