Top 10 Games in Steam's 2016 Halloween Sale

Happy Halloween! 

It's finally here. Possibly my favourite day of the year. And, with Steam's Halloween sale, it could easily be yours as well (if it isn't already). I was going to cover my top five horror games on sale, but, well, there are just too many great games to choose from. I would be doing you, and the games on sale, a disservice. Instead, I'm going to highlight five games that I already own and love, and five games that I'm likely to own soon... because I'm weak for horror with a discount. 

Games I own (and that you should, too!):

SOMA

From the team behind Amnesia: The Dark Descent, SOMA is a sci-fi horror that feels like it's set in the dank, underwater sections of BioShock. Within its dripping hallways are many tense moments of hide-and-seek with a creature that you'll never want to get too close to, and a surprising depth (no pun intended) surrounding the concepts of consciousness, reality, and what it is to be human. As you'll see from my review, the game was worth every penny at full price, so it's a complete steal at £9.19 (60% off). 

Check it out >

Outlast

If you haven't played Outlast by now, shame on you. It's a game-changing horror from Red Barrels, where you'll explore an old asylum as an investigative journalist with a night-vision camera and little else. It's one of the scariest games I've ever played, and also one of the best. With Outlast 2 drawing near, there's never been a better time to pick up Outlast, and at only £3.74 (75% off), you'll even be able to afford the therapy afterwards. 

Check it out >

Depth

Depth has sharks. It's as simple as that. Not enough? Okay. Depth is a multiplayer game that pits divers against sharks, all player-controlled, across a series of different modes and maps. As a diver, you'll try to complete objectives, upgrade gear, and listen to the sound of your own heartbeat growing faster as a shark swims closer. As a shark, you'll choose from a number of different sharks - from the Mako, to the Hammerhead, to the beauty that is the Great White Shark - upgrade your own abilities, and pick off the divers one by one. It's great fun. Read my review, and see why it's worth every penny at £4.74 (75% off). 

Check it out >

Dead by Daylight

Dead by Daylight is a game that people are probably sick of hearing me talk about, but what's one more recommendation between friends? Frankly, I love it. One killer. Four survivors. As they try to escape, the killer hunts them down, hacks them up, and hangs them on a meat hook to either die or be saved by another survivor. It's like playing through a slasher movie. If that's not enough, the game now has its first licensed killer in Michael Myers from Halloween, along with Laurie Strode as a survivor and Haddonfield as a map. You can join the multiplayer madness for £10.49 (30% off), and if you think you might pick it up, make sure to read my top 3 tips for surviving and slashing. 

Check it out >

Dead Space 1 and 2 

I doubt the Dead Space games need much introduction, but just in case, these games see Isaac Clarke, Space Engineer, responding to distress calls aboard massive space stations. Each time, when he gets there, he finds the stations oddly abandoned. Before long, the reason why comes crawling from vents all around him: Necromorphs. Once crew members, they are now disfigured monstrosities that'll give you nightmares. Both Dead Space and Dead Space 2 are amazing games, and they're £2.49 each (75% off). I can't recommend them highly enough if you haven't played them before, and £5 will buy you hours of enjoyment (and tears).

Check out Dead Space >

Check out Dead Space 2 > 

Top five games I'll probably own soon:

Slayaway Camp 

Slayaway Camp is doing the rounds at the moment and is seeing some great reviews. It was already on my radar even before it went on sale, so now it's a pretty big blip I'm keeping my eye on. Players control Skullface, a psycho that's looking to slaughter a few teenage counsellors at the titular Slayaway Camp. Despite its gory concept, the game actually has a pretty cute voxel style and killing the teenagers involves solving isometric puzzles. This "darkly comic homage to 80s horror" will keep your mind, and your knife, pretty sharp. Plus, the game is only £4.43 (26% off). 

Check it out >

Camp Sunshine

I'm clearly still not over my 80s teen-slasher phase, because Camp Sunshine is another horror set at Summer Camp where teenagers are becoming an endangered species. This time, it's a "16-bit blood-soaked horror RPG" where you play as Jez. He wakes up in the middle of the night to find blood splashed everywhere. Before he knows it, he's trapped in a "deadly game of cat and mouse" with a murderer dressed in a mascot costume. It's like the creepy bunny mascot from Silent Hill 3 finally moved... It's only £5.59 (20% off), and looks to be a 16-bit nightmare that I can't wait to be trapped inside. 

Check it out >

Darkest Dungeon

Darkest Dungeon is a rogue-like, turn-based RPG in a dark, gothic wrapper. Players have to recruit, train and lead a group of "flawed heroes" in a battle against a number of twisted creatures and the "ever-encroaching dark." It looks to be a challenging experience, but one that is also available on Steam, PlayStation 4 and PS Vita (where I may pick this one up). At only £11.39 (40% off), Darkest Dungeon is quite a new game with an interesting premise, and one that is more than likely to keep you going through its hellish battles for a good, long while. 

Check it out >

Lakeview Cabin Collection

Honestly, of all the games in my list, Lakeview Cabin Collection is the one that I understand the least. What I do understand is that the game is a 2D action-puzzler that puts another group of people in another set of lakeside cabins with a murderer on the way. By now, you can probably tell that this combination is all I need right now. According to the Steam reviews, which are "very positive," you can "get drunk, get naked, have a foursome" and then try to survive the killer. That's really all I need to hear. LCC sounds fun, and at £1.74 (75% off), it's a risk I'm very willing to take. 

Check it out >

Through the Woods

Through the Woods, though the most expensive game on the list, is also the newest, and was only released on Thursday 27th of last week. It features a mother searching the woods for her missing son, and is heavily influenced by Norse mythology and Norwegian folktales. Based on what I've seen so far, there seems to be a focus on Norse giants. At £14.39 (10% off), it still looks well worth the money for an immersive, third-person stroll (or, more likely, sprint) through the woods. 

Check it out >

***

Like the sound of quite a few of the games on sale? Better act fast, as the sale is only running until November 1st (inclusive). After that, the prices go back up and can be as scary as the games themselves. Quick, get yourself some cheap horror!

And with that... the candle inside the pumpkin has been blown out. I hope you've enjoyed my daily posts leading up to Halloween as much as I have. If you did, please make sure to leave a comment, share the articles, or just get in touch on Twitter. 

Don't fear - I'll be sharing the scares again before you know it. I've already got a few more game reviews lined up. I'll just need a day or two rest while I lock all of the doors and gorge on horror in all varieties to celebrate Halloween the only way I know how. Have a scary one.

Hello, Neighbor! - Pre-Alpha Demo Impressions

"Hello, Neighbor!" isn't something I say often, or ever, since I don't speak to my neighbours, but since it's the name of Dynamic Pixels and tinyBuild's upcoming stealth horror, it's something I'm happy to add to my vocabulary. Even in such mysterious circumstances as this: 

Across the street is a man. There's something strange about him. Something shines from behind his basement door, which is padlocked and boarded up. Just what is he hiding back there? Well, in Hello, Neighbor!'s pre-alpha demo, that's what I aimed to find out.

Here he is. Looking out the window like he doesn't have some terrifying secret hidden in his basement. Douche.

At its core, Hello, Neighbor! is a game which has players exploring the house of the man across the street, whether he likes it or not. And he really doesn't. The ultimate goal is to find out what is locked away in his basement. The only way to do this, however, is to sneak into his house and gradually work your way through using items you find, such as keys to unlock doors, hammer to pry off boards, and codes to enter into keypads. 

In order to get enough time to do actually do this, or to explore a room that the neighbour is currently in, distractions are key. For example, do you want to go into the living room where he's watching TV? If you smash a window, turn on a radio, or open the garage door, to pick out a few examples, he'll get up to find out what it was. While he's up and about, it's time to move. Be quick, though, because you never know when he might be back.

If he comes back to find you snooping about, you'll know about it. The music becomes almost deafening as he chases you down, and if he catches you, you wake up back in your bedroom across the street. Only next time you go back to the neighbour's house, things will have changed.

You see, Hello, Neighbor! features procedural AI that can, and will, adapt. During one of my many short playthroughs (I wasn't very good at snooping), I got my foot caught in a bear trap. Shortly afterwards, he appeared, and I found myself back across the street. Then, knowing my weakness for this method of capture, I found that he'd put another bear trap right outside the front door. Clever bastard. 

While Hello, Neighbor!'s premise and procedural AI definitely have promise, the early build that I played through felt like just that. I was able to somehow glitch through a wall and hide under a bed without ever stepping foot inside, and the neighbour himself would often get stuck inside objects. Though this seemed like an invitation to explore the rest of the house in my own time, it actually meant that he was sometimes stuck inside the very room that I wanted to be in. If he then spotted me, he'd break free from his glitch-trap and catch me. It almost always made me jump...

In addition, I had to guess what the controls were, as the escape button closed the entire demo rather than bringing up a menu, like I'd thought it would. In a demo as tense as this, it would have been nice to know the controls from the get-go. The latter issue is obviously very minor, but adds up to the unpolished feel that can be expected at this stage in development.

Regardless of the few bugs mentioned above, which really aren't that surprising inside a pre-alpha build, Hello, Neighbor! has my attention. From the very first trailer, I've been captivated by the game's unique style, making the world and its characters seem surreal and larger than life, much like the world of Albino Lullaby, another one-of-a-kind horror that I reviewed in 2015. Everything is extremely colourful and hides a much darker tone behind its cheerful exterior. I can't wait to peep through its curtains, explore its rooms, and, ultimately, find out what's hidden in the depths of its basement.

You can find out more about the upcoming horror game on its website, sign up to play the pre-alpha demo for yourself here, or even purchase the game on Steam, as it's just enter Early Access release with an updated demo known as Alpha 1 (featuring more items and a two-story house). Happy hunting.

Horror Games on VR

Virtual reality is blowing up right now, and my tiny brain is blowing up right alongside it. We're one step closer to living out our lives in a virtual paradise (or nightmare), and I'm so ready. Until then, though, the various VR offerings — HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR (along with more entry-level systems) — are still in their infancy. 

PlayStation VR (PSVR) only launched on October 13th, and the other major players have yet to show off too many fully-realised VR experiences. Even so, the PSVR launched with a nice line-up of  titles and many more games have been announced for the future across all VR platforms. This includes titles from the horror genre, which VR is sure to make even scarier. 

Since it's that wonderful time again, when the smell of pumpkin spice floats on the breeze and the sound of witches cackling fills the night, let's run through a list of a few exciting horrors that have either been released, or are still in the works, for VR. 

VR Worlds: Into the Deep 

Platform: PSVR 

Release date: Out now
Synopsis: One experience of five that launched with PlayStation VR in a bundle known as VR Worlds. Into the Deep sees players plunged into the depths of the ocean in a cage. At first, it probably seems beautiful and awe-inspiring as you take in the sights of marine life around you in an endless blue sea, but things quickly take a nasty U-turn when a Great White shark aims its beady eyes in your direction.

Until Dawn: Rush of Blood

Platform: PSVR
Release date: Out now

Synopsis: An on-rails shooter set inside the same universe as one of my favourite teen-slasher games, Until Dawn, which I reviewed on its weekend of release. Though I'm not sure it will have the same impact as the game it is based on, it still features a creepy circus setting, jump-scares, and what appears to be a spiralling rollercoaster into insanity (with a few nods to Until Dawn and its characters, just for good measure). If nothing else, it looks like a fun time in a horror setting, and could be a perfect way to experience the genre up-close and personal for the first time. 

Here They Lie

Platform: PSVR 

Release date: Out now (digitally)

Synopsis: A true foray into a horror experience that was created with VR in mind, Here They Lie looks like a creepy combination of BioShock and We Happy Few, while adding a few of its own strange creatures into the mix. Frankly, a lot of details are still hidden in shadows and vague descriptions from the developers on PlayStation's blog do little to shine much light on them, but why ruin a terrifying mystery before playing it? 

Killing Floor: Incursion

Platform: Oculus Touch
Release date: TBC
Synopsis: Tripwire Interactive's gory Zed-splatting series is making its way to VR as an even more immersive shooter experience. I'm a big fan of Killing Floor 2, as I first found out when it went free-to-play for one weekend, and I can't wait for its heavy rock and heavier gore to explode onto VR. What I'm not looking forward to is seeing the spider Zeds with my own eyes... So many arms and legs. So many.

Resident Evil 7

Platform: PC, Xbox One, PS4, PSVR
Release date: January 24th 2017
Synopsis: Resident Evil is returning, and believe it or not, the majority of people are actually excited by what they see. In a post-PT world, where Silent Hills has already been cancelled after having changed the genre forever, Capcom seems to have finally take note of what gamers want. Resident Evil 7, as seen in my recent demo impressions, is first-person, cuts back the action, and actually delivers multiple tense moments that aren't centred around roid-rages and rock punching. With another completely new step for the series, the entire experience will also be playable in VR. I'm daring to be overly optimistic.

Stifled

Platform: Steam, PSVR

Release date: Steam (Q4 2016), PSVR (TBC)

Synopsis: The upcoming debut title from Gattai Games, Stifled has players exploring the world around them using echo-location. It's an unique mechanic that lends itself nicely to the horrors of hide-and-seek, whereby players will have to make a sound in order to see the world around them, possibly alerting someone, or something, to their presence while doing so. You can check out my initial thoughts on the press demo here. Initially only planned for release on Steam, Stifled was also recently picked up as a perfect game for PSVR, which I can't help but agree on.

Narcosis

Platform: Steam, Oculus Rift
Release date: Q4 2016
Synopsis: Another debut title, this time from Honor Code Inc. Narcosis sees an industrial diver stranded at the bottom of the ocean in an intense survival horror, trying to make their way back to the surface before their "oxygen - and sanity -  give out." The developers describe the diving suit as a "walking coffin," which sounds like a great time to me, so I can't wait to see more. Further information can be found on the website, in case you're itching to get your scuba gear on.

***

And... I'm leaving it there for now. The horror genre on VR, much like virtual reality itself, is still learning the lay of the newly virtual land, but I'm certain that it is this genre that will see the most effective performance early on. I think we're all going to smash a few belongings while we get used to not running blindly around our living rooms, but when it comes to horror, I'm always happy to just buy new things.

Are you looking forward to VR, or are you not quite sure yet? Do you have a preferred VR platform in mind? Or maybe you know of some more upcoming VR horror titles that I haven't listed here?

Come and chat all about it with me on Twitter. We can be virtual buddies.

3 Tips for Surviving and Slashing in Dead by Daylight

For the last week or so, I've been obsessed with Dead by Daylight, the asymmetric horror multiplayer from Behaviour. One person plays as the Killer, and a team of four people try to survive long enough to escape. I've been spreading my time across both, either as a killer, hunting down my victims and sacrificing them to a supernatural being, or as a survivor, doing my best to fix generators, open doors, and escape. 

Here's my top tips for each side!

Survivors

Don't run

As tempting as it is to sprint non-stop when the killer is slashing at yours heels, it isn't always the best option. If you've managed to put just a little bit of distance between yourself and the killer - let's say you've jumped through a window or ran round a corner - it can sometimes be much more beneficial to slow things down and crouch. You see, when you run, it leaves behind a trail of red scratches that makes it much easier for the killer to track you. However, if you escape their line of sight and then immediately crouch, it becomes much harder to see which way you ran. This takes some getting used to, but you'll see your survival rate shoot up if you can master it.

Stay close to fellow survivors in need 

If you're a lone wolf, out-for-yourself, doesn't-look-back-when-the-exit-is-open kind of survivor, this tip won't apply to you. If, like me, you want everyone to work together and make it out alive, listen up. 

When a fellow survivor is knocked to the floor, carried by the killer, or thrown onto a meat hook, their position is highlighted in red. You can see it from wherever you are, and believe it or not, that's where you're going next. When a survivor is highlighted for one of these reasons, get as close as you possible can without being seen. If they're not already on a hook, they will be soon, and they'll need your help. 

As soon as a survivor is 'hooked', a killer will do one of a few things. Some killers will stand directly next to their dangling victim to make sure that no-one can help them, which can be irritating as there's very little you can do without becoming their next victim. However, some killers will search the area or even head off towards a noise in the distance. This is your chance to unhook your fellow survivor, and because you were already nearby, you can both be out of there before the killer appears again. Just watch out for any hidden bear traps...

Fix and listen

When fixing generators, sabotaging hooks, or healing fellow survivors, the only thing worse than being found by the killer is the dreaded skill check. This is a small mini-game which has you tap space when a needle reaches a specific point, and getting it wrong can be disastrous. Messing it up announces your position to the killer, who is more than likely to stalk directly to the source of the noise. Don't worry. There's a trick to it.

Just before such a skill check appears, there's a cue. This comes in the form of a ghostly chime. If you hear that, get ready. In about half a second, the skill check is coming. While that doesn't sound like a long time, it's more than enough to focus your attention on the mini-game, rather than searching the horizon for signs of an encroaching killer.

Killer

Listen

It's easy to get wrapped up in being totally badass as a killer, stomping from one generator to the next in the hopes of finding your next victim. That won't always help you find survivors to maim and mangle, though. Taking the time to listen to the world around you can reap benefits.

Can you hear a generator being fixed? Was that a cupboard door that just slammed shut? Is that the whimpering of an injured survivor in the bushes? All of these sounds can help you to track down victims even when they're acting calmly enough to sneak and hide before you get there. With a little tactical thinking, even that won't save them.

Think ahead

Just like the masked murderers of classic horror films, always try to be one step ahead of your next victim. When a chase has broken out, directly following their trail isn't always the best move.

Survivors will always try to run to a pallet that can be knocked down, or a window they can jump through, and this can really slow you down. However, if you can see a pallet or window they're running towards, think ahead. Go around the pallet, or through a door near the window, and you'll have anticipated their escape route before they'd even planned it themselves. Sometimes this can lead to them running right into your blood-soaked hands.

Be greedy 

If you've managed to knock one survivor down, and another injured survivor is nearby, chase them. While it may be tempting to immediately pick up the survivor that is crawling along the floor in pain, they're not going anywhere fast. If you let the other survivor escape, they may return to save the first survivor from the hook, or begin working on generators again. You can't have that. 

Though there's the possibility that a third survivor will heal your first victim, I've found it quite unlikely that more than one survivor will have bravely put themselves in the killer's crosshairs in order to help another. That means, if you can catch them as well, it's two birds with one blood-spattered stone.

Top 10 Horror Games at E3 2016

E3 2016. Wow. As always, this past week of E3 has been a whirlwind of conferences, presentations, streams, announcements, secrets, trailers and gameplay. It's an amazing time to be a gamer. Luckily for us, it's also an amazing time to love horror games, because a good selection of games shown across the week were either outright horror, or had a disturbing twist to them. 

In case you missed anything, here's my top 10 horror games at E3 2016 (in no particular order):

1. Friday the 13th: The Game

[Ki ki ki ma ma ma]

That's right. Jason is back in Friday the 13th: The Game, and he's once more terrorising the teens of Crystal Lake in an asymmetric multiplayer that was funded on Kickstarter. One player controls Jason, while another four players work together to escape by a few different means, such as calling the police or fixing a truck. Until recently we'd only peeped through the hockey mask at a slither of pre-alpha gameplay, but this all changed at E3 2016.

Gameplay footage was shown and revealed Jason's gory environmental kills (based on kills from the films), his ability to teleport, and also a little snapshot into playing as a counsellor. Hint: they don't do so well in this playthrough. 

2. We Happy Few

This isn't the first time we've seen We Happy Few, but many a gamer has been waiting to see more. While it isn't strictly horror, what we've seen so far seems to tread the line between Bioshock and Clockwork Orange, which is a pretty cool and/or disturbing mix, if you ask me. At E3 2016, we were treated to another trailer, which shows a much darker side to the ever-joyous characters of WHF, who seem to have a real thing against anyone not taking their meds:

3. State of Decay 2

To much celebration, a sequel to the popular zombie strategy/survival game, State of Decay, was announced. Available only on Xbox 360 and PC, and later Xbox One, the sequel looks to follow this trend. It seems that the game's emphasis on building relationships with the NPCs and using teamwork to survive is a present as in the first game, and this is no doubt a game that has many gamers foaming at the mouth. 

4. Observer

Though little was shown for the newly-announced Observer, the trailer below was enough for the game to hack its way onto my radar. It's believed that the game is based around the concept of going into other people's dreams, which seem to much more closely resemble nightmares. The aspect of this game that excites me most is that dreams, or nightmares, could lend themselves to a variety of scary scenarios and still make sense within the confines of the narrative. Nothing is scarier than the unknown.

5. Days Gone

I have to admit, this reveal almost didn't make the list. First described as a post-apocalyptic (yes) Sons of Anarchy (meh), I wasn't convinced. Thankfully, a good chunk of gameplay was also shown, revealing hordes upon hordes of infected, swarming towards our Harley-riding protagonist in a way that resembled the undead crowds of World War Z. Not only is it pretty pleasing to the eye, but the absolute number of infected on-screen, and the fluidity at which they appear, is downright impressive. Days Gone has swarmed right over my scepticism and onto my E3 2016 wishlist.

6. Prey

I'd prayed for Prey, ever since the free-running, sci-fi bounty hunter gameplay that was shown for Prey 2 back in 2013. Then everything went quiet. It was unclear whether Prey 2 would ever see the neon light of day. Technically, it hasn't, because what was revealed at E3 2016 was only named Prey. All we know so far is that it will be set on a space station in 2036 where an experiment has gone wrong. Surprisingly, Prey seems to have ditched its previous parkour bounty hunter vibes for a creep factor.

I was so excited for the previous version that I'm actually not completely won over by the horror aspect yet, which is something I never thought I'd say. Let's hope we don't have to wait until 2036 to see more.

7. Dead Rising 4

Yet another Dead Rising sequel will be shuffling its way onto consoles this Winter, and it was revealed at E3 2016 with an incredibly festive trailer and 14 minutes (less if you remove the loading time, which seemed long) of gameplay. It looks to continue with the tongue-in-cheek gameplay that people have come to expect from the series, showing off massive hordes of zombies, an electric axe, a crossbow with firework explosives, an exo-suit and more. For those that love Frank West and his zany adventures, this looks to please, though I personally find the series to be a little repetitive. See what you think of the gameplay:

8. Killing Floor: Incursion

If you're looking to merge FPS action with horror and blow off some steam while you do it, I can't think of a better game than Tripwire's Killing Floor. I'm a massive fan of Killing Floor 2, and so I was pleasantly surprised to see the announcement of Killing Floor: Incursion at E3 2016, a new game in the works for Oculus Touch. It looks like it will bring the same over-the-top action and gore to the world of VR, making the gruesome creatures all that much more gruesome. I'm really not looking forward to see the spider-mutants up close...

9. Vampyr

From the first time I saw Vampyr, a surprisingly thoughtful action-RPG set in Victorian London, it had its fangs well and truly in me. Players will control Jonathan E. Reid, a doctor whom was recently turned into a vampire. He is now driven by a thirst for blood in a world where every choice he makes, every person he kills, will have consequences further down the line. These consequences, and the morals of this cursed protagonist, will be entirely in the hands of the player. It's an interesting concept, and one that could have players questioning just how carefully  they walk the path between murder and survival.

10. Resident Evil 7 

Resident Evil is back. And, for the first time in a few years, Capcom have actually given gamers hope that the series is heading backing to its horror roots. With a trailer that actually looked creepy, and an apparent move over to first-person horror, it looks to be a divisive, but much-needed change to bring the series back to relevance. Even more surprising, a demo entitled 'Beginning Hour' was immediately available on the PS Store. Naturally, I downloaded it as fast as I could and you can read what I thought in my preview. Here's the E3 2016 trailer:

Bonus

Here's a couple of bonus additions for you - because I'm nice like that.

Death Stranding

Might as well start with a game we know almost nothing about... For example, it may not even be a horror game. Death Stranding is the latest partnership between Hideo Kojima and Norman Reedus, who were working together on the much-anticipated, and unfortunately cancelled, Silent Hills. While we're yet to understand what is even going on in the trailer below, it's clearly a strange and unnerving affair. This mysterious blip will be on many radars after E3.

Inside

The next game from the studio behind Limbo has still revealed very little to the public, so there's a chance that it won't actually create any fear in the player. However, based on the bleak world that has been shown so far, and the elements of horror that were as much a part of Limbo as the puzzle-solving and platforming, I'm betting that there will be something for horror-lovers to enjoy when Inside is release. Watch the short trailer shown at E3 2016:

That wraps up the list of top 10 horror games that caught my eye during E3 2016, along with a couple of bonus games that may or may not fit into the horror genre at all. Either way, it's a list of games that I'm pretty excited for.

Which game are you most looking forward to? Let me know! I've always got time to talk horror. Please leave a comment or start a chat with me over on Twitter.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - Episode 1

I used to love Resident Evil. Truly. It was a classic horror back in the day, with an interesting narrative and characters that I wanted to get a beer with - or maybe a milkshake, I was pretty young when the first games came out. Resident Evil 4 remains one of my all-time favourites PS2 games, and even though it added a bit more action into the mix, it did it with finesse. Then came the rest. Full of zombies (or zombie-esque creatures)? Yes. Same characters from before? Sure. Even a little bit fun? Possibly. Did it feel like Resident Evil? Not at all. The line between action and horror had been well and truly crossed. 

Resident Evil: Revelations on the 3DS aimed to change this, and while I can't say that it really scared me, it was more enjoyable than some previous entries in the series. This lead to Resident Evil: Revelations 2, an episodic sequel that was also released on consoles. Critically, it has been doing quite well, but does it feel like Resident Evil? I found out when I played Episode 1 at the weekend.

Episode 1 is aptly named "Penal Colony," because that's where it takes place. Not before a lavish work party, though. It is here that we first see Claire Redfield, long-time character of the series. Claire first showed up in Resident Evil 2 looking for her brother, Chris (remember the guy that punched that rock in Resident Evil 5), in the chaos of the Raccoon City outbreak. Of course, she found Leon first, and they spent an amazing zombie-filled time together, with the diner and the truck crash and the "lickers." Good times.

Anyway, Claire now works for Terra Save, who specialise in protecting the world from acts of bioterrorism. She's not the only one on the payroll, either. Moira Burton, daughter of fan-favourite, Barry Burton, known for his beard, his magnum, and Jill sandwiches, has also just started. That means she's at the same Christmas party as Claire when all of the employees are abducted. Claire wakes up in a cell, understandably confused and groggy. Luckily, the cell door opens itself and she is quickly reunited with Moira. Then Episode 1 truly begins.

The first episode of Resident Evil: Revelations 2 doesn't tell the whole story (either in plot or in its full potential), but I wasn't blown away by its level of tension. For starters, Moira is along for the ride. She can either be switched to by the player, or controlled by another in co-op, neither of which leave you feeling entirely alone as in the first RE games. Capcom isn't quite moving away from their goal of action-orientated "horror" just yet, and considering reviews have been positive, I had assumed Revelations 2 was a step in the right direction. I didn't really get that feeling from Episode 1. 

Furthermore, movement and fighting tend to feel a bit clunky, mainly because you're forced into playing like you're in an action game, when you really shouldn't be. It feels like the series doesn't fit well enough within its own combined genre to keep up with itself. And, because of its closeness to the later games in the series, I had hoped that this might be sugar-coated by the cool finishing moves. No luck. Though you can press a button when an enemy (still closer to the majini/ouroboros making than classic zombies) is stunned. More often than not, though, they are knocked to the floor, rather than finished in the spectacle I had learned to love in Resident Evil 5. 

Quite similar to recent RE games are the puzzles, which are relatively simple and normally revolve around finding a missing item or restoring power to an area (at least in this episode, anyway). They're an expected part of the game, and I felt like they neither added nor detracted from the experience. They just were. However, I did think it was a nice touch to explore an area later with a different character, as I'd then have different items and abilities, giving me access to locked rooms and puzzle solutions that weren’t possible before. 

Different characters will be a regular occurrence, I'm sure, as Episode 1 featured 4 characters. The first two were Claire Redfield and Moira Burton, who can be switched between on the fly (or controlled by two separate players) and are used for different purposes. 

Claire has the guns, ready to shoot someone, or more likely something, between the eyes at a moment's notice. Moira, on the other hand, has a crowbar and a torch, and feels a little more useless. Her role in the team is to open doors and crates with the crowbar, whack anything that gets too close, and shine the torch at hidden objects or into hostile eyes to stun. She's not in enough danger for it to be tense, even when split up, but she's also not powerful enough to be cool. 

The second duo is more interesting. Barry Burton, the red-headed fan favourite previously mentioned, and Natalia, a little girl whom he finds when he arrives on the island of the penal colony. Needless to say, he's searching for his daughter. He somehow managed to get his hands on a call for help from Moira, sent from the colony's ancient comms system over six months ago.

While Barry brings the firepower, the mysterious Natalia is able to crawl through small spaces to access areas that Barry cannot, and also sense nearby danger. While I have no idea how she can do this, a faint glow shows when hostiles are waiting just out of sight. It is an interesting idea, but was introduced in an area where the undead were especially slow and unthreatening. Combine that with the fact that stealth kills were introduced, and I’ve never felt safer in a game where creatures want to eat my flesh.

Is it all bad? Not at all. While Episode 1 didn't reach the level of hype (and horror) I had been hoping for, it is undeniably fun. It was a great feeling to be back in the Resident Evil universe, and Capcom have at least added a few one-liners into the dialogue that refer to moments in the original games. For example, Claire refers to the infamous “Jill sandwich” line, to which Moira mentions that her Dad never stops telling the story. It was a nice touch, and momentarily bathed me in beautiful nostalgia. Here's another nice example:

Another section of Episode 1 that I was actually pleasantly surprised by was towards the end of the experience. I was playing as Barry, night had fallen in a forest setting, and I was faced with an entirely new opponent. While I won’t ruin what this opponent was, mainly because new creatures are one of the most enjoyable things about the series at present, it actually felt somewhat atmospheric. Now that’s a pleasant surprise. Sure, it didn’t last too long, but for a moment there it actually felt like Resident Evil.

At the end of the day, that is what I’m waiting for. While Capcom clearly isn’t ready to take us back to an entire experience that is truly tense and horror-focused, and gameplay often feels clunky and mediocre, Resident Evil: Revelations 2 – Episode 1 does have a few moments that reminded me of the games I once loved. The plot raises enough questions that I wanted answering, old favourites return alongside a couple of new characters, and I can’t deny that I had fun. A pretty mixed picture, I know.

Is this game worth getting? That’s the main question that every review should answer. Based on Episode 1, yes. If you love Resident Evil, even if you’ve tried to ignore the existence of the series’ most recent games, you will find something to enjoy here. It is relatively cheap, available on Steam, Vita and next-gen consoles, and can probably keep you entertained for a little while. However, don’t go in expecting this game to fix all of the problems that Capcom have created. 

They still don’t get what true horror is all about. Not like we do, right? After 100 days of these articles, you'd really hope so, anyway. That's right. This is my 100th horror game article in 100 days. Have you enjoyed it? I sure have. It's been exhausting, but rewarding, and I love horror just as much as when I started this personal challenge. Actually, maybe a little more. If you'd like to read through every single horror article I wrote in the last 100 days, you can find them right here. There's a healthy mix of news, previews, reviews, vague impressions, and terrified ramblings - so, something for everyone. I'm not going to stop writing altogether, though I'll definitely take a little bit of time off after this to spend at least a couple of evenings do absolutely nothing. 

If you've enjoyed any of these writings, and don't really want it to be over, please start a conversation with me on Twitter. We can discuss how many spelling mistakes you found, or what your favourite horror games are, or just become best friends. The choice is yours. 

Until then, thank you so much for reading. You're the best.