Dark & Eerie Games Thread 1

Esme wrote:Oh, and who exactly sends their kids to a boarding school where they have to dress like Pilgrims?

Inquiring minds want to know!

One of the quirkiest things about "Gamedom's dumbest family" has always been trying to figure out exactly what era we're in.  On one hand our protagonist is driving a car and appears fairly modern; on the other hand her family could be out of 1888.   
I've decided that they're just lobotomized were-zombies and I'm leaving it at that.  

Lobotomized were-zombies it is! At least my brain can stop trying to make it make sense now.   Thanks, Jeannie!

Seriously though, I really DID enjoy the game. First time in a long time actually. It was fun, it was long and though it had moments of great derpitude, I enjoyed it a whole bunch. 

I hope you guys are all having a good week and finding games you enjoy!

I need to find another good game to immerse myself in -- Final Cut 1 and Sable Maze 2 just didn't do anything for me   Both are quality games, I just don't like the settings they're in.

So Amnesia 2: A Machine for Pigs, Outlast, and Huntsman: The Orphanage are all out now -- did anyone partake in the pre-sales and get any of the games?

Oh not me! I'd be waaaaay too scared. I may hang out on the D&E forums but deep down I'm a fraud. 

Same here, I'm too chicken to play any horror game that involves monsters jumping out at you :laugh:I watch blind playthroughs of them on Youtube. I've already seen Outlast. It's got a ton of enemies and a lot of hideous sights. From what I watched, it looks more disgusting and jump-scare-y than genuinely creepy.
I've heard people complain about the new Amnesia. Supposedly it's more story and less monsters now. I'm watching it because even if it's another Scratches (haha), the aesthetics are not for me. I hate machines and machinery (in fiction, not in real life) and would probably hate the story regardless of its objective quality.

Never heard of Huntsman. If it has no stealth and no enemies, then I might check it out.

I don't know the true plot of the new Amnesia pig machine game, but from what I've read the protagonist has to search for his missing children in that house (or whatever it is) with the mysterious pig-slaughtering machine in the basement (or wherever). Truthfully, any game that messes with your mind enough to believe that children are being ripped apart or tortured is NOT something I wanna go near. Ever!!!

I'm watching Amnesia 2 right now. The guy playing is supposed to be ~33% in. To be honest, it's easy to forget you're even supposed to be looking for your kids. Impressions, no story spoilers:

Spoiler:

Although it won't surprise me if the children die in a horrible way. Sad to see Amnesia is again going for gore/disgusting factor.

I would hope that players don't get to witness atrocities performed on children, but I guess if it makes a buck anything is possible. According to the basic opening synopsis I read (no spoilers) the main character Oswald Mandus returns from a "disastrous" expedition to Mexico, where tragedy struck.

So is it possible that tragedy involved the loss of his children, and because of his guilt the voices he now hears are their ghosts? Better that than watching or hearing them being hurt (I use the word lightly) on this "machine" whatever it is.

I realize the genre calls for escalating degrees of shock and horror, but I have to say the whole premise of this particular game is disgustingly distasteful to me. There, I've said my 2 cents.

There was a movie called The Unnameable that I saw when I was in my late teens.  I though it was the scariest thing I'd ever seen... until we actually SAW the unnameable, and then it didn't seem so scary anymore.  Same thing (kind of) with Storm of the Century.  My husband and I watched it because his brother & his wife said this was one of the best movies they'd ever seen.  It was scary at first, but then it was just lame (to us.)  We were left with a definite "blah" feeling when it was all said and done.

My point (in a roundabout way) is that what we imagine can be a whole lot scarier than a mess of gore and violence.

Genki, this is the exact reason why I thought Scratches was one of the most terrifying games I've ever played.
By the time I'd read all the journals, diaries and notes, wandered around inside & outside of the house, listened to that darned grandfather clock and the basement....oh.my.gosh! I was petrified.
I didn't know what I was going to encounter...I had freaked myself out so bad, just using my imagination and envisioning all sorts of horrifying scenarios....
I totally admire Agustin Cordes (the developer) for doing this, with no gore or violence. What a creative mind he has!

I even covered my eyes....I couldn't stand it any longer.

I really need to play that... I've had it (on disk, even!) for YEARS!

You must play it, Genki.

We were talking about it over in the other D&E thread, Scratches is a prime example of a truly scary game without using the gore factor.
With the right storyline, atmosphere and graphics, we've already got the core, our imaginations will take care of all the rest.

I have Scratches but have had trouble playing it with the 360° game play. (Also I'm a little scared, lol.) But I am *totally* into finally playing it this fall. Should we have a mini group play?
(Ooh, maybe I can even draft my husband..!)

Yes, let's do that, RM!   A group play of Scratches would be great -- I'd finally be motivated to play it!

RenaissanceMom wrote:I would hope that players don't get to witness atrocities performed on children, but I guess if it makes a buck anything is possible. [..]

So is it possible that tragedy involved the loss of his children, and because of his guilt the voices he now hears are their ghosts? Better that than watching or hearing them being hurt (I use the word lightly) on this "machine" whatever it is.

I realize the genre calls for escalating degrees of shock and horror, but I have to say the whole premise of this particular game is disgustingly distasteful to me. There, I've said my 2 cents.

This game IS disgusting. Of course I can't really present an informed opinion on this, because I'm only watching, but Machine for Pigs doesn't feel particularly scary. It is disturbing in a sick and gory way, and supposedly it leaves a lingering feeling of dread instead of simple adrenaline rush of Dark Descent, but so far I'm not feeling it. (I was genuinely scared by merely watching Amnesia 1, for comparison.) I just roll my eyes at all journals. It takes disgusting to an almost cartoony level, similar to the later chapters of Dark Descent (torture chambers). It's like the game is constantly trying to outdo itself in showing sick things. This stuff is hard for me to take seriously and instead it's making me nauseous.

That's why I loved Scratches. It did have some mentions of gore in journals, but it left the details to your imagination. It never exposes the player to blood and gore so much that it loses scare factor. Scratches is my perfect horror game. Too bad the upcoming game from the same writer, Asylum, is looking to be more gory and cheaply disgusting.

I wish more horror game developers explored the possibilities of scaring players without relying on ripped guts everywhere.

I'll let you know what happens to the children in Machine for Pigs.

Thanks for your input, Vervaine! I agree with you about over-the-top gory effects; they do cheapen the whole genre, imo.

So I've downloaded Scratches and am ready to get started this evening! I've talked my DH into playing with me as well, which is good and bad. Good, b/c of course it's fun to play scary with someone beside you (especially when you're a chicken like me).   Bad, b/c he has limited playing time available so we'll probably only be able to progress an hour a day, but some days (weekends) prob longer.

Genki, are you joining in? No worries if you're not ready just yet. DH and I will be playing for a  l o n g  time, lol.

Oh, is anyone buying from BF's sale today? It seems like they have a "major" sale every other day or so.

I'm not buying at BF today, but if anyone here is, I hope they remember to to through Ebates and get some cash back!  There are so many sales lately that I'm basically waiting for the next BOGO sale.

Well I won't be getting Machine for Pigs, then!  Thanks for the info!  Gory's not for me.

EDIT:  I just remembered that we have a topic on this kind of thing, started by Jeanniemouse!
Dark & Eerie vs. Grim & Gory

For anyone not paying attention to the rest of the forums, I've added some new smilies that should be helpful here in the D&E thread:
is in the Main Smilies, and these are in the Misc section:     

I'm such a smiley addict

Okay, my chosen LPlayer has finished Machine for Pigs! I have to say that the ending changed nothing. The guy supposedly missed several notes, but I can't imagine they would change much. He described the game as "bombastic" and I think it was spot on. It focused almost 100% on storytelling, using very big words that eventually went way over the top. It also wasn't even remotely as scary as the first Amnesia. It is creepy, but... well, you know how some really horrible stories make you feel dirty after reading? They leave a bad taste in your mouth, not because the stories were objectively bad, but because they were so sick. I also have to say I wasn't really impressed with the story. I doubt anyone who has read/watched/played more than a couple of horror titles would find it surprising.

RMom, about the children...

Spoiler:

The ending was a lot less gory than I would expect, by the way. Original Amnesia had more gore, from what I remember.

Vervaine wrote:you know how some really horrible stories make you feel dirty after reading? They leave a bad taste in your mouth, not because the stories were objectively bad, but because they were so sick.

Yes, I know exactly what you mean!  I read a book like that once, and NEVER AGAIN!

Vervaine, I appreciate the update

spoiler:

and your comments. I wouldn't have played this anyway but it still was very interesting to read.

R-Mom, be sure to play "Scratches" with the lights on!  The further you get, the scarier it gets!

We need to set up a group-play thread (HERE) for Scratches so that everyone who wants to participate can discuss when to start, and of course, the game itself.  I've never actually done a group-play before... RM, do you want to do the honors?

Vervaine, Genki, and Rmom, I've been following along with your conversation about MfP and I'm so glad that I've never played, nor ever want to play a game like that. I dislike gore and violence. Dark and eerie? Sure!  But never sick and gory and violent. It bugs me too, when people will say things like "well, sick and terrible things happen in the real world too" when they're justifying things like this, and that is true... however, that doesn't mean I have to invite them in for tea either.  


To each their own, but none for me, thanks! 

I'm grateful for the info on the games.