Project Zero is the most Japanese of horror properties. Capcom’s Resident Evil series is developed by Japanese artists and is great fun but closely intertwined with western B-grade horror traditions. Konami’s Silent Hill is (for the most part) intelligent and artful, but it was heavily inspired by western psychological horror…
Read MorePoll by Matt S. It is the season for horror, after all, so, with Halloween looming, and so many horror games being released right now, we thought we’d put the question to our audience: Of the classic Japanese horror franchises, three in particular reign supreme. So, what is your favourite?…
Read MoreInterview by Matt S. Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water never got a fair run on the Wii U. It was an ultra-niche title released on a console that really didn’t do good numbers. It’s also one of the last Wii U exclusives to get a second run off the…
Read MoreVideo by Matt S. House of Ashes is a good – even great game. It’s highly cinematic, filled with excellent set-pieces, and is a plain-good, fun time. However! The developers of this series – which includes Little Hope and Man of Medan, have made each title with roughly the same…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. The Dark Pictures Anthology’s latest entry, House of Ashes, has plenty going for it. It has cinematic flair, Hollywood talent (led by Ashley Tisdale), and an intriguing premise, given that it’s leveraging off the Akkadian Empire, which is one of the oldest empires we know of…
Read MorePreview by Harvard L. I’m surprised that more developers don’t take a systemic approach to horror – we get lots of games that lean away from game mechanics and skill-based interactions, but there’s a richness to be explored within the language of game systems too. Having played Shephy, I’m all…
Read MoreNews by Matt S. Ever-prolific publisher, NISA, is at it again, having announced two games this week. We’re getting a new horror game with a deeply Japanese aesthetic as well as a new roguelike. The horror game is called Shadow Corridor, and it sounds like it might be a bit…
Read MoreReview by Matt S. Developers; if you’re going to give players a map, but not tell them where they are on the map, that in itself is fine. I actually appreciate the commitment to the “old school” there, and the lack of hand-holding. However. If making sense of the map then…
Read MoreNews by Matt S. PQube is publishing Tormented Souls – a classic-style horror game, and it’s doing so soon! The game launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC (via Steam) later this month, on August 27. It’s coming to last generation consoles and Nintendo Switch too, but we’ll need…
Read MoreNews by Matt S. I’m a big fan of Dead Space. The original game did “action-horror in space” astoundingly well, and was an experience that was dripping with atmosphere, taut, intense and creative. Unfortunately, EA’s about to ruin all of that. The publisher has tasked Motive – the developer behind…
Read More