Is it admiration for Lord Cloudman?
Good evening, witches and ghouls. It is I, Lord Cloudman, and it is my great pleasure to welcome you to my little hunble abode, simply known as...
Now perhaps some of you may be wondering what the purpose of this arrangement and the silly get-ups? Well, today starts the wonderous month of October, filled with hororr and frights, where many get their spook on by tuning in to their favorite horror films, telling spooky ghost stories, exploring haunted houses, and at the end of the month, dawning costumes, seeking delicious sweet treats, and perhaps give fellow friends and neighbors a few friendly!
Since this is a site focused on video games, I thought this would be a good opportunity to talk about horror-themed games, but not the usual well known titles of old and new, but the lesser known, less talked about games and moments that dwell deep in the depts of the industry. So for this month, I, Lord Cloudman, will dig deep and show to you all some games you may have missed and perhaps you can try as well. That is, if you dare, hahaha...
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Anyways, I welcome you to the first room, which I dub...
The Little Creepers' Room
...And no, I don't mean the toilet, jeez... These are small indie horror games made with the stylistic feel of the 16-bit era, the Super Nintendo / Genesis days. I believe most of them were made if an RPG Maker engine, but all of them use RPG elements in different ways. So with that said, let's move on to the games!
Yume Nikki
Perhaps the most famous and well known title among the list, Yume Nikki is a game where you explore the dreams of the main character, Madotsuki. Playing as her, you traverse through her dreams by going to sleep of course! Otherwise, you cannot leave the room, as Madotsuki will shake her head if you try. Upon leaving the room, you appear in a room filled with doors. The goal is to explore through these doors and find what are called "effects".
Effects are abilities you gain from interacting with an item or character you encounter during your dreams. There are 24 effects with different powers, such as an umbrella, a bicycle, and even... a knife. Once you obtain the 24 effects, you place them all down in the center of the doors. It this this way you complete the game.
...But what makes this game so fascinating is exploring the different doors. There are so many interesting things to find and see, if you can get past all the unsettling things you encounter along the way. I think this is a game worth checking out just to explore Madotsuki's dreams. It's quite the trip...!
Let's Go Dream Exploring...
Let's Go MAC Exploring...
Ib
Another popular horror game is Ib, a game about a young girl, Ib, visiting an art museum with her parents. At first,things are normal as Ib views the different exhibits, but then she finds herself alone in a darkened museum and things going astray. So as Ib, you try to escape the museum in one piece, while avoiding danger, solving puzzles, and encountering a few other strangers along the way. I really enjoyed it myself and feel is it an excellent game that everyone should play. I recommend Ib highly.
Leave...
RPG Hub is recommended for MAC users, but unfortunately the download link is not working. I will check later to see if I can find a working link.
Mad Father
Next is the game, Mad Father. You play as the young girl, Aya, living with her father. Her father works in a lab in the basement, but what he does there is unknown. Well, unknown to everyone except Aya. One night, you are awoken to a loud sound, and suddenly, there are monsters lurking in the house. As Aya, you try to find your father to make sure he is okay, while trying to survive the night yourself.
In Mad Father, you explore the house, solving some puzzles, looking for keys and other items, and avoiding monsters that lurk the halls. Touching the monsters isn't instant death, but it would be wise not to let them near you, haha... This game also has a side objective. There are shiny gems hidden in the house which you can collect. There are 21 of them in total, so if you can find them all, you may be treated to something special... ; )
That sounds made-up
Misao
The creator of Mad Father also made another game, known as Misao. The setting this time is in a school. You play as Aki, a girl or a boy, who along with a few classmates and staff, are teleported to another dimension, a distorted version of the school caused by the curse of Misao, a classmate who was believed to be killed 3 months prior. As Aki, your goal is to find the 6 parts of Misao's body to break the curse.
Be prepared to die a lot in this game. There are several instant death scenes sprinkled in this game. Make a wrong step or go into a wrong room, and you'll find yourself dead. It's nothing game breaking. Infact, I would say it's fun to find the different ways you can die in Misao. Just be sure to save a lot. While the presentation may not be up to par with Mad Father, that doesn't make Misao any less enjoyable of a game. Don't let that deter you from the game. ; )
The Crooked Man
The Crooked Man is the first of an ongoing series of horror games known as the Strange Men series. They cover different fairy and childs' tales, but I'll get to those later. You play as David Hoover, a man who moves into an apartment during a hard time in his life. Strange things start to happen in the apartment and he asks his landlord about the previous owner, but learns little to nothing about him. So he decided to investigate this himself and seeks to find this man, and perhaps what is causing the weird occurrances in his apartment.
When I played this game, it somewhat reminded me of Silent Hill. There is always this unsettling feeling you have as you play the game, like you are never safe, and that is great to me. This game gave me the spooks a bit while playing. You do meet other characters in the game, but something seems a bit odd with them. You'll see if you play it yourself. If you like Silent Hill, you might like this one. I recommend giving the Crooked Man a shot : )
There once was a crooked man...
The Sandman
Following the Crooked Man is the Sandman. This time you follow Sophie Grundler, a high school girl having a hard time in her life, with bullying and her father absent due to work. Lately, she has trouble sleeping at night. That is until one night, she awakens to find the clock has stopped ticking and she is trapped in a never ending night where everyone is asleep but her...
This game has a similar vibe to the Crooked Man, but with a bit more intense action moments, but I won't dwelve into that. It carries that eerie unsettling feeling of loneliness as you explore a silent town with no one present save a few people settled in dream land, haha. I feel the Sandman is not as strong as the Crooked Man, but it was still a title I enjoyed.
The Boogie Man
The 3rd installment to the Strange Men, the Boogie Man, is quite the departure from the previous titles. This changes the formular quite a bit, focusing more on puzzle solving elements rather than horror themes. In fact, the game feels more of a detective game of cops and robbers, as it fits here with the main character being Keith Baring, a detective.
The story follows Keith, whose boss decided he needs a vacation to take time off to rest. Reluctantly, he goes on a cruise with his wife to tour an old castle. At first, everything seems ordinary, until night falls, and Keith awakens to his wife missing. He goes to find her when he meets.... the Boogie Man. With his wife and other tourists missing, he has to play the Boogie Man's deadly game to try to save everyone and escape safely from the castle...
This is a game I would only recommend to people who enjoy puzzles. I found them to be quite difficult and sometimes outright ridiculous to figure out. It is advised you check the details around the castle and keep a good memory on everything. What may seem unimportant or decorative pieces may actually be important to advancing forward. So keep your eyes and memory peeled on this one. Also, there is voice acting as well, which is an odd new feature to have and may be hit or miss depending on the player. Only the most avid of puzzle seekers should play this if interested.
Mermaid Swap
Yet another game from the creator of the Strange Men series (This person sure loves their horror games ; ) ) comes a game outside of the series, known as Mermaid Swamp. This story follows Rin Yamazaki and her friends who are on a trip when suddenly the car breaks down and stops in the middle of a forest. Rin steps out to check the car and finds an old man at the end of the road who offers to let them stay at his home until they can repair their car, but they soon find themselves caught in the legend of the swamp outside the house...
Evoking the similar feelings of the Crooked Man and Sandman, Mermaid Swamp also carries an air of unsettlement as you explore the mansion, unlocking doors, solving puzzles, and trying to find a way to help your ill friend. Mermaid Swamp is likely the game that game me the most frights playing, so it is one I would recommend you play among these titles if you can, although some of the scares are cheap jumpscare, but even those are fun sometimes... I really enjoyed Mermaid Swamp, although some puzzles can be difficult to solve, so pay close attention to rooms and items you find earlier in the game.
Paranoiac
Now here's a thriller of a game. Paranoiac will have you shaking in the night, as the heroine, Miki Takamura, moves into her late aunt's house, who has passed away 3 years ago, but at night finds herself being chased by a strange monster lurking in the house. Your goal: Try to survive in the house by avoiding the monster. The monster will chase you, so you must try to find a place to hide. However, if the monster finds you, you have to run and try another hiding place. Although if you pick the wrong place to hide, you will die...
This title is unique in its mechanic of hiding from the monster. You have to try to find the correct place to hide and survive the night. During the day, you explore the house and find more clues on the mystery of the house and the monster. It's creepy during the day, but you're safe at least, right...?Definitely play Paranoiac if you can!
Bevel's Painting
A fairly new game and now among my favorites of horror games, this is Bevel's Painting. You play as the girl Bevel, who explores the world inside her painting. In the painting, you explore different worlds through the use of colors. In order to advance in the game, you have to find a color of paint in each world and use it to access the next one. It starts off light hearted, but it soon goes into the darker side of her work...
Something I really enjoyed from Bevel's Painting is the use of colors for progression. In the game, there are doors that lead to nowhere, that is until you paint it a color. I feel this mechanic can be used more to access other worlds through perhaps mixing colors. Though only one color is used per area, so it is a bit under utilised in this game, but I found it to be an excellent part of the game. I highly recommend this game. : ) Also, I'm a bit biased since the main character is an artist...
Aren't you going to finish that...?
RPG Maker VX RTP is required to play Bevel's Painting, but I think it is worth doing for the game.
RPG Maker VX RTP
Blank Dream
We're nearing the end of this long run of little creeper horror games, next with Blank Dream, a game centered on mirrors. In this game, you play as Usui, a girl whose found herself awoken in the mirror world with no memory of herself. She finds a mirror with a reflection of herself that instructs her to find all the mirrors in this room and break them all. So as Usui, it's up to you to explore the different rooms in this world and find your mirrors. However, there are other characters you meet in this world with their memories also lost, but with their own mirrors. Perhaps while looking for your mirrors, you can help them as well? That is up to you of course... ; )
It must be the constant darkness of mirror world that always had me on edge, having me save at any moment I could and fearing every room and step I took. There are also things that will chase you, so be ready to run when that comes up. There is a run button, so that will help you escape. I suggest you have a finger hovering that run button. You never know when something will come chasing you... ; ) Play it if you can!
It was a boring life anyway...
This one also requires an additional program to download, but I think it is well worth doing to play Blank Dream, as it is also an exellent game.
RPG Maker VX Ace
And now for the last, but not the least, and my favorite of the bunch...
The Witch's House
You play as the young girl, Viola, who visits a mysterious house in the woods, but finds that she is unable to escape the woods. The only way to escape is to step into the witch's house... Among all the games on this list, I found the Witch's House to be the scariest ones. Death is ever around you as you traverse this large house, with creatures and spirits looking to kill you, creep on you, and give you a good fright. The house never leaves you feeling safe, and death can spring on you when you least expect it. So always be on high alert. ; ) I found the puzzle elements in this to be good as well. So play this one if you can. You'll be in for a real treat...
...And that ends our tour of the little creepers' room. I hope you found it to be quite a delight, and I hope some of these games become favorites of yours as well. Sorry to present so much at one time, but I hope you enjoyed reading about all these great little games. Until next time in the house of Lord Cloudman, and as always...
Also, thanks to VGperson for her hardwork on translations for making these games available to other to enjoy : )
If any of the links I left don't work, you can find the links and check out the games in more detail on her page here:
To the Great VGPerson's Room...
Dance my pretties!
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