Previously on CAPTURED, I opened the review with the acknowledgement that I came to know the franchise from its sequel CAPTURED 2 on YouTube, not the original itself. Going back to the original showed me a game that spoke proper horror but still carried the rough edges of a first installment. Some things needed changing, some could be dropped, and others simply needed more polish.
Tagged Horror
CAPTURED Spiel
I came to this one sequel first. I watched someone play CAPTURED 2 on YouTube, then found both games sitting in the same discount window and picked up the pair, because I wanted to start the franchise where it began. The playthrough showed me what the series promises and how it executes; what I wanted from the original was to see whether it was already all there.
Do No Harm Spiel
There are many games that claim to be the spiritual successor to Papers, Please. Plenty have already tried incorporating Lovecraft, or cosmic horror creeping into otherwise sane jobs. Do No Harm is a Lovecraftian doctor simulator. I’ve played apothecary simulators and surgeon simulators, but a doctor simulator in eldritch horror is one I hadn’t tried.
The Stairway 7 Spiel
Different Exit 8-likes certainly have tried different methods of incorporating or developing the definition of “Exit 8.” I even wrote about the four pillars of Exit 8-likes. Unfortunately The Stairway 7 misses the mark in its own noise, enough that I wonder if the game was even meant to be an Exit 8-like.
Fears to Fathom – Norwood Hitchhike Spiel
Fears to Fathom is now in the second season, and with it, the first season went on summer sale. If I were to compare the franchise to Chilla’s Art, I would argue Fears to Fathom relies more heavily on the urban legends of the 80s and 90s, revived as creepypasta. In my previous review of the first episode of Fears to Fathom, I remarked on the fact that the episode largely rests on anachronistic horror tropes. Norwood Hitchhike doesn’t escape the path.
Cursed Digicam | 呪われたデジカメ Spiel
Chilla’s Art makes chilling, socially aware horror games set in modern Japan, but in the supernatural theme, I am inclined to say many are hit and miss: cryptic messages, ambiguous threats and motives, seemingly unrelated motifs, and unique gameplay mechanics thrown out midway. As indie games, they have their unique flavor, but as horror games, they don’t connect to the foundation to make a statement.
Umigari Spiel
I had played Umigari demo, and I liked the fishing and the usual Chilla’s Art special sauce that gave it some tangy flavor. I suppose it is the inherent problem in most fishing sims that fishing in video games often devolve into mini games. There are few games that escaped the usual fishing mini game criteria, and the demo seemed to have shown what is possible via mix of first person shooter with a harpoon. Overall, I’m afraid it overstays its welcome.
Where Is Poppy Playtime Going with the Factory?
This piece has been sitting in the back burner for some time now. The Chapter 1, though it had some fancy gadgets for a toy factory, it stayed a toy factory (with theme) with toy monsters. Compare that to what is going on in current chapters, the players are well past the point of factory floors. In fact, few assembly lines we do see in Chapter 5 don’t resemble anything like the special toy factory we had seen on the surface.
Poppy Playtime: Chapter 5 Spiel
Perhaps not so surprisingly, this will not be the end of Poppy Playtime the main franchise. As I understand it, the series was first planned with total of five chapters. Due to the nature of the episodic release, some parts of the review may contain spoilers. Please do check out previous posts on Chapter 1-3 or Chapter 4, if you would like to be cautious. This is also the first chapter I played on the PC at the time of the release, instead of waiting for a console port.
Fear the Timeloop – Prologue Spiel
I prefer not to talk about a game that is not fully released, let alone a demo, but Fear the Timeloop seemed to have positioned itself in a different spot. The reason behind avoiding making a comment on a game before the full release often comes from the common practice amongst the developers not to reveal critical game information, such as gameplay or basic lores. Fear the Timeloop seems to have warranted enough talking point, though I do wish to see some major polishing work before it can be launched.
Routine Spiel
Routine is, or was, a game in development hell for 13 years. Announced in 2012 with the release window set in 2013, it is no wonder the talks I could find on the game are largely the pure surprise on the mere fact it had not been fully abandoned. No doubt with 13 years of development the game has gone through major changes in directions as well. As a gamer, fortunately, I was not waiting in limbo for 13 years as some of the eager players must have been.
Pools Spiel
There is a new subgenre of horror which most horror lovers would have already seen one way or the other — liminal horror. Some of the liminal spaces went viral online, such as the Backrooms, for invoking sense of eeriness or uncanniness to the space itself. It is an acquired taste, even in the world of horror.
Silent Hill f Spiel
Silent Hill franchise finally has a new installment in the franchise, and it’s called Silent Hill f and it’s set in 1960s, Japan. I know there were quite the concerns about the status of the IP under Konami and the future outlook of it; I believe The Short Message and Silent Hill 2 (2024) have shown it can be preserved. Whether or not a globalized “Silent Hill” would work as a proper standalone title, however, was somewhat dubious, partly because The Short Message was more or less a playable teaser to announce the revival of the franchise.
Parasocial Spiel
I was waiting for Chilla’s Art to make landing on non-PC platforms for a while; any other successful horror indies have ported their games over with or without the help of porting studios. That hasn’t happened as of yet. Regardless, Chilla’s Art titles have special place in the indie horror scenes of serving realistic modern Japanese horrors.
Fears to Fathom – Home Alone Spiel
The second season of Fears to Fathom series is already underway, and I thought to come back to the series as it is slowly being released on other platforms. Currently, only the fourth episode is available on the PlayStation with DualSense support. Fears to Fathom is an anthology; the episodes are not connected from one another, as of yet. Home Alone, the one this piece is about, was the debut title of the series and also available for free.