Spookvember: Dead by Daylight

Dead by Daylight
Generator Fixing Stalk 'Em Up
5 Players
System: PS4
Developer: Behaviour Interactive
Year of Release: 2017

I saw a lot of negativity thrown at Dead by Daylight, specifically the PS4 version. Even still, the game appealed to me in a major way, even after learning all you do is run around restarting fucking generators. I just kind of forgot about it until the spooky season fell upon us. A friend wound up picking it up, and that was all it took. Immediately I was immersed in a world of stalking serial killers, hide and seek, and some clunkiness.

Spooktober: Wytches vol 1

Wytches vol 1
Written by Scott Snyder
Drawn by Jock
Published by Image Comics
Released 2014

You know when you wait on something, and it's something that deals with a topic you typically love a lot. Inevitably hype builds up internally, without ever even realizing it. That's what happened with Wytches for me. I haven't read much Scott Snyder, but I hear almost universal praise for his recent runs on Batman, which I still have yet to check out. I also hear universal praise about this book, with people claiming it's actually terrifying at parts, and with a title like that I know the subject matter is something I'm particularly keen on. So does it manage to live up to my hype that I typically try and avoid having? Well..

Spooktober: Shaun of the Dead

Shaun of the Dead
Genre: Zombie Parody
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield
Released: 2004

It's weird that when I first watched Shaun of the Dead I didn't really care for it. Even putting aside my love for the zombie genre, especially then in it's hey day, I'm just kind of disappointed in myself for not enjoying a thoroughly entertaining and, mostly, clever movie. Of course, I quickly grew an appreciation for it over the course of several rewatches, thankfully.

Spooktober: Halloween III Season of the Witch

Halloween III Season of the Witch
Genre: Irish Robot Cult Horror
Directed by: Tommy Lee Wallace
Starring: Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkins, Dan O'Herlihy
Released: 1982

I guess you could argue that massive disappointment can be horrifying. With that in mind, I guess this movie is a fine way to kick off the season. Oh shit, I just gave away the ending.

Cinephilia: The VVitch A New England Folktale

The VVitch A New England Folktale
Genre: Supernatural, Horror, Period Piece
Directed by: Robert Eggers
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie
Released: 2015

Blair Witch was doomed to fail. The whole gimmick of "this is actual found footage" unraveled almost immediately, and without that aspect a lot of the impact was lost. Found footage is a dead genre in my honest opinion, the whole premise is almost always just going to irritate viewers and even if the climax gets interesting it almost never makes up for the inane opening bits. The VVitch is nothing like Blair Witch, but it manages to capture that eerie feeling of something living out in the woods.

Spooktober: Freddy vs Jason

Freddy vs Jason
Directed by: Ronny Yu
Starring: Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger
Released: 2003

A burnt child murderer vs an immortal super strong mentally stunted lad. Not much of a match up. After rewatching this movie with a friend I described it as an unfortunate child of it's time, and I think that's the best way to put it. Freddy vs Jason is an interesting movie, that could have lead the way for more fun horror crossovers, but didn't. Jaws vs Terminators! C'mon!

Spooktober: Misery

Misery
Directed by: Rob Reiner
Starring: Kathy Bates, James Caan
Released: 1990

While I'd known of this movie through references for years I'd never sat down to watch it. I was pretty sure it would appeal to me, but it's just one of those movies that I never went out of my way for. I was a fool.

Spooktober: The Devil's Rejects

The Devil's Rejects
Directed by: Rob Zombie
Starring: Sheri Moon Zombie, Sid Haig, Bill Moseley
Released: 2005

I remember when I saw the first trailer for this movie and was immediately enticed. I believe I watched this first, then went back and watched Rob Zombie's earlier House of 1000 Corpses, which, like all of his other movies, was terrible. Somehow though, The Devil's Rejects shines through in all of it's absolutely disgusting splendor.

Dem Bones: Into the Echoside

Into the Echoside
Dark Carnival Themed Deck Building Game
2-4 Players
Playtime: Under an hour, usually
Designer: Jumpsteady, Louis Simpson, Tom Wood
Publisher: Psychopathic Records
Year of Release: 2016

Surprisingly the Insane Clown Posse has had multiple forays into the world of games prior to this. Penedulum's Promise was a fairly rudimentary tabletop RPG. Morton's List, the end to boredom, was, well really just a big list where you rolled a die to see what you and some friends should do that day. The Quest for Shangri-La is this big mysterious entity to me that is way out of print and I think was drawn by one of the members of the group. And now Into the Echoside, a deck building game. I may have grown disillusioned with the band years ago and don't really enjoy their new music, but after getting really into the band and the "lore" they created for around five years I can't deny I have an affinity for that universe. Of course I had to pick it up.

Dem Bones: Dead of Winter

Dead of Winter
Zombie Survival
2-5 Players
Playtime: 30 Minutes to 2 Hours
Designer: Jonathan Gilmour, Isaac Vega
Publisher: Plaid Hat Games
Year of Release: 2014

It takes a while to stop dying in Dead of Winter. It took my group about five or six games before we actually won at all, much less with any frequency. It has an interesting learning curve, we honestly aren't sure what we're doing much different. For me at least I respond to problems as they come up while focusing on the group's current needs and being as stingy with items as possible. I thought that's what I did when we first started playing. But no. We usually wound up getting torn to shreds by the hoards of the undead.

Games I Beat: Until Dawn

Until Dawn
Story Driven Horror
1 Player
System: Playstation 4
Developer: Supermassive Games
Year of Release: 2015
Beaten: September 2nd, 2016

I don't technically enjoy this game. Until Dawn isn't really a game though. The bits I enjoyed were the same sort of bits I enjoyed in Telltale's Walking Dead series. Getting to take part in a movie is an interesting experience, but unfortunately it doesn't have any staying power. Being worth experiencing while not necessarily being worth owning can pose a bit of a problem. Although Red Box exists, but I've never used one and don't know how quickly games get removed from their catalogs. This is weekend rental movie, game, is what I'm trying to say.

Games I Beat: Dark Souls III

Dark Souls III
Action RPG Lore 'Em Up
1-3 Players via summons
System: Playstation 4
Developer: From Software
Year of Release: 2016
Beaten: April 29th, 2016

Dark Souls has quickly ascended the ranks and become one of my absolute favorite series, including precursor Demon's Souls and spin-off Bloodborne. There's just something about the world From Soft has managed to craft that speaks to me, even the least liked of the series, II, was an amazing game in my opinion that I played through several times. This is one of the few series where I say "fuck it" and purchase the outrageously expensive collector's editions (glad I skipped that "Estus" Prima guide bullshit though) because of just how much I know I'll connect to these games. Even at their absolute worst they provide an interesting world with fun, engaging combat. Dark Souls III is no different

Summer of Screams: Salad Fingers Where's May Gone Act 1

Salad Fingers Where's May Gone - Act 1
Point and Click Adventure
1 Player
System: PC
Developer: Geg Games
Year of Release: 2015
Available Here

Salad Fingers is an incredibly odd phenomenon. My group of friend stumbled upon in him back in early high school, and it's quirky style was right up our mostly demented alley. David Firth is the man behind Salad Fingers, and while Salad Fingers and his lust for rust is thoroughly entertaining, he has done some other really great, creepy, off the wall short cartoons that I truly adore. You can find it all on his website, Fat-Pie. Sadly I'm not here to talk about David Firth and all of his off beat creations. I'm here to talk about a very strange, seemingly fan, effort to turn Salad Fingers into a video game. On the one hand I'm certainly not against the idea, especially not in the form of a point and click adventure game, but from the get go things seem amateurish.

Summer of Screams: Wanpaku Graffiti - Splatterhouse

Wanpaku Graffiti - Splatterhouse
Horror 'Em Up
1 Player
System: Famicom
Developer: Namcot
Year of Release: 1989
Beaten: July 4th, 2015
Translation: http://www.romhacking.net/translations/212/

Splatterhouse, a horror beat 'em up series, is a series I didn't get into until it was all over actually, a new one came out for the PS3/360 several years after the entry prior to that and sadly it seems like it didn't sell well enough for Namco to keep the series going. A damn shame, but like the terror mask itself, the series could see another resurrection someday. The PS3 entry is the one that I first played, and I absolutely loved it. There were some frustrating moments, but for the most part the game was delightful. Odd use of the word I suppose. The first three games in the series were all collected on the new version which is amazing, so I was able to play almost the entire series. Wanpaku Graffiti is a Famicom exclusive game with a strange "SD" take on the franchise. "SD" meaning super-deformed, basically chibi. If it's all gobbledegook to you, it just means it's a cutesy take on the series, a well established horror series. The result is surprisingly great.

Summer of Screams: Luigi's Mansion

Luigi's Mansion
Who Ya Gunna Call Action
1 Player
System: Gamecube
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Year of Release: 2001
Beaten: A while back

As a launch title, and the first "real" game starring Luigi (Mario is Missing! preceded it, but I'm not sure if Nintendo really recognizes that game) Luigi's Mansion was honestly a bit of a let down. I wish I could say I saw past the weird premise and was looking forward to the game, but worse than any negative feelings towards the game I was wholly apathetic. Eventually I wound up playing a friend's copy and realized just what a pleasant game awaited. Years later, and out of seemingly nowhere, a sequel came out for the 3DS. While it changed the overall game progression a bit the same ghost vacuuming action was left intact.

Summer of Screams: Through the Woods

Through the Woods
Written and Drawn by Emily Carroll
Published by Independent
Released 2014

Fun fact, I've had a fully written and edited blog entry for a non-WTF comic book finished since March. I haven't posted it for some fairly idiotic reasoning revolving around how I want the picture of the cover to look. Needless to say I am throwing all that concern out the window to write about this comic. I'd never really heard of Emily Carroll before I discovered this delightful little bundle of stories. Apparently she makes creepy comics and posts them all the time on her website. If you're interested, check it out.

Summer of Screams: It Follows

It Follows
Directed by: David Robert Mitchell
Starring: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto
Released: 2014 (Cannes)/2015

Like any good horror story, I can't really recall where I heard about this movie from. After looking it up on Rotten Tomatoes my interest was split, while it had high ratings, the description was a little iffy. "After a strange sexual encounter, a teenager finds herself haunted by nightmarish visions and the inescapable sense that something is after her." I'm so glad I decided to give it a go. It seems a little odd to say, but this awkward little movie is a contender among my top favorite horror movies.

Summer of Screams

Hullo all, after a month away I'm ready to get back into this blog. I finished up another term of school, and have just been relaxing since. Unless a job opportunity presents itself I'm looking at a couple of months of free time, and that will hopefully show here. Weirdly, I've been really in the mood for some spooky scary skeleton type of stuff, horror films, comics, games, whatever. Usually I like to wait until October to celebrate Halloween with spooky stuff, but at this point I'm beyond human reason. So through August expect sporadic posts about spooky scary skeletal horror material that sends shivers down your spine.

As per usual I don't have too strict of a plan heading into this, but I'm going to post normal blogs alongside any Summer of Screams entries. Like I said, I could talk about just about anything if it's spooky scary at all, and I have something to say about it. I already have a few really good ideas in mind as I just watched and read some pretty spooky things. If anyone happens to read this and knows of some good horror stuff I'd love to hear about it! If it's really unknown I'm more likely to write about it, but I'm sure there are plenty of more mainstream horror goodness I've managed to avoid somehow.

Thank you so much to anyone who reads and enjoys this blog! I hope you enjoy my romp down horror lane, hopefully we survive the trip!
-Adam

Games I Beat: Bloodborne

Bloodborne
Action Adventure
1 Player/Limited Multiplayer
System: PS4
Developer: From Soft
Year of Release: 2015
Beaten: May 7th, 2015

Bloodborne, the reason I picked up a PlayStation 4. I remember those first few moments I played of this at a friend's house, getting my ass kicked and feeling like none of my copious hours of experience with previous Souls games (yes this isn't technically part of that series, but come on) had transferred over to this one. That was the first of many shades of Demon's Souls I felt whilst playing. Eventually I managed to get over that initial difficulty spike, having adjusted to the new mechanics and made my way through Yharnam, purging the beasts from the land. I can't say it wasn't worth going through the trouble of purchasing a new system, but I don't know how much I'll find myself wandering back onto those crowded streets.

Games You Should (Maybe) Play: State of Decay

State of Decay
Zombie Apocalypse Simulation
1 Player
System: Xbox Live Arcade
Developer: Undead Labs
Year of Release: 2013
Beaten: January 2nd, 2014

In a move risking the integrity of this series in just the second entry I present to you State of Decay, a game you MIGHT want to play. While originally I meant for this series to showcase only truly outstanding games, I'm making a special case for this one due in part because I beat it so long ago and writing it as a "Games I Beat" entry feels disingenuous, more importantly though since reviving this blog I've talked plenty about Nintendo games, and a decent amount of Sony with a smattering of PC gaming getting mentioned too. Aside from other legacy consoles Microsoft was the only one getting the shaft on the console side of things. I've been meaning to make up for that for a while now, I have an unpublished document on here called "xbox games", yeah not even capitalized or anything. The list is... pretty small actually. A lot of the games I truly loved on Xbox were multiplatform, and I didn't want to represent a console based on a game that you can get somewhere else (ironically most of my Sony games are also multiplatform, but I argue that I started off with exclusives!). So we come to the State of Decay, an interesting, though flawed, experience unlike most similar games.