It doesn't take long before you're greeted by the main spirit that will be haunting you for the bulk of the game, as she chases you down hallways, corridors, buildings, and more. Your character is looking for their significant other in a multitude of locations, which seem perfectly normal at first, but then become more twisted the further in you get as well as more demonic and terrifying. Home Sweet Home starts off with what seems like a dream sequence. Home Sweet Home is unique in what it tries to do and the inspiration behind its Thai folklore helps, but in a lot of cases it finds itself bordering a forgetful experience that starts off strong but quickly becomes a frustrating and unrewarding mess. What Home Sweet Home does within the genre is almost a blend of what works and doesn't work within the genre - a mix of playing it safe, trying out new ideas, and executions in some areas that may or may not have worked out. Much like how when Silent Hill 4: The Room came out and I had played it, I actually had to get rid of it shortly after because even just having the box in my room scared me (seriously). I want something that lingers long after it's been turned off, and something that makes you think and explore what's possible within its lore and the medium.
Jump scares have become more of an excuse to be scared and used as a way to elicit a feeling of a horror theme park, where you may feel uneasy during the ride, but afterwards you're all smiles saying "that was fun." This is not what I want from my Horror games. Lots of games, big and small, are inspired by these and continue to push the envelope, but they continue the trend of focusing on atmosphere, which is why they work so well. Games such as Silent Hill, Fatal Frame, Eternal Darkness, Haunting Grounds, Rule of Rose, and so much more did what they could with the technology they had back then to convey true fear by manipulating your own mind and play tricks on you psychologically rather than present you with an image or action upfront to scare with. Looking back at what we consider classics now, the biggest thing that's always made them memorable is the atmosphere that was accompanied by a profound narrative that made us ponder for days afterwards, and still make us talk about them today. Horror games have been delivered in a variety of ways, and the great thing about the genre is that it's surprisingly flexible and doesn't always have to be about blood and gore or cheap, predictable jump scares accompanied by crescendos and dissonance.
0 kommentar(er)
