Let’s go back to the end of 2013, the year PS4 was released. Hideo Kojima brought a short demo named P.T. made a sensation in the horror game circle. As we were all wondering what the actual new Silent Hills would look like, Konami cancelled this project. This unfinished game became the regret in the hearts of many horror game fans. After so many years, many studios were inspired by P.T. – a short demo which only need 2 to 3 hours to finish. Visage, by developer and publisher SadSquare Studio, one of P.T.’s inspired-by game, to be honest, is one of the best horror games in recent years.
SPOILER – Visage starts with a murder with a first-person scene. A man killed all his family and finally shoots himself. During that scene, we may put a big question mark, as to why he did all of this. Then we wake up on the floor of a room. Dim room, bloody marks on the floor, pale room door, the beginning scene of all the classic horror game, bringing us in the horrible atmosphere experienced by our protagonist, a man named Dwayne Anderson.
This game has four chapters, each chapter tells a story that happened in the house in the first three chapters. What the player has to do is to escape from the ghosts, and explore the truth behind each tragic story. In the final chapter, Dwayne’s own story, we will figure out all the answer we want.
The game mechanism is not very complicated, but it has its own characteristics. Dwayne has a state called sanity. When we are in a room with light (light bulb, candles), our sanity will not decrease, which means we are safe, temporarily. Lighters can be used to light candles, but cannot prevent the sanity from falling. Over time, candles and lighters will also be consumed. When your sanity is reduced to a certain level, ghosts will appear more frequently. What scares us is that most of the time we have to stay in the dark in order to find the next clue. And even the safest lights can be destroyed. The peace in the light and the nervousness in the dark greatly enhance the sense of substitution as a horror game.
As a horror game, Visage is undoubtedly outstanding in shaping the atmosphere of horror. Besides the light and sanity, Visage does not have that much background music, but every simple sound seems to pull you from reality into this ancient house. Dwayne’s rhythmic footsteps, the sound of an old TV, the music of the gramophone, the rustle of the radio, the shutter sound of the camera. Every sound invisibly increases our nervousness and fear. The room layout is also very special in Visage. They produce production team seems understand what humans fear most. Distorted space, surrealistic scene, a combination of blood and evil. They all happen to appear when you fear the most. The atmosphere is too real, I even need to stop for a while, step outside to feel the sunlight.
The puzzle part is really a challenge part, the design is very interesting. You need to find many objects that are related to the story, gradually unravel the events. I have a lot of fun when I solved each puzzle. When all the puzzles were solved, we finally got the full picture of the event. The sense of accomplishment and the sense of suddenness made me immersed in it for a long time. The problem is, Visage is very stingy to give players hints. You have to find many key items during a story, sometimes I even forgot what I was supposed to do right now and what I should do for the next step. I think this is something the team can do better.
Overall, if you are a big fans of horror games, Visage is a masterpiece not to be missed. If you want to try horror games, Visage is a good starting point to bring you all the best experience that horror games can have.
Check Out the Visage Trailer:
For more information, please visit: https://sadsquarestudio.com/
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
PlayStation 4 Review
I'm a graduate of Columbia University. The Game, never just entertainment in our leisure time. More like an attractive book, lead us to a fantastic adventure; a good friend, sit down having a deep communication with our spirit. Explore more, happiness is just the most basic benefit that games can give us. Personally, I enjoy every type of game, but especially I love ACTs(e.g. Sekiro, Dark Souls, Devil May Cry, etc.), I like that you overcome any difficulties by ourselves, and feeling about how I grow up with all the techniques learned from gaming. The world in the game also attracts me, stops our step, and looks around, the beauty of the world often lets me forgot I am playing a game. The last wish every gamer "Good luck, have fun!"
More Stories
Ubisoft’s Beyond Good & Evil – 20th Anniversary Edition Now Out for PC and Consoles
Atari and ICON Collective Music Production School Announce Yars Rising Remix Contest
GTA Online: Bottom Dollar Bounties Now Out