Our First Series!

Due to the recent development of Indie Horror Games, my team and I have decided to our blog's first series on Indie Supernatural Thriller Games!
Firstly, we look at upcoming games that are inspiring this new breed of gaming genre... (Please feel free to mention any other games below that you think should join this series)

First up, we have SLENDER, which is developed by Parsec Productions. (If you want you can read the review under this post)

What makes it Scary?
Zawmbie: The fact that there is no light apart from the torch, and that he can turn up right next to you put's you on the edge of your seat.

Zed: I love the noises and music, absolutely fantastic! The noises as you spot Slenderman in the forest really drive you to insanity. That is what makes it scary.

GandalfTheBlue: For me, it's the setting. A dark forest, and your defenseless child? No wonder why you as a player feel helpless to do anything but run. I screamed so much...

Our team gave it a 6/10 for playability, a 5/10 for graphics and a 15/10 for scariness...


Next up is Anna, an Indie horror game recently released from Italian designers. Beautifully rendered map, and an ingame AI computer that measures your actions and decides the next encounter based on those actions.

What makes it Scary:
Zawmbie: Well, judging by the videos, this 'AI' is incredibly smart. Also, the fact that it can create multiple things to scare you makes me want to play this game. However, the setting of a green, sunny day really twists my view, and I don't quite see it as scary as Slender.

Zed: Just to counter Zawmbies comment there, I believe that the setting of a nice sunny day is a technique used to hide the scariness underneath. Although it is risky, I think it works well with the setting. Whilst playing I actually did not wnat to go i9n the house because the daylight ept me feeling safe.

GandalfTheBlue: The image above scares me enough. But I'm going to side with Zawmbie on this one, that 'sunny dayz' feeling just doesn't work....

Zed: Shame on you!!!

The team gave it a rating of 4/10 for playability (the damned controls), an 8/10 for graphics and a 9/10 for scariness.

Finally on our post is Among The Sleep, a brand new game that has been declared to be released next year.  Some of you may have heard on the grapevine about how this game is making waves on the internet; we certainly did. (Please note because this game has not yet been released, we can only judge it off trailers + gameplay videos)

What makes it Scary?

Zawmbie: I believe that this game is going to like amnesia mixed with Rugrats. The defenslessness factor comes in again, like Slender, because you are a two year-old with monsters coming for you...

Zed: I tried throwing money at the screen to buy it, but it didn't work. :(
I am extremely excited about this game! The video scared me so much, and the idea about playing as a two year old is fantastic!!! This was me watching the video:
*First 10 seconds* Ok cool, oh look stairs
*After window sighting* NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE
Like what Zawmbie said, this game makes you afraid simply because you can't defend yourself. There is no gun, or weapon, but only your will to proceed to the next room...
GAndalf The Blue: Wow, what a cool idea! This looked simply amazing as a game; and the environment reacting with shakes and ghosts makes me feel truly afraid. Definetley inspired from Amnesia, but with a twist... I will buy this game.

The team gave it a 6/10 for Graphics, an 7/10 for scariness and a 12/10 for originality!



Well, that's it! Next week, we take a look at the game that started it all: Amnesia, and discuss what these 'Thriller' games could hold for the future of PC games...

Link to Krillbites blog: http://krillbite.com/blog/
Trailer for Among The Sleep: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWDQN_X5b-M

Goddamit Slenderman!!!

Well, it seems amnesia has started a whole new generation of scare-yourself-crapless games.
For those of you who don't know, Slender is a new game recently developed to follow the Creepypasta story of Slenderman, a fictitous creature who creeps me out so much.
The story goes as follows:

"The Slender Man was created at the Something Awful Forums in a thread entitled "Create Paranormal Images." He is described as wearing a black suit strikingly similar to the visage of the notorious Men In Black, and as the name suggests, appears very thin and able to stretch his limbs and torso to inhuman lengths in order to induce fear and ensnare his prey. Once his arms are outstretched, his victims are put into something of a hypnotized state, where they are utterly helpless to stop themselves from walking into them. He is also able to create tendrils from his fingers and back that he uses to walk on in a similar fashion to Doc Ock, the Spider-Man villain in the Marvel Universe. The superhuman stretching ability could also be seen as a similiarty between himself and Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four. Whether he absorbs, kills, or mearly takes his victims to an undiclosed location or dimension is also unknown as there are never any bodies or evidence left behind in his wake to deduce a definite conclusion."

Who is that I see in the background? What a pedophile!

So there you have it, a truly creepy monster. And what better way to poo yourself then to play a game based off this 'slenderman'?
That's exactly what the developers  (Parsec Productions) thought, and lo and behold, Slender was born. This game puts you into a child's first view perspective as they attempt to escape Slenderman's forest. All you have is a torch, your legs, some running skills and your sanity; but once any of them run out it's game over!
The objective for you character is to collect 8 pieces of paper that tell the story of another survivor which gives you a back-story to the creature (I have no idea how that defeats Slenderman).
Sounds easy right? You couldn't be more wrong if you tried. You see, the map is hella-large. And there are buildings, farms, trucks, pipes and stations for you to explore, just to find these flippin' pieces of paper. (Am I the first to wonder if Slenderman's weakness is paper, then why is he hanging out near a forest???)

Anyway, so the game has you start in the forest with a flashlight. You can only see a few metres ahead, and you need to hurry because
a) you can get hungry/tired and die
b) you can lose your sanity and die
c) you can have your batteries die.....and then YOU die!

The graphics are....well, uh... it's not about the graphics!

Insanely fun, hella-creepy, this game looks set to be a fantastic scare-yourself-silly game. You can download for free here: http://slendergame.com/download.php

Also, tonight my friend and I will be recording an in-game diagnosis + video reaction of Slender, so stay tuned to see us freak out! Have a good week followers!
 Zamwbie

Zawmbie is our newest writer for the blog, please introduce him with GlADos cakes and virtual slaps! Welcome to the team, Zawmbs!!!!