Visage (Arthritic Granny Escape)
Finally, through all the years that have passed us by since the cancelled release of Silent Hill’s heavily praised and also terrifying ‘P.T’, something sufficient stepped up to the table, filling the endless void of longing. The games called Visage, and it emerged into life by Indie development team SadSquare Studio in a bold attempt to parallel what made horror games like ‘P.T’ so frigging magnificent. Yes, it has a creepy little girl in a white dress, devastating stories of tragedy, trippy-ass shadows and illusions… Literally everything a psychological horror nut-head needs to rock his socks, all while avoiding most of those despicable clichés.
In Visage assume the role of “Dwayne Anderson,” experiencing whilst also discovering the miserable history of prolonged domestic suffering in an eerie dwelling. The game is split into chapters, each portraying an individual harrowing story of the house’s past residency. Visage does an excellent job of making the player uncover its depth, ensuring nothing is simply handed out. Characters are interesting and tragic, all retaining some human touch. One creepy is called “Delores,” a clammy, grey, ill, old woman who terrorizes you during your depressing descent. When she’s not doing old people things, she can be found peaking from corners, watching you while laughing and randomly ambushing you with an alarming soundtrack of a freaking clock ticking (adrenaline pumping, I know). The game’s puzzles are generally clever, but unfortunately its early accessibility makes it difficult at times to differentiate gameplay mechanics from blatantly frustrating glitches. Hopefully you freaks can still appreciate this game for what it is though, a terrifying horror experience. Do the work of an early access survival horror ‘connoisseur’ and chew around the bugs, you might actually find yourself invested in the story and enjoying yourself for once.
Written by The Moore of Babylon
Visage
SadSquare Studio (developer, publisher)
4.3 / 5
