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The real horror of 'Until Dawn' is that Sony sent it to die
"Are we, like, in a movie right now?" It's an apt question one of the handsome teens starring in PlayStation 4's latest exclusive, Until Dawn, asked about an hour after I picked up the controller. Yes. No. Maybe. It's kind of hard to explain, and it appears Sony would rather not. At its core, Until Dawn is an interactive teen-horror movie (think '90s genre staples Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer) set at a remote ski lodge where a murderous psychopath is on the loose. But after critics almost universally chastised Sony's other AAA tentpole, The Order: 1886, earlier this year for its gorgeous but bland cinematic leanings, "interactive movie" is a label the gaming juggernaut would rather not bandy about here. In fact, Sony would prefer you not pay attention to this game at all. It's getting no love from the company's marketing department and was weirdly absent from this June's E3 media briefing. And that's a damned shame because Until Dawn is one of the best horror experiences -- interactive or not -- I've ever had.
'Calendula' wants to be a weird mix of 'Twin Peaks' and 'PT'
Why would anyone play a game that doesn't want to be played? It's a question with an answer, though it may be buried within the spastic, terrifying scenes of Calendula, the game in development at Blooming Buds, a small studio in Madrid, Spain. Developers describe Calendula as a game with roots in experimental art and classic horror, taking inspiration from famed thriller TV series Twin Peaks and PT, Hideo Kojima's spooky demo for the PlayStation 4. Designer Aleix Garrido says that Calendula aims to break classic video game conventions and the fourth wall in one weird blow. It all begins with a question posed by Calendula itself: How do you play a game that doesn't want to be played?
'Five Nights at Freddy's' movie lands the director of 'Poltergeist'
If you're hoping that the movie adaptation of the Five Nights at Freddy's games will get the director it deserves... well, we have mixed news. Deadline understands that Gil Kenan, best known for helming Monster House and the Poltergeist remake, will both direct and co-write the big-screen tale of animatronics gone very, very wrong. Kenan is definitely in the right genre and might be well-suited to Five Nights' fondness for jump scares and suspense, but his critical track record suggests that you aren't going to get a horror master on the level of John Carpenter or Wes Craven. With that said, the man mostly needs to capture the spirit of the titles -- the movie doesn't have to be a tour de force to reward loyal fans.
Play horror game 'The Flock' before it shuts down forever
The Flock is a competitive horror game attached to a ticking clock. Every player is a monster collectively called the Flock, and they're all after the Artifact, a light-filled item that transforms whomever holds it into a new creature. The goal is to hold the Artifact for the longest stretch of time, fighting off Flock monsters with the object's light. Here's the tick-tock twist: For every player that dies, the Flock's population number drops by one. When the population hits zero, no new players will be able to purchase the game. Only people who already own The Flock will be able to participate in the "climactic finale," and once that's done, the game will go offline permanently. No one will be able to play it again.
Highly anticipated horror game 'SOMA' hits PC and PS4 in September
Acclaimed developer Frictional Games has fully taken the wraps off SOMA, it's super-hyped new sci-fi horror title. The company, which built it reputation on terrifying first-person games like Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Penumbra, that focus on atmosphere, exploration and hiding (a lot of hiding). And you can expect more of the same from SOMA apparently. In the first extensive gameplay trailer released an unnamed protagonist wanders around what appears to be an abandoned factory, talking to a robot that thinks its a person, redirecting power through the crumbing facility and generally avoiding a frightening robot that's not terribly unlike the Big Daddies from the Bio Shock series. We won't spoil all the fun though. You can watch the full video after the break and pick up the game on September 22nd for PC and PS4.
Turn your home into a haunted house with AR game 'Night Terrors'
You're home alone. It's the dead of night and all of the lights are off; you creep down the hallway with one hand dragging along the wall, your phone serving as a makeshift flashlight. You hear a young girl's voice whisper from the bedroom in front of you and the hair on the back of your neck stands up straight. You pause. Your heart pounds. A dull ringing assaults your ears. You creep forward, holding the phone higher, when suddenly -- a high-pitched shriek as your phone's light starts rapidly flashing and a deformed, undead monster barrels down the hallway directly toward you. You drop your phone. Game over.
Horror sequel 'Five Nights at Freddy's 4' is happening on Halloween
Five Nights at Freddy's is a terrifying game series about gruesome murders, dead children and haunted animatronic creatures a la Chuck-E-Cheese meets Poltergeist. Yep, it's everything awful about your childhood nightmares, sprinkled with a dash of dehydrated parmesan. Good news, disturbed youth: Five Nights at Freddy's 4: The Final Chapter is happening and it's due out on Halloween. Five Nights at Freddy's has seen rapid success since its debut in August 2014, thanks in large part to YouTube's gaming stars, who are always up for a good scare. The series, created by Scott Cawthon, has done so well that Warner Bros. recently picked up the film rights and is working on a movie. Fingers crossed for a feel-good rom-com.
The slow, unsettling burn of Owl Cave's indie horror
Owl Cave popped onto the indie scene in 2013 with a macabre, witty point-and-click adventure called Richard & Alice, which received a slew of rave reviews. Studio co-founder Nina White specializes in crafting vaguely horrific stories packed with tension, and her latest creation, The Charnel House Trilogy, is no exception. It's a subdued brand of horror: no jump scares, no boogeymen under the bed, no demonic children with long, limp hair crawling out of the TV. Charnel House takes place on a train and tells the stories of three passengers over the course of a single night. "For me, horror's all about the creeping dread, the slow, unsettling burn," White says. "It's this sense of unease and discomfort that I really like playing around with when crafting horror stories."
Cult horror franchise owner seeks indie dev for new 'Condemned' game
Condemned is coming back. Maybe. A few days ago, former Monolith Productions (Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, No One Lives Forever) boss Jace Hall posted something very interesting to Facebook: He wants to find an indie game development team to pick up the reigns of his Xbox 360 cult-classic franchise, Condemned, and make another game where you battle supernatural creatures and deranged hobos. He owns the rights to the horror franchise, but despite consistent demand, he's too busy with other projects to work on a new game himself. Thankfully for Condemned fans, Hall's got a plan.
Chaos Theory: These are a few of my favorite Secret World things
There's a lot about The Secret World to like. So much so, in fact, that you just can't name it all in once place! I've had to split talking about the best parts of this conspiracy-laden masterpiece into a number of different Chaos Theorys, from my favorite first moments to amazing NPCs to fabulous places to favorite missions. Even Massively's Justin Olivetti chimed in with his favorite characters. But not even that can cover it all. That means today I'll tackle another topic: my favorite things. TSW has a plethora of little gems scattered throughout the game that enhance the play experience and attest to the level of detail put into development. And I'll totally go all Julie Andrews and sing their praises, hilltop or not. I only have so much room, however, so these are my top choices; be sure to add your own in the comments below!
DayZ has sold over 3 million early access copies
DayZ has been on Steam early access for over a year now, and what does the post-apocalyptic zombie sandbox have to show for it? Well, over 3 million customers, for starters. A new Bohemia Interactive press release touts the 24 updates the game has seen since its "launch," and it also mentions ongoing improvements including a core engine rewrite begun in 2014. The new engine is called Enfusion, and it includes renderer upgrades and corresponding performance upticks as well as "vastly improved" particle effect aesthetics. Bohemia also notes that the DayZ dev team now boasts over 80 people. [Source: Bohemia Interactive press release]
Infestation producer: The War Z was a 'terrible choice of a name'
Infestation Survivor Stories (previously known as The War Z) Executive Producer Sergey Titov has penned a post-mortem on Gamasutra about the game's launch in 2012, noting how inviting the comparison to DayZ worked against the project. "That said, The War Z was a terrible choice of name, as it naturally invited comparisons between our game and DayZ," Titov admitted. "We made a big mistake in not listening to the vocal minority of our community who thought the name was terrible [...] Beyond not listening to the community, we were also very arrogant in our public communications. We should have taken more care to communicate how and why this was not a DayZ clone, citing specific differences in both design and conception. Instead of saying to ourselves 'Oh well, haters gonna hate!' we should have tried to understand where the hate was coming from and address it." Another key mistake that Titov and his team made was engaging in an "arms race" to get The War Z to Steam before DayZ, which resulted in its being yanked from that platform due to misrepresentation of the existing game features. Even with these missteps, Titov said that Infestation sold 2.8 million copies, and of those, over half logged at least 50 hours of playing time apiece. You can read Massively's hands-on impressions of this title from 2013.
Chaos Theory: Opening up Tokyo and why else I'm a Secret World fan for life
I may be a lifetime member of The Secret World, but more than that, I am a lifetime fan! Why? It's not because I live and breathe the game; I don't need to play daily for hours on end to truly appreciate its qualities and what it brings to the MMOverse. But there are plenty of reasons that TSW has earned my loyalty, not the least of which is demonstrated in Joel Bylos' recent game director letter. Tucked in between talk of the 2014 content and the upcoming improved new player experience is this little gem: The team intends to open Tokyo up to all players! Beyond the story and the events, it is how the team constantly focuses on bringing customers a genuine experience that remains true to the spirit of the game. Is everything about The Secret World perfect? Not at all. There's plenty of room for improvement and added content. But I feel confident in the direction, and the following reasons are why I will continue to champion this gem.
Funcom announces Anima Well Wednesdays for TSW
Funcom has announced a new Secret World event series called Anima Well Wednesday. What does it entail? It sounds like the content will vary. Community manager Gray "Tomium" Hogan says players can challenge Funcom reps in the fight club, "train 400 mobs to us," or kick back and ask questions of various unnamed guests. To join, send a meet up request to Tomium or Sezmra every Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. EDT.
DayZ fan film lacks zombies, still feels like DayZ
DayZ creator Dean Hall tweeted his appreciation for a new fan film based on his popular zombie-flavored open world title earlier today. And why not? The flick is a believably bleak meditation on the game's dog-eat-dog post-apocalypse, even though it doesn't feature a single zombie. Click past the cut to give it a look!
Chaos Theory: A guide to TSW's Christmas Conspiracies event
Silver bells, Krampus and Hel, It's Christmas time in The Secret World Ring a ling, hear them scream, Soon you will see a Christmas play! Ahh, it's the holidays. A time when other games pull out the stops on cute and cuddly, flinging festive colors and joviality about like Christmas confetti to make a joyous celebration. Then you have The Secret World. In TSW, the season is dark, twisted, and fiendish; nightmares are brought to life, and conspiracies worm their ways throughout even the most revered of traditions. And we wouldn't have it any other way! I always wonder how on earth the devs are going to top themselves each new event, and this season's Christmas Conspiracies definitely does not disappoint! From the story to the puzzles, this mission chain fits right in. It even incorporated my favorite new element introduced this year -- music -- and literally makes you play for your reward. Want to experience it? You've got until January 5th to thwart the conspiracy and collect all the treasure you can. (Of course, even if you have done the two previous Christmas' events, you'll want to do them again just to get the special goodie bags!) Here's a not-quite-a-guide to help nudge you through. As always, I won't offer a direct step-by-step walkthrough but instead will just drop hints (in italics) to help you along. That said, here's your warning: There will be spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk! If, however, you want even more spoilers, watch Massively TV tonight, December 25th, at 9:00 p.m. for a Stream Team walkthrough special.
The Secret World's Christmas Conspiracies event takes the stage
What's Christmas without a clown and a chainsaw? Nothing -- if you're in The Secret World. The game that excels as conspiracies has turned one into a holiday event for players to unravel. It all starts with attending a show at London's Albion Theater and winds its way through gathering clues and solving Musical "Magic Flute" puzzles, even discovering Old Saint Nick's tomb. And what's a Christmas without gifts? TSW offers new pets like an undead polar bear, funky hats, and more outfits and costume pieces -- including a carrot nose -- in the Rucksacks of Saturnalian Delights. The bags are rewards for finishing the holiday missions as well as available in the item shop. As during the Halloween event, players who purchase a special bag (this time the Bag of Wassail) in the shop to share with players will be rewarded with an all-new dance. As in years past, previous holiday events are also live and running. However, the launchpad warns players that the End of Days event is currently experiencing issues and the team is working to resolve them.
The Daily Grind: Do single-player games give you a craving for MMOs?
I made a dent in my Steam backlog this month, and one of the older titles that I finally got around to beating was Alan Wake. This has nothing to do with MMOs, really, except for the fact that the game's creepy atmospherics and its focus on the supernatural made me want to fire up The Secret World. What about you, Massively readers? Do your single-player adventures ever give you a craving for a particular MMO? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Secret World's killer clown is coming to get you
Some Funcom fans are getting a nice present in their email today: a ticket to play The Secret World for free for a month. "You will die. Because, hey, that's what happens when you play an MMO where killer clowns are after you. Fight back! Play The Secret World for FREE this Holiday season," reads the promo. The freebie 30-day codes in the emails are apparently valid if used by January 15th and include experience potions as well as $5 worth of points to spend in the cash shop. It's currently unclear whether the promotion is for former subbers or just everyone who has a Funcom account.
The Secret World nerfs Tokyo mobs and buffs rewards
Players struggling to progress through The Secret World's Tokyo zone will now find it a more pleasurable experience, thanks to today's hotfix that makes mobs easier to kill while increasing rewards across the board. Mobs in Kaidan will now have reduced damage and health, making them easier to kill. Better yet, TSW is increasing AEGIS XP from containers, lowering the cost for memory expansion modules, and giving AEGIS peripherals as part of the Issue 9 and 10 story missions (and will retroactively award these to players who have completed them). [Thanks to Tyler for the tip!]
