Games cobysev • 5h ago • 80%

Random Screenshots of my Games #29 - Dagon

*Dagon* is originally a short story by the creator of the eldritch horror genre, H.P. Lovecraft. This version is a free game on Steam that converts his short story into a visual novel. A narrator reads through the tale while you experience the visuals and landscapes described in the story. You can look around you (and it supports VR too!) but you can't walk and explore. You're stuck in place and only move on as you advance the story.  Throughout the game, you can find hidden bits of trivia, which dive deeper into topics surrounding H.P. Lovecraft's life, the story itself, or other bits of background lore to help you understand the time period in which this story was written.  H.P. Lovecraft himself was terrified of the ocean and all aquatic life, ever since he was two years old; although he has no idea what event may have instilled that fear within him. However, he took that fear and translated it into a new genre of unknowable and incomprehensible horror that defied the rules for standard storytelling of the time. As someone who is also afraid of any body of water in which I can't see the bottom, I totally get it.  *Dagon* is a tale about a sailor who escapes from enemy capture on the high seas by slipping out in a small rowboat in the night. But when he awakes the next morning, he is no longer on the ocean, as a muddy land mass has risen above the ocean level, stranding him along with all sorts of hidden creatures from the deep.  He sees a peak in the distance and spends the next day and night journeying toward it, only to discover on the other side, a giant monolith illuminated in the moonlight, engraved with pictograms of horrifying creatures. But then a creature stirs from deep within a pool at its base...  As a narrative short story, this game will only take you maybe 30 mins or less to play through. But it's fun to search through each area for trivia to collect. There are 20 bits of trivia to find scattered throughout the core game.  The base game is free on Steam, but there are two separate short story DLCs you can buy for a few bucks each. The first is *The Little Glass Bottle*, a short story H.P. Lovecraft wrote when he was seven years old! It's a cute tale about treasure hunting in the ocean that has no horror elements in it. The second story is *The Railway Horror*, which was a nightmare H.P. Lovecraft experienced and wrote about to a friend of his. Both stories have eight bits of trivia each, giving you further background into Lovecraft's life and works.

Games cobysev • 1d ago • 66%

Random Screenshots of my Games #28 - Bendy and the Ink Machine

*Bendy and the Ink Machine* is a game about an animation studio that tried to bring their classic cartoon characters to life... with horrifying consequences.  You play a man named Henry who was invited back to the old animation studio he used to work at, by Joey Drew, the head of Joey Drew Studios (which is also this game's developer).  When you arrive, you find the place empty(?), but you also find a giant ink machine that you've never seen before. Through cassette recordings, you learn how to power it up and... before you know it, there's an ink demon running amok through the halls! You try to run for the exit, but find yourself falling deep into the bowels of the studio. From there, you're solving puzzles and fighting off ink monsters, while also hiding from Bendy himself as he awkwardly staggers around the floors randomly.  You also run into Sammy Lawrence, the former studio's music director, who accidentally ingested some of the ink and partially turned into an ink monster himself. He offers you up as a sacrifice for Bendy, hoping to be rewarded with his humanity.  At one point, you get a choice to head toward either The Demon or The Angel. I chose the angel and found myself at the mercy of a disfigured and insane Alice Angel from the Bendy cartoon series. I'm not sure what's on the demon side; perhaps I should replay it and try that route.  Eventually, you receive a sort of handmade black light that lets you see hidden messages on the walls that guide you. Once you beat the game, it will let you start the game with the black light. I'm excited to play this game over and see what messages I can find in the various rooms and hallways.   I first played this game when it was releasing in 5 separate chapters and I was hooked! Unfortunately, I never beat it. The instructions weren't clear back in the early versions of the game and I found myself wandering aimlessly around several floors, not sure what I needed to do. I don't think I ever finished chapter 3. Then I picked it up again last night and ended up beating the whole thing in a single sitting. It was much clearer with the full version of the game, and I powered through the whole thing in about 5 hours.  There is a spin-off called *Boris and the Dark Survival*, which is a top-down survival game where you play as Boris the Wolf. You collect supplies while trying to avoid Bendy as he roams around. According to its Steam page, the game will soon be renamed to *Bendy: Lone Wolf*, add a bunch of improvements and add-ons to the game, and increase its price. It's only $3 right now, so might as well snatch it up before it gets more expensive! Then there was a sequel to the main game called *Bendy and the Dark Revival*. You play as Audrey, an animator who found herself trapped in the dark studio at the mercy of Bendy and his ink monsters. There is also a free Steam game that came out this year called *Bendy: Secrets of the Machine*, which doesn't really give a description and its trailer is just a tease without explaining anything. I need to play that and see what it's all about. Finally, there's a upcoming game called *Bendy: The Cage*, which takes place during Bendy and the Dark Revival. It sounds like it will follow our original protagonist, Henry, during that game.

Games cobysev • 2d ago • 81%

Random Screenshots of my Games #27 - Zombie Army 4: Dead War

This Zombie Army franchise is actually a spin-off of the Sniper Elite video game franchise, which portrayed fictional Allied missions carried out by the series' main hero, Karl Fairburne, during World War II. The Zombie Army story takes place in a separate alternate history where Hitler, upon losing WWII, decided to enact "Plan Z" and resurrect all of the Wehrmacht's soldiers as zombies.  The first two Zombie Army games were compacted into a trilogy release with the third game. This trilogy had Hitler raising his undead army, being killed off, and then resurrected as a sentient zombie leader before being tossed in hell. This fourth and latest game has millions of zombies running rampant across Europe. It's discovered that Zombie Hitler is still leading the hordes from hell and is now amassing a new zombie army with which to invade Earth. You play as the hero from the Sniper Elite games, Karl Fairburne. Or, if you prefer, you can play as various other characters from the franchise (and even some from the Left 4 Dead franchise). I personally prefer to play as Jun, an original Chinese character for this game. Each character has different stats, so it's not just choosing a skin for your character; you have to be mindful of their abilities too.  Like the Sniper Elite games, one of the core mechanics of this game is to snipe zombies from afar. Thankfully, these are the clumsy, shambling, slow zombies, so you have time to line up shots, even in a short and narrow area. If you get a perfect aim on a vital organ, it rewards you with a slow-motion cutscene of your bullet firing, zipping across the map, and an x-ray view of the enemy's skeleton shattered or vital organs exploded by your bullet. With rotting zombies, though, there's not much difference between the x-ray view and their normal appearance.  These are supernatural zombies, raised with occult magic, so they don't stay dead. If you don't get a headshot on them, don't be surprised if their body suddenly glows with occult magic and comes back to life. A good way to ensure they don't get back up is to stomp on their corpse until it disintegrates in a gory mess. It'll sometimes release ammo and other beneficial items too!  I love the attention to detail in this game. All across the map, you can find zombie rats and crows with glowing red eyes. They leave you alone, but it's still super creepy how they just linger in the shadows, silently watching you. It's truly a world-building detail, which makes me think about how The Black Plague was spread through rats. I wonder if these rats would turn people into zombies if they got bit...  There are also other signs of the occult in the background, like a zombie hand running around each level that you can snipe for bonus points. Or these creepy china dolls that pop up in various places. Sometimes they're just dolls, sitting there unmoving in dark corners. Other times, they talk or move slightly. And sometimes you have mere seconds to shoot them before they just straight-up vanish into thin air after taunting you. Creepy dolls, man...    You can also find these random zombie heads that are technically alive, but unable to do anything. This one in particular, you could turn on the stove and cook it until it melts into the soup. I like the sign someone wrote on the wall behind the stove. Very important detail to remember!  I find it interesting that this game takes place in mid-1940s Europe, but the music in the game is reminiscent of '80s horror flicks, including posters for each mission that look like worn B-movie horror films from that generation. Also, when you pick up equipment and ammo during a mission, it makes a sound like an old-fashioned mechanical pinball machine from the '80s. It's like they kept the WWII setting from the Sniper Elite games, but wanted an '80s horror vibe for this game. Classic horror films from the '80s have been pretty popular in the past decade; I feel like Stranger Things helped to bring back that nostalgia for us millennials who grew up in the '80s and '90s, so they were probably trying to cash in on that nostalgia trip while it's hot.

Games cobysev • 3d ago • 83%

Random Screenshots of my Games #26 - Pumpkin Jack

Don't let the colorful kiddie-friendly graphics fool you; Pumpkin Jack is a game about literal hell on Earth. It takes place in a world where everything was so happy and peaceful, the devil himself got bored and decided to shake things up a bit by releasing monsters across the world. Humans didn't like having their peaceful lives interrupted like that, so they hired a wizard to protect them against the invading hordes of demons. In response, the devil summoned an infamous trickster known as Jack to take out the wizard. He granted Jack a jack-o-lantern body and offered to free his soul if Jack did this one task for him.  You play as Jack, roaming the lands and fighting various monsters who prevent you from tracking down the wizard. You recruit a crow, who helps you with ranged fighting while you engage in close-quarters combat.   Some places require you to explore and solve a simple puzzle in a place your body can't reach. In those situations, Jack will detach his head and let it crawl around on vine-like tentacles.  Despite releasing in 2020, this game feels like a classic Xbox 360 game from 20 years ago. From the graphic style to the gameplay, this feels like something you'd find in a bargain bin at the game store. It's entertaining, silly, and filled with mechanics that feel like they were designed for a controller.  Not to mention, each level is essentially a single path through various obstacles and enemies. If you do explore, it's only slightly to one side or another, looking for collectibles. If you find crow skull collectibles, you can exchange them for skins for Jack at a vendor who randomly pops up in each of the levels. You can also find gramophones. I believe the only purpose of collecting them is to get an achievement, but Jack does a little dance number every time you find one, which is mildly amusing.  The game itself is relatively short. There are 6 main levels, but various checkpoints and stages throughout each one. So it should only take you a few hours to beat the whole game. Plus, there are 20 crow skulls and one gramophone per level, so 120 skulls and 6 gramophones in total. Honestly, that's the most early-2000s game vibe I get from this - searching for pointless hidden collectibles that aren't remotely connected to the story. It's not a bad game, but as old-fashioned as the gameplay is, I definitely wouldn't pay more than $20 max for it. And hey! It's 88% off on Steam until October 20th, so you can get it for only $3.59 right now. Not a bad Halloween deal.

Games cobysev • 4d ago • 86%

Random Screenshots of my Games #25 - Vampire Survivors

*Vampire Survivors* is a top-down survival game where you essentially just try to stay alive as long as possible while endless waves of monsters come at you from all sides. Your weapons and abilities are all automatic; you just need to worry about moving around the map and staying alive. Some of your abilities only fire in the direction you're facing, while others target the nearest enemy, and still others just randomly fire off and hit anything in their path. Extra strong enemies will drop treasure chests when they die, which will give you gold and a random ability to enhance your character.   As you gain XP and level up from killing monsters, you'll get an option to pick your next ability. Choose wisely; you're given three random abilities and you can only choose one. Make sure you pick something that will help you survive long enough to level up again.  You fight until you're eventually overwhelmed. Then you pick a new character (or the same character if you like) and start over again. The more gold you earn, the more core stats you can boost from the main menu, which will give you a starting advantage in your next playthrough.  There's a timer on the top of the screen that shows how long you're surviving. If you start to do really well, you'll unlock more levels to play. And honestly... that's pretty much it. It's just a fun game to see how long you can overcome insane odds against hordes of monsters. Pretty simple, yet rather addicting. A great way to pass the time. 

Games cobysev • 5d ago • 80%

Random Screenshots of my Games #24 - The Fabled Woods

*The Fabled Woods* is a short narrative "walking simulator" that explores the lives of several strangers in the woods and how they're connected. While enjoying picturesque scenery and a short jaunt down a forested path, you're treated to the short tales of Larry, Sara, and Todd.  Larry suspects there's someone watching him in the woods, while Sara is investigating a crime scene in the woods.  As you listen to their individual stories, you'll get an option to "remember," which will turn everything dark red except for a glowing-red blood path pointing you toward an object. Taking hold of the object will take you to this dark floating path in a red sky, where you'll hear darker and more intimate details behind each person's life.  Todd's story will tie all the others together, explaining how each person is connected to each other. It's a pretty short game. While taking my time and exploring the beautiful imagery of the forest, it took me about an hour to complete. Most people say they're done in about 40 mins.  There were complaints on Steam that this game was way overpriced for its short and simple gameplay. The developers responded by permanently reducing the price. And it just so happens that it's currently 90% off right now, so if this sounds even remotely intriguing, you can get it for less than a buck until October 27th. I always buy my Steam games on sale (which is how I could afford to buy over 3,500 of them over the years!) so I like to point out good deals if I find them. The story was mildly interesting at best, so it's definitely worth a buck. I probably wouldn't pay more than that, personally.

Games cobysev • 1w ago • 82%

Random Screenshots of my Games #22 - Little Nightmares

*Little Nightmares* is a wordless, side-scrolling game about a tiny girl in a yellow raincoat named Six, stowed away on a massive ship called The Maw. She journeys from room to room across the ship, trying to escape.  She finds herself surrounded by giant, terrifying, warped versions of adults, who will stop at nothing to capture her. Like this blind guy with stubby legs and horrifyingly long and stretchy spider-like arms. When we meet him, he's packaging up living children in paper and twine like they were hocks of meat. He's very sensitive to sounds; don't let him hear you walking on the creaky floorboards!  Or this chef who is preparing a grisly feast for the grotesque guests aboard the ship.  Six herself is crippled with hunger several times throughout the game. To the point where she starts considering some awful food choices...  Fortunately, she's able to find sustenance around the ship. Next to a cafeteria of sorts, a small child drops a piece of bread for her to eat. She also runs into these little gnome-like creatures scurrying around the ship. After eventually befriending one of them, he offers her food when he sees her struggling.  *Little Nightmares* is a side-scrolling stealth/puzzle game. You're trying to silently find your way across this massive ship without being caught by the giant adults, but you occasionally find yourself stuck and need to find a lever to turn or pull, or a button to press, or a key to unlock a door. They're simple puzzles, but the atmosphere is dark and spooky, making any hesitation in the open a frightening ordeal. Not to mention, the creepy details in the background, like how this bed has straps across it to hold someone down:  The scariest part of the game for me is when you're trying to walk across the dining tables of all the grotesque guests who are shoveling food into their fat faces as fast as they can. If you're not quick enough, you'll get snatched up and crammed into one of their maws. It's such an anxiety-ridden scene, I almost didn't take any screenshots. I was too focused on trying to stay alive!   Not to mention, the creepy subtle music throughout this game. I especially like Six's Theme Part I and Hunger II (for those of you who bought the soundtrack). That haunting child's hum set to a spooky background theme makes for some terrifying mood-setting music.  This game has a sequel, *Little Nightmares II*, which I believe might be a prequel story. You play as a tiny boy named Mono, who discovers a fading Six and attempts to save her, while also searching for a signal tower that's corrupting everyone through horrifying broadcasts. I daresay it's even more terrifying than the first game, with a horrifyingly dark end to its story. Also, a new game, *Little Nightmares III*, has been announced for release next year. It follows two new children, Low and Alone, trying to find their way out of Nowhere. I'm excited to see what that game will be like! And I hope Six shows up at some point. I'm fascinated with her story and hope we get some more expanded lore on her.

Games cobysev • 1w ago • 85%

Random Screenshots of my Games #21 - Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

*Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice* is an incredible game dealing with psychosis and mental trauma. It's about a Celtic girl named Senua who is journeying to the Viking Hel to bargain with Hela for the life of her lost love. She literally carries his head in a cloth tied to her belt.  Throughout her journey, Senua is plagued by visions and voices, some helpful and some harmful. A narrator of sorts guides her, while a bunch of chatty voices in the background express her fears, desires, anxieties, etc.  Senua finds herself fighting monsters who spawn from thin air, intent on stopping her from her goals. Each time she dies, rot spreads from her limbs. If it spreads to her head, it's game over.  Along the journey, you can find runestones that will explain some ancient Viking mythology and help you understand Senua's intents. You don't need to track them down to beat the game, but it's a welcome world-building tool for us modern-day folks who may not know anything about ancient Viking mythology, geography, and traditions.  This game is beautifully designed and gorgeous to look at. The way cinematic cutscenes blend right into gameplay is amazing! I highly recommend playing with surround sound headphones because the voices in Senua's head whisper from all different angles and distances from her. It's incredibly immersive and gives you a sense of what it's like to deal with psychosis.  I debated whether I should include this in my Halloween gaming marathon because I wouldn't necessarily consider it a horror game. But exploring the mental trauma of a young girl who lost her love and has to battle invisible demons while trying to come to terms with that loss... it's a haunting tale. Definitely on par with some modern day horror plots.  There's a sequel that just released this year called *Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II*, which further explores Senua's struggles as she attempts to save both herself and others. I own it, but it's been so long since I played through *Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice* that I need to replay the original before I check out the sequel.

Games cobysev • 1w ago • 81%

Random Screenshots of my Games #20 - Slay the Princess

Continuing my Halloween-themed screenshot posts, today we'll be looking at a different kind of game. *Slay the Princess* is a game about, well... slaying a princess. There's a narrator who guides you through the woods and up to a cabin where a princess is chained in the basement, and in order to save the world, you need to slay her. Seems pretty straightforward, right?  But the narrator isn't the only voice who reasons with you. Your voice (Voice of the Hero) will discuss with the narrator and try to make more sense of the situation. It's not like you're given much information to go on. Who can you really trust?  This is a visual novel type game, where you are given conversation and action options, and you choose the path of the story. You can play "20 questions" with the narrator, slay the princess, *save* the princess, or just walk away from the whole affair. But your actions have consequences...  Depending on your actions, you might find yourself conversing with more inner voices centered around the actions you chose, like a Voice of the Stubborn, or a Voice of the Smitten.  Regardless, there's a deeper, darker story going on underneath your seemingly simple choices, and you'll just have to play this game to discover it for yourself. I especially like that, despite the fact that you're the supposed hero, every shot of your hand shows what appears to be a scaly monster's hand. It makes you wonder who - or what - you really are...  On October 24th, a day after its one-year anniversary, *Slay the Princess* is getting a free update called *The Pristine Cut*. According to the developers, it will add about 35% more content to the game, including thousands of new voice lines and illustrations, 17 new music tracks, improved background artwork, and a new ending to the game. Also, they'll be porting the game to consoles with this update. I'm a strictly PC gamer, so this doesn't interest me, but if you like console gaming, you'll be able to play this game later this month on PS4/5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox. I'm excited to re-play this game later this month. Maybe I might post some new screenshots to compare it to this original version of the game.

Games cobysev • 1w ago • 86%

Random Screenshots of my Games #19 - The Exit 8

Today we're diving back into the world of psychological horror with the Japanese game *The Exit 8*. This game is a walking simulator, except the purpose is to escape a single underground passageway that you're stuck in. Every time you round the corner, you find yourself back in the same hallway you just left.  The rules are simple. You start at Exit 0 and walk down the hall. If you notice something changed or abnormal in the hallway, turn around and go back the way you came. If you don't notice anything out of the ordinary, keep going. Once you round that corner, if your exit sign on the wall has moved up a digit, then you're one step closer to finding Exit 8 and escaping. If it has reset back to Exit 0, then you made a mistake and will be starting your journey over. You need to pay attention to details in this game, because some changes can be extremely subtle. Like the guy in the hallway smiling as he walks:  Or perhaps more obvious, like the eyes of this poster darting back and forth instead of staring straight ahead.  Or they'll be glaringly obvious, like walking into the hall to find it covered in no smoking posters:  Some of the abnormalities are sounds, like the vents clicking noise will be slightly different. Or there will be a banging noise coming from one of the doors on the right. Sometimes it will just be a slight change to a poster on the wall, and if you haven't studied the posters, you might miss it. There are 32 anomalies, and you might be exposed to a random one every time you go down the hallway. If you can successfully avoid all anomalies, you'll find yourself at Exit 8, which is a stairway back to the surface. I won't give away too many of the anomalies, but here are a few others to look out for:    That last one is the closest to a game over you get. A rushing river of red water comes at you quick, and if you don't turn around and run, it will overtake you and the screen will go black, before you find yourself back at Exit 0. The Japanese developer (KOTAKE CREATE) also made a sequel game of sorts, called *Platform 8*. It's the exact same premise, except this time you're stuck on a subway line, trying to find your way to the front train car. And if you enjoy these kind of games, there's yet another game called *Shinkansen 0*, made by Chilla's Art, a small 2-person indie development team who makes Japanese horror games. As you may know, the Shinkansen is what we English-speakers call the bullet train. This is a very similar game to *Platform 8*, except for a few more horror twists in it.

Games cobysev • 2w ago • 75%

Random Screenshots of my Games #18 - Witch It!

Here's another fun Halloween-related game: *Witch It!*, a sort of hide-and-seek between witches and hunters.  This little game starts with random team assignments. You'll either be a witch or a hunter. The witches get 30 seconds to hide somewhere on the map before the hunters are let loose. There are many different abilities and defenses you can set, but by default, witches get to shape-shift into an object they can see in front of them. So they hide by literally becoming part of the environment. Below, I've become a cute little edible gnome house. You can tell what you're shapeshifted as by looking at the text in the top left corner of the screen:  The hunters find witches by throwing potatoes at everything, until something flashes purple and cries out in pain. The hunters also get a range of abilities, but the potato is your main attack. I personally like the chicken, which alerts you when there's a witch nearby. Once you've damaged a witch enough, they lose. If all the witches are destroyed, the hunters win the match. But if they can't find them all, then the witches win. Here's me winning a match as a tiny broccoli resting at the base of a giant beanstalk:  The below screenshot shows another easy win. I shape-shifted into a "doge firework" and hid on top of a tower next to the map border. No one even came close to me all match long!  You earn all sorts of different outfits and appearances, which you can use to dress up your witch or hunter. Here's my current witch:  Here's another one of me hiding as a red candle pressed up against a wall in a stairwell. I didn't last long in this match; not enough stuff around me to blend in!  My only complaint about this game is that it's online multiplayer, so you need to play with other people. As much fun as it is, it doesn't have a very large following, so there's usually only a few matches going at any given time, and I usually just jump into the largest group I can find. But if you get a bunch of your friends into this game, you can set up your own private match and play whenever!

Games cobysev • 2w ago • 75%

Random Screenshots of my Games #17 - Costume Quest

Kids can be mean, huh? But adults can be just as awful sometimes. Here's the conversation at the first house you go trick-or-treating at:     I decided to change things up a bit for my Halloween screenshot postings. I've been posting too much horror and gore lately; it's time for some childish Halloween fun! And what better way than a video game that's all about trick-or-treating? *Costume Quest* is about two new kids on the block - twin siblings - who are going out trick-or-treating for the first time in their new neighborhood. At the beginning, you get to choose which of the two siblings to play as: the boy Reynold or the girl Wren. Of course, with my affinity for playing strong feminine characters, I went with Wren. Your first trick-or-treat door went poorly, as seen above. Afraid to be seen with your embarrassment of a sibling, you let your twin go alone to the next door, where they encounter a monster hunting for candy! And it just so happens, your sibling is wearing a candy corn costume!  Your sibling is abducted and thrown over a gate into an ominous land and you find yourself forced to collect Halloween candy in order to open the gates and pursue your sibling. Along the way, you find an ally in another new kid who's being bullied. With your combined costumes, you collect candy and fight more monsters you encounter in houses. You can exchange costumes for various abilities, and you can find resources in the neighborhood that let you build new and unique costumes, for more unique abilities that will help you on your quest.  The fights against monsters transform into giant kaiju-like battles, where your costumes provide you with special attacks. The fights are turn-based with quick time events to successfully land a blow.    This was a fun game about trying to rescue your sibling so they don't ruin Halloween for you. This game is a Halloween tradition for me; I always like to re-play this game every October. I personally enjoy it because it feels nostalgic to me. It takes me back to my childhood days of trick-or-treating in suburban neighborhoods. I lived out in the forested countryside, so I had to be driven into town by my parents to go trick-or-treating. I always looked way older than I actually was, so the last 3 years I went out, people always asked if I was too old to be trick-or-treating. Halloween was my favorite holiday, so it was sad that I had to give up trick-or-treating a little early, just because I looked much older. We need to normalize trick-or-treating for adults! *Ahem.* There is also a sequel to this game called *Costume Quest 2*, where trick-or-treating is outlawed in the near future by dentists. You and your sibling go on time-traveling adventures to stop this horrible dark future from happening.

Games cobysev • 2w ago • 71%

Random Screenshots of my Games #16 - White Day: A Labyrinth Named School

*White Day* is a South Korean horror game about surviving in a haunted high school at night. It's a very dark game (literally), so I apologize in advance for the dim screenshots. For my American audience, "White Day" is originally a Japanese holiday that has spread across many East Asian countries. It mirrors Valentine's Day. Unlike in America, where Valentine's Day is just about confessing love and sharing romantic experiences and gifts, in some Asian cultures, the Asian Valentine's Day is a day for women to confess their love with homemade chocolates (or store-bought if you prefer, but homemade are more special and meaningful). Then a *whole month later,* on March 14th, the guys celebrate White Day, where they will reciprocate with their own homemade (or store-bought) chocolates if their feelings are mutual. Imagine confessing your love and having to wait a whole month to find out if the guy actually likes you back! I lived in Japan for 3 years and South Korea for 2 years, so I got plenty of experience with this holiday. It's kind of a big deal, in both countries. *White Day: A Labyrinth Named School* is a game based on the premise of a guy confessing his love for a girl in his school. She lost her diary on the school grounds and he decided to return it, along with a box of chocolates. He does this by sneaking into the school late at night to put it in her locker. But there's an excessively violent janitor who patrols the school halls, so you have to avoid being caught. You literally watch him take a baseball bat to a kid until he's unconscious, then drag the kid's body to his office! Dang, South Korea! My screenshot above is your first encounter with the janitor; you outrun him and hide in a classroom until he passes. Throughout the game, you hear his keys jingle in the hallway and that's your cue to run and hide. Here's me taking refuge in the girls' bathroom while he's on patrol:  This is more than just a "hide-and-seek from an angry janitor" game, though. As you roam the school and explore classrooms, you can find ghost stories about the school, and I haven't gotten that far in the game yet, but I believe you actually run into some of the ghosts while roaming the school grounds. Here's a bloody textbook I found in the corner of a room, with two bloody hand prints on the wall nearby it:  This is a puzzle game, where you collect clues and solve puzzles to eventually reach your goal of returning the diary and leaving your chocolate gift. You only know the girls' name and what homeroom she's in, but the classroom is locked, so you need to find your way around the school and gain access to other rooms and resources until you can eventually gain access to the girl's locker. You also run into some other students sneaking around the school and help each other achieve your goals.  One of the girls is sweet and kind and saves you from the janitor:  While the other is only interested in how you can help her gain access to a classroom. She's a bit more of a tease.   There are also some strange images hanging between classrooms on the wall that are wildly different from one another, both in art style and theme. I feel like they're going to be important for a puzzle later on.    This game wouldn't be too bad if not for the scary music and sound effects. If it was just hiding from a janitor and solving puzzles, I would hardly consider it horror. But there's a storm raging outside, with rattling of doors and windows at inopportune times to give you a fright. Plus, creepy music will play randomly that makes you think something's sneaking up on you. There was one area where I heard voices whispering unintelligibly and they wouldn't stop until I left the area. I played this at night with all the lights out and it definitely got my heart rate up! If I was this boy in real life, I would've just gone home and given the girls' diary to her directly during the day. As soon as I saw the janitor beat some kid unconscious with a bat, I would've noped right out of there. That's a situation for the police to deal with, not some young student. There's a sequel to this game called *White Day 2: The Flower That Tells Lies*. It's a direct sequel, returning to the same high school. It looks like it might be an investigation story, trying to solve what really happened at the end of the first game. It looks interesting; once I finish this first game, I'll definitely jump into the sequel.

Games cobysev • 2w ago • 72%

Random Screenshots of my Games #15 - Gori: Cuddly Carnage

Whew, it's been a busy day. I almost didn't make another Halloween-themed screenshot post today. The vulgar and disturbing screenshot above is from a game called *Gori: Cuddly Carnage*. It's about a hyper-intelligent (but incapable of human speech) cat named Gori who wears human clothes and travels on a sentient hoverboard. I believe he's the result of a scientific experiment. Gori's human owner, a scientist, is captured by The Bear in a Box and Gori sets off to rescue her on a space ship. According to the game's description, "humanity has been destroyed," so it's up to Gori to save the day. Every level is occupied by zombie unicorns that Gori gets to hack and slash with his hoverboard in the most gruesome ways. There are even bonus levels where you get to save unicorns that haven't been zombified yet.  The Bear in a Box is an extremely sour fella without many nice things to say. I've only played an hour and a half of this game, so I don't know what his story is yet, but he seems to be the main antagonist of the game. He *really* doesn't like Gori.    This is a really fun game to play. You earn combos for creative ways of defeating your enemies, which powers up your ultimate attack with your hoverboard. The action is pretty smooth and enjoyable. It does live up to its name, giving you plenty of semi-cuddly creatures to gorily slice and dice. If you can handle vulgar language and gory fights, this game is pretty cool.

Games cobysev • 2w ago • 84%

Random Screenshots of my Games #14 - Choo-Choo Charles

*Choo-Choo Charles* is a terrifying game about a half-train, half-monster who is terrorizing a small island. It's basically the nightmare version of Thomas the Tank Engine. I wouldn't be surprised if it was loosely based on those horror images of Thomas you can find online. You're hired to hunt down Charles and end his reign of terror. You do this by running your own train around the island and upgrading its armor, firepower, and speed using whatever scraps you can find lying around. There is a gun on the back of your train which you can use to fight Charles when he attacks. Below is my decked-out train. You can also change its color using paint cans found around the island.  Some of the island residents will give you scrap if you run errands for them too. That is, if they're not cowering in terror as Charles runs amok.  If you read notes lying around the island and pay attention to the residents, you'll learn of a larger plot, where a guy named Warren hired a mining crew to mine the island. He brought their families to the island, which are all the residents you run into. He's protecting three eggs found in the mines that are connected to Charles somehow, and he won't let anyone leave the island.  Charles will fight you until he's severely injured, then he'll run away. But if you collect all three eggs hidden in mines around the island and place them atop a specific altar, it will enrage Charles and he'll fight to the death. Be careful of Warren's loyal miners, though. They won't give up the eggs without a fight.  This game is pretty straightforward and can be run through pretty quickly. On my first play-through, I took my time and still beat it in about 3 hours. But it's definitely good at getting your heart rate up. That terrifying train screech in the distance is your warning that Charles is close, and you have mere seconds to either take shelter or be prepared to fight from your train. I actually live next to some train tracks, with a train that passes by at least twice a day. After playing through this game once, I felt fear in my chest every time I heard an actual train whistle outside. With its dark, sometimes rainy environment and creepy music, this game does an excellent job setting a terrifying ambiance.

Games cobysev • 2w ago • 75%

Random Screenshots of my Games #13 - Friday the 13th: The Game

For my 13th post, I decided to post screenshots from *Friday the 13th: The Game*. This is an online multiplayer survival game, where one person plays as Jason Vorhees and everyone else plays as camp counselors. It's randomly assigned, so you never know if you're going to play as Jason or one of the counselors.  Driven by his dead mother's voice, Jason will attempt to kill all the camp counselors on the map. He has abilities like Morph, which lets him teleport anywhere on the map; Sense, which will let him detect counselors in the vicinity or highlight buildings that they're inside; Shift, which will let him quickly travel across a short stretch of land; and Stalk, which will mute his killer proximity music (ki ki ki... ha ha ha...) to counselors and enhance the sound of counselors for a short time, in order for him to sneak up on them.  He can also equip up to 4 special cinematic murder scenes, which allow him to instantly kill his prey in the goriest of ways. The camp counselors are trying to avoid him throughout the match. They either have to survive to the end of the match, fix a car or boat so they can escape off the edges of the map, repair the telephone line so they can call the police, or just confront Jason head-on. But Jason is super tough and won't go down easily; whereas the counselors can be killed almost immediately. So it's not recommended to fight him unless you have no other choice. At best, you can stun him for a few seconds so you can get a head start in running.  Counselors get more scared the closer Jason is to them, which makes them appear more prominently for Jason. They can hide under beds, in closets, etc. to mask themselves from him, but if he finds them, it's an insta-kill.  There are several different outfits for Jason, but they all come with their own strengths and weaknesses (based on the movie they're from). So changing outfits could mean limiting your abilities in the round.  This game was removed from the Steam store at some point, so it's still playable if you have it in your library, but the online community is kind of nonexistent nowadays. Fortunately, there's an offline mode that lets you play as Jason and fight against counselor bots, which is much more fun for me personally. I'm not a fan of online multiplayer games, so being able to play on my own is excellent.  I also love the ['70s rock music video trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb3Bs6SPTCI) for this game. It has the song *Killer*, by Crazy Lixx. It's what interested me in buying this game in the first place. I'm an '80s baby, so that genre of music is very nostalgic of my childhood. What are your thoughts? There are a few other survival games like this on Steam that are pretty popular. I think I have some others in my library, but I haven't really played them. Maybe I'll give them a try and post some screenshots this month.

Games cobysev • 2w ago • 89%

Random Screenshots of my Games #12 - POOLS

I'm jumping into psychological horror today, with a walking simulator called *POOLS*. This game has no jump scares, no monsters. It's just dark (and sometimes bright), liminal spaces that give you an eerie, creeped-out vibe, themed around indoor pools with unnaturally dark waters. The longer you walk through this maze of irregular pool rooms, the more anxious you'll feel.  There is an end to the pool rooms, but not before it starts getting weirder and weirder. There are six chapters to weave through, so you do make progress the longer you walk. Just gotta keep it together long enough to find the end of each chapter.  The sort of blurry vision around the edges of the screen makes for an unsettling, unfocused view, which will have you frantically checking around you for movement while you walk.  The ambient noises also cause anxiety, from the rattling of an air vent, to the faint splashing of pool water, like someone is in the pools a few rooms away. If you run for a few seconds, your character will breathe heavily, which almost gave me a heart attack the first time I heard it; I thought it was someone else breathing in my ear! This room below had a speaker over the doorway at the end of the hall, playing some loud music. As soon as I passed under the doorway, though, the sound of the music stopped almost immediately, as if muffled. It was super creepy! I walked back through the doorway and the music was there again, but it was like walking through a deafening wall with no visible barriers.  Your feet clack on the tile floors like you're wearing shoes, but make squishy wet slapping sounds if you just came out of the water. And you *will* be forced to go in the water sometimes. You'll hit a dead end where you can't progress unless you swallow your fear and venture into a dark room with nothing but dark pool water on the ground. Like I said, there are no monsters and nothing actually pursuing you, but probably the most terrifying thing is the floating duckies. In some tight, claustrophobic dark rooms, you'll be surprised by them hanging out behind pillars or around a wall. And no matter where you go, they always slowly spin around in the water until they're facing you. Goddamn creepy ducks. 😨  This game was inspired by the backrooms, that creepy meme about glitching through the edges of reality and finding yourself trapped in an infinite trail of musty, yellow-wallpapered office hallways. But unlike the backrooms, there is no monster lurking in the darkness and there *is* a definite end to the pools. You just have to be brave enough to keep moving forward. No matter how crazy the pool rooms start becoming. I've only posted screenshots from the second chapter, before things started getting really weird. So go check it out for yourself and see what happens...

Games cobysev • 3w ago • 80%

Random Screenshots of my Games #11 - The WereCleaner

Happy Halloween Month! Today's game is *The WereCleaner*. It's a cute yet gory game about a janitor named Kyle who turns into a werewolf at night. Which isn't normally a problem because he works during the day. But due to not meeting quotas, the CEO demands ALL employees work the night shift for a week until they're back on track. Meanwhile, the CEO is napping, getting drunk, goofing off, etc. in his office:  So it becomes a stealth game, wherein you're trying to do your janitor job while not letting employees or the security guard see you. If you're spotted, you go into a blind rage and kill the employee. (See first screenshot.) So it's in your best interest to stay hidden and sneak around the office while cleaning. Don't forget to clean up the bodies you mutilate in the office! The security guard is on to you, but he doesn't suspect you specifically. As the week goes on, he gets closer and closer to identifying you, which culminates in you having to avoid him on the final day as he hunts you down in the office.     It's a really short, but very entertaining game. I really enjoyed playing it! Oh, and it's free on Steam!

Games cobysev • 3w ago • 63%

Random Screenshots of my Games #10 - Diablo IV

Happy Halloween month! It's my favorite holiday of the year! And to celebrate, I'm going to attempt to post only screenshots from horror-themed games all month long! Starting with one that's literally about hell on Sanctuary (i.e. Earth), *Diablo IV*! For those unfamiliar with Diablo lore, here's the TL;DR - The game franchise is set on Sanctuary, a neutral realm between Heaven and Hell. The angel Inarius and the demon Lilith created the realm as a safe haven for any who wanted to escape the constant war being waged between their home realms. The merging of angels and demons created a race of mortal beings that are both angel and demon, and yet neither one. Called Nephalem, but basically human beings. *Diablo IV* has Lilith being summoned from the void she had previously been banished to, in order to fulfill a prophecy to "save her children." She then goes around Sanctuary, corrupting people into following her. You play a wanderer who was nearly corrupted by her followers, but escaped and can now see visions of her actions in the realm. You're sent on a quest to stop her. Also, Inarius wants to help you kill her, because he thinks it's his fate to stop her and that it will grant him passage to his home realm of Heaven. I guess he's a little homesick. Here he is, tired of you and your kind's shit:  No intentional spoilers (because I haven't finished the game, so I have no idea where the plot is going), but I keep predicting we're eventually going to turn on everyone and join Lilith. Because, despite all the supposedly evil things she's been doing in Sanctuary, her ultimate goal is to save "her children" (i.e. everyone). I feel like it's building up to a reveal that she was a good guy the whole time and we need to stop Inarius, who is being an asshole and doesn't give a damn about anyone in Sanctuary. His own son refused to trust him! So I feel like he's being set up to be the bad guy and Lilith will be revealed as a protagonist in the end. Or maybe they're both evil and we'll end them both. I dunno; I guess I'll find out when I finish the campaign. My friends and I have been playing this game almost daily for the past couple weeks now. It's a bit of a nostalgia ride, as we used to play the original *Diablo* together over dial-up Internet back in our childhood. I still remember when *Diablo II* released and we were absolutely floored at the in-game weather events. We would be playing and it would randomly start raining! We'd never seen anything like that in a video game before. Below is my current party. From left to right: My wife (Rogue), a childhood friend of mine (Druid), myself (fire Sorcerer), and another childhood friend (Barbarian).  We're trying to play through the campaign together, but it's hard to match up all of our schedules, so we spend a ton of time fooling around in game and doing side quests on our own. I'm level 58 and we're about halfway through Act III right now. I read online that you can beat the campaign by level 45 or so, and I got to level 50 before we even started Act II. Hopefully we'll finish the campaign in the next couple weeks.

Games cobysev • 3w ago • 80%

Random Screenshots of my Games #9 - Nightingale

I had an extremely busy day yesterday and didn't remember to post until about 11 PM, so I decided to skip a day. I was almost too busy to post today, too! Good thing I'm not tying myself to a solid schedule like the other two guys posting screenshots here. 😅 *Nightingale* is a new MMO that's still in early access. You play a person from the early 1900s who passes through a portal into the Fae Realms. I forget what's happening on Earth, but some sort of ominous fog called "The Pale" or something is spreading across Paris, forcing you and a bunch of other explorers to travel through the portal to escape it. And then you find yourself trapped in the lands of the Fae. A fae named Puck offers you assistance in finding a safe realm to visit and gives you a card that helps you cleanse the realm so its inhabitable. Knowing what I know from stories of the fae, I was very hesitant to trust him, but the game doesn't really give you any alternatives. So... into the Fae Realms we go!  From there, the game is an open world crafting game, kind of like *Enshrouded*. You learn how to craft tools, defenses, houses, etc. You can make extravagant fantasy homes, or just rudimentary structures to keep you safe. There are all sorts of things to explore in the world, too. Plenty of questing, discoveries, enemies to fight, other humans to interact and trade with, etc. The screenshot at the top of this post was taken after cleansing my first realm. Below, you can see a couple shots of what it looked like when I first arrived there. It was dark and dreary, with an "enraged sky."   Also, here's a look at my custom character and her inventory and stats.  I've only played a couple hours of it so far, but it's been unique and enjoyable. I hope it only gets better as it nears a full release date.