![]() Evil returns and it did not disappoint. I'm one of those weird, rare die-hard fans of the severely underrated original (like I own a Beacon Mental Hospital staff hoodie die-hard). Next to Silent Hill: Downpour, it quickly took its place as one of my favorite horror titles across all categories of media. The game encompassed what I love about horror; the psychological aspect. Paired with a rich story, a compelling hero, and just enough of a sense of unknown urgency, it created a world that was as frustrating as it was satisfying. It begged to ask the questions of what happens when the mind breaks, how far are you willing to go to survive, how much can the human mind withstand, and at what point do the hallucinations become reality. It's psychological horror at its finest, so when rumors began to circulate of a sequel around E3 time I was pumped. I just wanted to take one more step into this thrilling, anxiety pounding world and all the aspects of what makes this powerful title so legendary in the eyes of horror fans. Bethesda (as always) has put a lot of work and time into this game, it shows in the marketing, it shows in the designs and updates, it showed in the excitement of the fans. As the count-down to Friday the 13th loomed I grew more and more excited and my first playthrough clocked just fifty one seconds shy of twenty eight hours between game-play, exploring, collectibles, and just appreciating the overall experience. The Evil Within 2 is an aesthetically pleasing terror-trip into darkness, and I couldn't be more satisfied with seeing how Sebastian's story is continuing thus far. As I began my second playthrough I decided to reflect on the game.
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![]() Humans are natural conspiracy theorists, cause reality sucks and it's more fun to believe Elvis is still alive instead of focusing on what's happening around us. We love taking things that are 'known' and shaking them up. The what-ifs of the world are always more appealing than the reality we live in - it's why we believe in Bigfoots (Bigfeet? Debate.) and ghosts and aliens. There's no definitive proof that they're real, but we'll do anything to convince ourselves otherwise. Millennials are ruthless conspiracy junkies, we will literally argue till the sun comes up to defend our beliefs. From FNAF Fanatics to the "Who Is Gonna Kill Rick Sanchez" obsessors (that's my current category), everybody has a niche subject they like spend time delving into the what-ifs of. Lucky for us we live in an age of technology, where we can hop on Reddit or Wikis in an instant, we have easy access to be able to research, create, and share theories about our favorite stories with each other and the world and, if you're anything like me, YouTube is your go-to place for the latest in media theories. One day YouTube autoplay blessed me with the most wonderful new content I never knew I needed (see what I did there?). It's Treesicle, a group of dudes with way too much time on their hands, a penchant for sneaking the word butt into every other sentence like an art form, and fantastic senses of humor - and you really need to be watching their stuff. ![]() TellTale sure does know how to drop a release in timely ways that make even the most composed of geeks giggle like a fan-girl. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: The TellTale Series (that's a mouthful) had its first episode release within just a few days of the second Guardians film hitting theaters back in May. Now, riding on the coattails of not only the release of the second season of their Batman series, but the release day of GotG Vol.2 on DVD/Blu-Ray/4K/Digital (all the releases), the hype was all-too real and all too intense for the third episode. It's a hype that built up a lot of anticipation and excitement for me, Guardians is one of my favorite franchises of all time, and after binging both movies in the span of about a day I was needing a fix for some more Star-Lord and his band of misfits. So, naturally, it auto-downloaded on Tuesday and I blew threw it in a matter of about an hour or so - it's not the finest installment in TellTale history, it has some flaws, but it definitely got a couple of really good laughs out of me and showcased unique spins on back-stories that really made the wait worthwhile. So, if you're interested in getting the low-down or just want to hear my perspective on the installment, please read on. It was as if on the day I was born the powers that be said "And lo, twenty five years and not quite two months from this day in May of 1992, this incredibly socially awkward child shall be blessed with a game that shall appeal to her. She shall spend somewhere close to 1,011 days of accumulated time on the YouTube, fangirling over Let's Players and becoming obsessed with their pet projects. And her youthful days shall be filled with anime visual novels, mindless Quizilla romance quiz-based fan-fiction, and endless hours of The Sims 2. Then, in the summer of 2017, a game shall come forth from the haziness of Steam in both Mac and PC compatibility. And it shall be filled with the dadliest of all the tropes, and shall relate to her like the dankest of memes. It shall be christened Dream Daddies, and we shall see that is indeed very good." - Aaaaand so began the journey of Al Holcombe, punk-hipster dad alter ego of yours truly, and the last three days of my life have been nothing but an extravagant and painful struggle to find the dad of my dreams, falling in love with a goth and being rejected by Joseph FOR THE FOURTH TIME. So, I shall give thanks to the Game Grumps for blessing what little free time I had with this incredibly fun, down-to-earth visual novel treat. It's Dream Daddy, and it's the reason I was up at 5:09am replaying the third date with Joseph for the fourth time (MARY WILL NEVER LOVE YOU LIKE I DO, COME BACK TO ME JOSEPH!!!)
![]() (Spoilers ahead for certain choices and story arcs in regard to TellTale Games' The Walking Dead: A New Frontier - remember, the game is tailored to how you play, some of the details listed may not happen in your play-through so enjoy!) Anyone who knows me or is familiar with my blog knows I am a die-hard TellTale Games fanatic (I have been waiting for months for this release) - so it's no surprise I grabbed some covfefe (hehe) and pulled a late night after back-to-back work shifts to finish out the wonderfully woven narrative of Javi and his rag-tag gang of survivors in TellTale's "A New Frontier" - the third installment in their critically acclaimed Walking Dead series. I will admit, I wasn't sure how they were going to close out this season, since all hell broke lose in Richmond at the conclusion of episode four and it would be pretty hard to top the finales of some of the other TTG classics (I'm sorry, the end of Game of Thrones will always be one of the most powerful closing chapters they've produced and cannot be surpassed). But "From The Gallows" proved itself to be a satisfying, if not heart-breaking conclusion - taking its time to focus on family, love, and leaving behind a legacy that you can be proud of when you leave this world. As always, I was left wanting more, but feeling a nice sense of closure that I tend to lack when I finish out a season (I need answers for Tales from the Borderlands and Wolf Among Us.... and Game of Thrones.... like, really, TellTale you guys have punched so many holes in me it hurts). So, let's talk about this conclusion and how my story ended. It's everything we asked for, nothing we expected, and it's managed to make YouTubers and gamers everywhere scream, puke, feel faint, and rage quit in a matter of a mere 48 hours since its release. The sadistic folks over at Red Barrels have done it again, compiling harsh sound effects, masterfully morbid story-telling, a crazed (and all too real) threat, and beautifully haunting landscapes to bring a new kind of terror to mankind's doorstep. Nothing is more terrifying that reality, the lingering thought in the forefront of your mind that this could happen to me someday is the best way to create a horror experience that is not only fresh but long-lasting. The threat is real. The danger is gruesome. Your faith will be tested and your sanity destroyed. You're in the thick of it with just a camera and the drive to find your wife. It's big, it's bad, it's brutal. But was it worth the wait?
This is Outlast 2. ![]() Every year since indie horror became a mainstream powerhouse in the gaming and Let's Play communities, gamers have spent countless hours sifting through the mediocre, glitchy, and just plain weird horror games with the bright-eyed hope that we'd find 'the one'. (Now don't get me wrong, all indie games deserve the chance to be played and I have mad respect for what they do but not all of them really captivate us like we hope). We rummage through the not-so-scary passion projects on Itch.io, Steam, and the like to find something that truly captures the imagination and scares us half to death. It's games that really have heart, attention to detail, and a memorable bad-guy you love to hate that fills the need we've grown so accustom to. There is of course the icon that is Five Nights at Freddy's. Reflect Studios gave us Welcome to the Game and it's upcoming in-direct sequel Rides with Strangers which are fun surprises. Last year we were graced with a wonderful gem called Lethe from KouKouStudios that was reminiscent of Amnesia in all the right ways (blog post for that in the archives if you want to know more about that horror masterpiece). Even Emily Wants to Play and Hello Neighbor caught people off guard and kept players coming back for more. Then along came Bendy, and 2017 was given a standard that will be hard to surpass. I'm a big advocate for the darling of the gaming industry - indie games are a passion of mine and I try to always support one big up-and-coming game a year. Kind of like a long-term investment for a welcome heart-attack. That being said, I go big when I find something that intrigues me, but I have get the vibe that it will be worth it. It has to have atmosphere, it has to make me feel uncomfortable, and it has to have a memorable presence lingering in the shadows that leaves a lasting impression long after you exit the game. theMeatly has done just that with their new episodic project Bendy and the Ink Machine, and it's one of the coolest little games I've seen in a long while. ![]() I'm a Silent Hill girl, I prefer it to the Resident Evil series, always have. As a fan of horror gaming I feel that there is a certain aspect to a survival horror game that is necessary for it to actually scare you and be effective. For me, zombies aren't scary. Resident Evil has always felt like more like Left 4 Dead or Dead Island to me, they're fun hack 'n slash games with a tenseness to them, but there's no solid terror. If the game doesn't make you afraid to turn off your hall light, or feel uncomfortable in your own bedroom after playing it's not effective horror. That being said, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is downright unsettling, that is an indisputable fact. In the past week since the game has been released it feels like I can't escape the creepy feelings of the Baker mansion. It's like a lingering nightmare in the back of your mind long after you turn the system off. 9/10 of the videos in my YouTube feed have been RE7 related and a decent chunk of my weekend was spent playing the game in between jobs and it's left me feeling gross and on-egde. But is gross and on-edge enough for me to say this is a worth-while game for horror fans? I am a long-time and die-hard fan of Rooster Teeth (dating all the way back to Strangerhood many moons ago). I spend my days after work watching Achievement Hunter, I fall asleep listening to playlists of FunHaus videos, I proudly sport my sarcastic Rooster Teeth shirts at work, and I text frequently in Gavin reaction gifs. There's a sense of pride that comes along with being part of the RT Community, knowing you support such incredibly talented people, who consistently make quality content. They're just an impressive company, one that I am so proud to be supporting on a month-to-month basis. As someone who religiously watches close to 75% of their new releases -daily- I can seriously advocate that there's no better time than right now to become a First Member (check it here - click there, like now, it's awesome). From personal experience, it's one of the best subscription services I have, if not the best. The exclusive perks far outweigh the incredibly minimal fee they ask of you (and you get a shiny gold star next to your name). You can watch podcasts and shows like On The Spot recorded live, see exclusive content like Theater Mode, watch content a day before everyone else, get discounts in the store, and you get the feeling that you're doing something great by supporting a very hard-working and talented group of people do what they love, all for your entertainment. But, perhaps more than anything else in this world, you get BackwardzCompatible. Meet the infamous, creative mastermind Miles Luna (right) and his sassy, smart-assy buddy Kyle Taylor (left), just two dudes with a love for scary video games and way too much free time on their hands. This is BackwardzCompatible - it's exclusive for first members, it's hella funny, and it's my favorite thing on Rooster Teeth right now.
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AuthorJust your average geek chic gamer chick into all things ghostly and geeky (and vice versa) Archives
April 2022
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