Visage

I'm not one to find video games scary in the least, and Visage is no exception to that. However, this game definitely is atmospheric and has a spooky vibe to it. The story is good and the puzzles can be somewhat challenging (it took me over 2 hours to figure out the last puzzle I missed to finish the game). There definitely needs to be a VR version of this as it shows that the game was originally intended to be a VR game. The game opens with a grisly scene and then you are thrown into the mix with little to go on as to what to do. The game is broken up into four chapters which you can pretty much do in any order. The chapters are very loosely connected and there are subtle hints throughout the game to help you along. There are also a few funny Easter eggs you can find as well to break up the tension. While the game isn't scary in my opinion, it will definitely keep those who do find games scary on the edge of their seat. The best experience for this is to turn off the lights, play at night and strap on the headphones. There's a lot of creepy ambient sounds, so you'll want that full effect. Though the chapters are nonlinear, each one is linear in itself. Once you begin a chapter, you must finish it before you can start onto the next, and the game loosely keeps you on a path to finish it. You can still explore a lot of areas, but some will be blocked off or inaccessible for the duration of the chapter you're in. You have a sanity meter, which quickly goes down as paranormal events happen (lights switching off, TVs turning on by themselves, doors slamming, etc.), and when your sanity gets low, more events happen frequently. You can restore sanity by either staying in the light, or taking pills. Along the way you'll pick up key items and usable items to help you through the game. Overall Visage is a great game and I highly recommend it. While others probably knew, it was a nice surprise for me to see Sad Square drop the full version right before Halloween. 5/5

Visage definitely is one of the best first person horror games so far. In contrast to many other horror games out there, Visage doesn´t come up with constant action and jump scare over jump scare. Instead, the developers of Visage created an eerie atmosphere that just a few games were able to achieve before (such as: Alien Isolation or Amnesia: The Dark Descent). The focus here mostly lies on exploration and storytelling, escaping from monsters therefore is not the main part of the game (although you still will have to do so). What makes this game so special is that you really feel like being part of a (good) horror movie. Even if the game uses a relatively small environment, there are so many ways to explore your surroundings, depending on the story part you´re in. Three (out of four) chapters are really done well; only one chapter is a letdown and plays more like Outlast 2 than anything else. Here, the game feels a little bit rushed. From a technical point of view, the game is really done well. However, one problem is that some character models and their animations can´t hold up to these beautiful environments that you will find in the main house. Moreover, not all areas that you will explore are as detailed as the main house. So the overall visual impression fluctuates between “photorealistic” and “nice”. But this is okay, after all we simply can´t expect a Triple A production here. Besides that, what counts in the end is the overall impression. And regarding gameplay, atmosphere and storytelling these guys do excel most of the Triple A titles out there. If there was “Visage 2” (or simply a story DLC), it would be a must buy for me.

This game has a grand opening. Atmosphere is opressing and foreboding. But the game has about a 50/50 success rate. So 4 chapters. 2 are pretty great. 1 has the makings of something pretty scary. And the one. The one is so awful and mundane that the game never recovered. For me everything that is wrong about this game is in that hospital. This is where all of the atmosphere goes away and the game is trying to emulate Outlast, but it is just so bad. I mean one shot kills and the worst AI. If you get unlucky and this is your first level, then you will have seen the worst of this game. The other parts are better. Slightly. Yes this game has all the elements that made PT into a convoluted mess. And there are some great and horryfying moments here. But mostly there are not. So the insanity meter from Amnesia, the chase sequences from Outlast, a horrible menu, ghost and contact AI that is only bad or horrible or glitchy. So picture it. A chase sequence. The music is amped up. The creaking and screaming and rambling of someone unhinged. A glass breaks. A door slams. And this is my 5th minute running through the level. I'm trying to find some door. All the sounds are still here but there is nothing chasing me. So i reload. The same thing, only now i looked up where the door was. Next section. 200 meters of hallways. 20 monsters. One mistake and a one hit kill with an unskippable death sequence. Now picture another scene. You are walking at the grocery store. Your family is calling you a worthless drunk. All the shelves fill with cases of beer. You can't leave with an empty cart. And this is what the experience is. Constant frustration because they crammed in some gameplay mechanisms from other more famous games and they forgot their own tale. And when that central story comes back then it's pretty great. And now the most controversial statement. This game deserves a safe mode like SOMA. This horror game would be a horror game of the decade, if it played like a Edith Finch

I love cerebral, psychological horror, but as much as this game touts itself as a slow-burn tension builder, it's ultimately a fairly inane re-trudging of old tropes built atop no story whatsoever. The game's experience relies not on characters or story, but on cheap jumps and poorly implemented chase sequences. The atmosphere is there, but progressing through it takes so long -- thanks either to repetitive sequences or exercises in stealth frustration -- that it loses all impact long before it can land a hit.