REMOTHERED: BROKEN PORCELAIN
A disappointing follow-up that squanders its best ideas
Certain horror fans will stay up late, combing through Silent Hill 2 video essays in the hopes that someone might give them a new reason to love what is already their all-time favourite. I know this because I’m the horror fan and suspect the developers of this sequel-prequel might be too – though the Clock Tower series is clearly their one true love.
But as games with an enduring cult following go, the clear comparison for us is famously bannedin-the-UK Rule Of Rose. This isn’t purely because of Porcelain’s themes or distinctive sense of style, nor even the fact it too follows an unlucky girl named Jennifer but because, much like Rule Of Rose, it is only technically playable.
Your introduction to the Ashmann Inn begins promisingly enough as you’re treated to a complementary helping of mystery alongside the out-of-time atmosphere of its halls. Jennifer herself is a refreshing protagonist, an outspoken bad girl who deviates from the meek and mild standard set for horror game heroines before her.
But then comes the true meat of the action: stalker sequences. Creeping towards a telephone in a bid to call for help, you have to take care that your footsteps are drowned out by the furious stitching of your stalker’s sewing machine. However, the illusion of a better game is shattered when the AI reveals it is totally unprepared to fight fair.
INN AND OUT
For starters, the stalker’s hearing is super-human and Jennifer is often detected long before she gets close to her objective. For another, stalker behaviour is unpredictable, making it difficult to plan your approach or effectively manage resources. Frustratingly, the sound design is no help either and makes it almost impossible to get a read on where your pursuer is after they disappear from your line of sight.
To end stalker encounters quickly, you’re supposed to sneak up behind and stab them in the neck before running for a hiding spot. When caught, Jennifer can use up a defensive item and get some damage in, but at a much reduced rate compared to a sneak attack. Unfortunately, stalkers move too quickly for you to get the drop on them, so more often than not this reduced damage will be your only option and the whole sequence becomes needlessly drawn out. This is exacerbated by the fact stalkers
“FAR TOO MANY DEATHS FEEL UNFAIR, AND THE CONTROLS ARE UNRESPONSIVE.”
have a nasty habit of stunlocking you or backing you into a corner, making far too many deaths feel unfair. This isn’t helped by the fact the controls are woefully unresponsive and Jennifer sometimes forgets how to run for a few seconds after being hit. And it’s all rounded off by poorly communicated objectives and puzzle elements for maximum frustration.
THEM’S THE BREAKS
And yet, despite this nightmare of broken and just plain bad game design, something compelled me to return right up to the end credits. For series fans, this follow-up both recontextualises Tormented Fathers in an interesting way and offers closure for prior protagonist Rosemary Reed’s story. The distinctive, Gialloinfused flair is brought forward too. But the most pleasant surprise was a sweet love story between two young girls that pushed all my buttons before wrapping everything up with an emotionally compromising bow. It’s a fittingly tragic ending that, for all the frustration leading up to it, still managed to get me all misty-eyed and for the most part avoids burying any of its gays.
Alas, these successes are in spite of itself. An awkward script works together with a convoluted mind-control plot to muddy the few bright spots. Furthermore, the story drapes additional uncomfortable layers of implication over the last game’s most controversial twist. We can’t fault this title’s ambition but too often everything it throws at the wall fails to stick.
VERDICT
While this bug-infested horror doesn’t quite inspire us to grab the fly swat, we can’t recommend this in its current state. However, its few bright spots draw us like a moth to a flame. Jess Kinghorn