matt-cohen
Latest
Snapshot: Paranormal
This is a Snapshot, a quick, un-scored review of a game we think you should know about. I have a problem with "found footage" horror movies. No matter how good they are, almost all of them end the same way. Whoever has the camera gets attacked by something, and the camera falls to the ground, inevitably on its side. Either you get a final glimpse of the pretend cinematographer as their life ebbs away, or you get to hear their off-screen cries of agony as some unseen terror eviscerates them. It's not that the device doesn't make sense (how else could it end, really?), it's just not a very satisfying way to wrap up a story. It's abrupt and disappointing and, at this point, trite. What indie horror game Paranormal has taught me, however, is that all of that changes when the camera is placed in your own virtual hands. The tired movie trope suddenly becomes interesting – and you can't yell at the idiot with the camera, because the idiot is you.
