Frightence (Xbox One, 2022)

Frightence

Developed/Published by Playstige Interactive

Released for Xbox One (3/8/2022)

Also on PC/PS4/PS5/Switch

Enhanced for Xbox Series

 

Intro

I've always enjoyed a good horror movie or game, but over several decades of indulging in the genre I've found that you often have to encounter several poor products in order to find some of the overlooked gems. Frightence comes to us from Playstige Interactive, a developer that we've never played anything from yet. They're a mysterious group that have mostly released games for the Playstation and Switch platforms, but in 2022 they expanded their horizons and started releasing games on the Xbox, with Frightence being their 1st game on the platform. The game promises a short but intense first-person experience, so let's dig in and see if it can live up to its self-proclaimed intensity.

 

Story/Concept

In Frightence, you play as a janitor that is who works at an infamously nasty apartment. This is your last night working here as the building has been given an eviction notice. Your task is to search every resident's flat in order to make sure the building is empty. This is actually a good premise for a horror game and had me hoping for something along the lines of Condemned, but unfortunately this game can't even touch that classic but it was also produced by a small team with a fraction of the budget so we'll try to cut it some slack (and to be fair few games match up to Condemned's superb atmosphere). So Frightence has a solid premise, let's check out the rest of the package to see how it pulls it off...

The Undead Syndrome (XBLIG, 2012)

The Undead Syndrome
Developed by MukagoSoftware Development
Released for XBLIG (7/2012)
Also on PC

The Undead Syndrome feels kind of like a B-horror movie turned into a video game, where the low-budget aspect of it really shows in the overall gameplay and presentation. It's hard to deny that there is a sort of charm to the sloppiness that is The Undead Syndrome, and I found myself wanting more whenever the trial expiration screen came popping up. The game is obviously inspired by Japanese horror classic Silent Hill and it retailed for just a buck (or 80 Microsoft Points). As a fan of horror games, this was a no-brainer for me and I must say this is easily Mukagosoftware Development's best work for XBLIG that I've played.

The Undead Syndrome opens with a cinema of a female character getting stabbed by a mysterious man. You then wake up in a sort of nightmare world playing as the same female you just saw get murdered. As you navigate the strange environment, which appears to be a Japanese-style house with many rooms, you'll end up having to backtrack quite a bit and regardless if you've cleared a room of enemies previously they'll respawn every time you re-enter the room. This isn't as bad as it sounds due to the fact that the game has a leveling system, so you'll be rewarded with XP for killing enemies. The objective of the game is to kill three boss monsters, but in order to reach them you'll need to do some exploring in order to find the keys to access the areas they reside in. You'll learn a bit more about your character's story as you progress, but the game leaves the ending on a "to be continued..." note. Thankfully the sequel was released and we'll cover that here in the near future.

After starting you'll soon unlock your offensive ability, which allows you to use ki to blast energy orbs from your hands. Using the attack will consume a meter and when it empties out you can't shoot anymore. Your ki meter will slowly recharge on its own and can be sped up by using ki recovery items. In addition to these, you have an inventory where you can store items to replenish health, antidotes, keys and stones. Your character has five slots where you can place these stones into implants, one in each hand, two in the chest and one in the head. Placing various stones in certain spots unlocks certain benefits and it's fun to change these around as you pick up more of them throughout the game. Some of them can give you a 25% protection from being cursed or poisoned and there's one that will increase your character's movement speed (a must use!).

You'd think with a title like the Undead Syndrome that you'd be facing off against flesh-eating zombies, but instead you'll encounter strange monsters that look as if they're from a feverish nightmare or another dimension. The enemy AI isn't the smartest, nor do they come in many varieties, but what's here decent and they're strange enough to make the game at least a bit unsettling. Similar to the Silent Hill games, whenever you enter a room with enemy presence it will be indicated by an eerie ambient sound. Your attack takes quite some time as it has to charge before you can aim it, making it a problem when the developers pack multiple enemies into a small space. There are safe rooms containing shops and beds you can use to save your game and replenish your meters which you'll want to use often as death can come quite swift and unexpectedly at times in the Undead Syndrome. There are also shops where you can purchase stuff like health and ki recovery items. The inventory space provided for your character is a bit small, which means you'll frequently have to mess with your inventory to make space for new items.

The graphics in the Undead Syndrome may not look so hot considering the console generation, but compared to your average 3D XBLIG game they're quite adequate. On the plus side, with the simplistic visuals the game loads up very fast, but the downside is that your character looks a bit like an action figure moving about. The inventory system, controls and combat are a tad clunky, but the game is short enough that it didn't have much of a chance to irritate me. While obviously low-budget, the Undead Syndrome can be fun if you don't mind a short and flawed game.

Final Verdict: The Undead Syndrome is a short but enjoyable horror title with a low-budget feel and strange environments that has quite a few problems, but horror fanatics might still want to give it a look.

Related Links:
Mukagosoftware Development - Xbox Overview
The Undead Syndrome - GameFAQs
The Undead Syndrome Review - TheXBLIG.com
The Undead Syndrome Review - Mash Those Buttons
Mukagosoftware Development - Official Site
The Undead Syndrome: Low-Budget Horror - YouTube

The Town of Light (Xbox One, 2017)

The Town of Light
Developed by LKA
Published by Wired Productions
Released for Xbox One (6/6/2017)
Also on PC/PS4

Originally released for PC in February 2016, the Town of Light was ported to both the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One in June 2017. Powered by the Unity Engine, the game has players navigating an abandoned mental hospital in Tuscany, Italy. The developers state that it's based on extensive research and inspired by real events.

In the Town of Light, the player assumes the role of a 16-year-old girl named Renée,  who was a former patient at the hospital back in the 1940's. As Renée you'll explore the now abandoned hospital, searching for answers from the past and recollecting several memories of where she spent her youth. Sometimes these pop up as images, but mostly it is described in narrative. The hospital is a large facility, so there's a lot of ground to explore making it easy to get confused as to where or what you're supposed to do next. Luckily, guides are easy to find out there but it shows that the Town of Light is a bit more open-ended than your average walking simulator. There are a couple points in the story where your decisions will branch the story off a different path, helping to add a little replay value for those who want to play again.

Graphically, the Town of Light presents a detailed environment for you to explore with a decent amount of interactivity, but there are some issues here for sure. There's a filter over the screen at all times during the game that makes it look as if you're looking through some lenses that could use some cleaning. This definitely made me double-take on several occasions to make sure my TV wasn't dirty. It really stands out in the bright outdoor segments and is something I would've liked an option to turn off. There's also quite a bit of graphic pop-in that occurs, particularly noticeable when walking around in the large outdoor areas. The framerate struggles to maintain in quite a few areas, even while playing on an Xbox One X. The game definitely doesn't keep any kind of consistent frame-rate, but with this being a simple walking simulator it's not game-breaking, just a bit annoying. These issues aside, the environment looks good with lots of detail.

While the Town of Light is not your traditional horror game, some of the events that Renée experienced while locked up in the hospital are indeed quite horrific. In particular, the methods used to lobotomize patients back in the '40's were quite disturbing, involving shoving a tool up into the brain through the patient's eye. There are also some sexual themes as our character recalls her lesbian relationship with one of her fellow patients throughout the story. It's nothing too explicit, but I know how people are sensitive to this kind of thing so just a heads up. Sexual themes in general have always had a strange reception in America, but that's a different rabbit-hole to jump into another time. If you want a darker walking-simulator game, particularly one that deals with psychology in the old days, give the Town of Light a go. I'd recommend waiting for a sale due to the short length of the game, but it's worth a shot.

Final Verdict: Those into psychology, especially the history of it, will definitely find something to like with the Town of Light. It's dark and emotional, as a game about one afflicted with a mental illness should be.

Purchase Links:
Buy the Town of Light - Microsoft Store

Related Links:
The Town of Light - Official Site
LKA - Official Site
Wired Productions - Official Site
The Town of Light - GameFAQs
The Town of Light - Wikipedia
The Town of Light - True Achievements

The Long Reach (Xbox One, 2018)

The Long Reach
Developed by Painted Black Games
Published by Merge Games Ltd.
Released for Xbox One (7/2018)
Also on Linux/Mac/PC/PS4/Switch/Vita

The Long Reach is a 2D adventure/horror game presented in pixel graphics. Unlike your standard horror title, you have no way to fight back against the vicious murderer. This means you'll have to run and hide in order to avoid being killed. The game feels like a slasher film in several regards, so if you're a fan of those types of movies you might want to have a look at this one.

The Long Reach takes place in science research facility, where the crew are performing some dangerous research. Due to funding limitations, the crew were forced to use themselves as test subjects and are injecting themselves with experimental drugs that are intended to enhance one's abilities in various ways. The crew begin suffering from hallucinations and are beginning to lose their sanity. This is when the dead bodies began turning up...

The character you control is also suffering from the same hallucinations as the other crew members, so there are a couple parts where you're transported into some crazy scenarios. Along the way you'll still find a few living crew members, though most of them have gone mad. You'll have dialogue options to select from when speaking with them, some of which will have different replies. It's a nice touch how none of the dialogue choices are highlighted when presented to prevent accidentally choosing one while speeding up the game text.

A certain crew member has completely lost it and is roaming the facility. You'll know if he's in a room thanks to the footstep indicator you'll see as he approaches. If this guy sees you, he'll chase you down and will put an end to your game if he catches you. There are a few designated spots, such as lockers and vents, where you can hide from the killer if you're quick enough. This will allow you to safely pop back out and go about your business if done properly. If caught and murdered you'll be sent back to the last checkpoint, some of which seem a bit further back than they should be. For instance, in one area where the killer will frequently chase after you the checkpoint sends you back to a lengthy dialogue segment you'll quickly grow tired of viewing.

While at its core the Long Reach is a horror game and there are several parts of the game where you'll be running and hiding for safety, a good chunk of the game will be spent exploring the environment, finding objects and then figuring what to use those objects with. It's similar to point 'n click games, where often the solution isn't the most obvious choice but can be discovered by just trying everything. This means there's quite a bit of trial and error gameplay here, and unless using a guide you'll likely find yourself stumped on more than a few occasions.

As already stated, the graphics in the Long Reach are presented in chunky 2D pixels. It looks nice overall and like many games sporting this graphical style, it manages to be simple yet detailed at the same time. There are some nice scrolling layers in the backdrop to convey a sense of depth. Lighting sources and darkness are also well represented here, so there's not much to complain about in the looks department. Sound design is rather minimal, but it works in the games favor to add to the tension and atmosphere. Controls are simple as well and movement feels fluid. The run button is easy to use as is the inventory. Objects that can be interacted with in the background are highlighted in yellow, making it easy to see what to do. Overall, the game does a solid job in the graphics/presentation/controls departments.
 
If I had to complain about something it would be that the initial loading screen is a bit lengthy for such a simple-looking game, but even that's a bit of a reach (maybe even a long reach). The Long Reach is a short game and can be completed in just an hour or two if you know what to do. If you play the game blind with no strategy guides it will easily last you somewhere between 4-8 hours depending upon how quick you solve some of the puzzles. While a bit on the short side, the Long Reach is good fun while it lasts and is an enjoyable combination of adventure/horror/slasher genres. The game features a solid atmosphere, a crazy killer and a creepy story involving an experiment gone terribly wrong. The running and hiding segments reminded a bit of the old Clock Tower games, so if you enjoyed those or slasher horror you'll find something to like with the Long Reach!

Final Verdict: The Long Reach is a solid adventure-horror title that's a bit short in length, but is a good time while it lasts. If you like slasher horror than give this one a look!

Related Links:
Buy The Long Reach - Microsoft Store
The Long Reach - GameFAQs
Merge Games - Official Site
The Long Reach Game - Official Site
Painted Black Games - Official Site

Strategy Guide/Walkthroughs:
The Long Reach - True Achievements
The Long Reach Walkthrough - PlayStation Trophies
The Long Reach Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (XBLA, 2007)

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Originally Developed by Konami
Port Developed by Digital Eclipse
Published by Konami
Released for XBLA (3/2007)
Also on PlayStation/Saturn
Backwards Compatible on Xbox One

Originally released for the Sony PlayStation back in 1997, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night stood out for delivering some of the best 2D visuals in a time when the emphasis was on 3D graphics. The game looked amazing back then and due to the detailed sprites the graphics have held up much better over time than most games of the era. Symphony of the Night was quite different than the Castlevania games that preceded it. The game no longer consisted of linear stages but featured a massive map that allowed the player to explore on their own. There are of course areas you will not be able to access initially, but once certain items, relics or powers have been obtained you'll be able to discover areas you couldn't get to at first.

At the time of its release, Symphony of the Night was a top-tier game in presentation, featuring detailed sprite graphics with an incredible Castlevania soundtrack. The enemy diversity is impressive, featuring many favorites from previous titles and tons of new entries. While the game technically takes place in one giant castle, there is excellent variety between the sections of the castle that will keep you wondering what you'll come across next. There is a small amount of 3D mixed in with the 2D sprites at several points within the game but it is well executed and they fit together wonderfully. This was one of the first instances I recall seeing 2D & 3D graphics used together like this and was quite impressive back in the day. The voice acting is almost as cheesy as the original Resident Evil, but it's definitely part of the game's charm.

Symphony of the Night features some tight controls, making it easy to navigate the environment with minimal frustration. The game still features the knockback when you get hit and flying medusa heads knocking you around is just as frustrating as it ever was, but the controls are improved from the previous games and your character is very well equipped to take on danger. There are eight different spells that can be discovered, which can be executed by inputting Street Fighter style joystick + button combinations. In addition to your weapon and special attacks, there are also sub-weapons at your disposal. Several of these are old classics, like the dagger, holy water, axe and stop-watch, but there are also several new additions to the series including the cross, holy book and the arguen. There's a good variety between the sub-weapons, though some of them are certainly more useful than others. Using your sub-weapon consumes your hearts, which can be replenished from whipping candles found all over the castle in traditional Castlevania fashion.

There is a ton of stuff to collect throughout Symphony of the Night, including weapons, shields, armor, cloaks and relics. Certain relics will allow you activate a familiar which will follow you around and assist in different ways. There are five in total: fairy, devil, sword, ghost and bat. Other relics you collect will grant buffs to certain stats, giving the player a good incentive to search every nook and cranny to find some of the more powerful items. As you progress further into the game, Alucard will gain the ability to turn into a bat, wolf and mist. The mist will grant you access through certain blocked walls and the bat will help reach high areas, but to be honest I never found much reason to use the wolf form outside of accessing a secret area. The fact that the game offers so much in the way of customization makes it fun to replay while experimenting with different loadouts.

If you complete the normal castle while meeting certain conditions, you'll gain access to the second half of the game where you run back through the castle upside-down. The enemy layouts have changed completely and there are all-new bosses to encounter in order to keep things interesting. Complete that mode and you'll be able to start a new game as Richter Belmont. Playing as Richter is a bit more like the old Castlevania games as you no longer level-up, nor can you equip weapons and items. Richter is also armed with a whip just like all of the previous Belmonts, and other than the whip the only other weapon you'll be able to use are the sub-weapons. Being able to play as Richter is an awesome bonus and makes the game feel fresh on a replay.

While Symphony of the Night is a great game and a definite classic, there are a few things worth griping about, both with the original title and with this port. It's arguable how useful some of the sub-weapons are as some of them are definitely more effective than others. Alucard will become over-powered rather quick as you find and equip new weapons & armor. Certain weapons pretty much break the game, such as the shield rod and Alucard shield combo, but there are many other options to equip if you'd like a bit more of a challenge. The inverted castle could be looked at as a somewhat lazy way to pad out the game, but the developers did at least take the time to introduce new enemies and boss fights rather than just recycling from the normal castle.

The annoying process of dying, having to view the game over screen, return to the title, select your hard drive and to reload your save has carried over, though you can at least access the pause menu to exit quickly and speed things up a bit. The screen starts out small, and though the game does offer the option to resize the screen, for some reason it doesn't save this setting and requires you to re-adjust the screen every time you play. The only other option for the visuals is an "enhanced" setting which basically just smooths the pixels out a little bit. I've read complaints from other players having issues with the game freezing, but I never ran into any issues in my time spent with the game.

There were several new features added in for the Japan-only Sega Saturn port, including new areas to explore, some bonus weapons/equipment and you could unlock Maria as a playable character. Sadly, none of the Sega Saturn exclusive features were included in this port which would have been awesome considering how expensive it can be procuring anything Saturn-related these days.

It feels a tad lazy that Digital Eclipse just ported over an emulation of the original PlayStation game without giving us much in the way of extras. That's not to say that this is a bad version or anything, as the actual game is emulated well and plays just as we all remembered it. A little extra in the way of content would have been nice, if not the Saturn content mentioned earlier than at least like some unlockable concept art or something. While Symphony of the Night was never my favorite Castlevania game (I prefer the old linear games personally) it is still a fantastic game that has held up remarkably well over all these years. This is a solid port of an old classic, whether you're re-visiting the game or playing it for the first time it's a much more financially-friendly way to play the game than purchasing the original on PlayStation.

It's also worth noting that this was released for the Xbox 360 on a physical disc and can be found in the retail release Konami Classics Vol. 1. Inserting this disc into your Xbox One will allow you to download the game onto your hard drive.

Final Verdict: While the XBLA version is a bare-bones port, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night still stands as a fantastic title that kicked off the "Metroidvania" genre. A 2D classic and a steal for $4.99!

Purchase Links:
Buy Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - Microsoft Store
Search Konami Classics Vol. 1 - eBay

Related Links:
Some Handy Maps For Both Normal Inverted Castles
Symphony of the Night Achievement Guide - XboxAchievements.com
Symphony of the Night - True Achievements

8-Bit Adventure Anthology: Volume One (Xbox One, 2017)

8-Bit Adventure Anthology: Volume One
Developed by Abstraction Games
Original Games by Icom Simulations/Kemco
Released for Xbox One (10/2017)
Also on Linux/Mac/PC/PS4

8-Bit Adventure Anthology: Volume One features the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) versions of three different point & click adventure classics: Déjà Vu, Uninvited and Shadowgate. These were all originally developed by ICOM Simulations and released for the Macintosh in the '80's. Kemco Seika would later port these titles over to the Famicom/NES, and these ports are the versions offered here in this collection. The games are all presented in their 8-bit glory, pretty much exactly how you would have played them on your NES back in the day.

When you first boot the game up you'll be greeted with some nice chiptune music and a menu where you'll choose which game you'd like to play. There is also a settings menu which allows to use a few different filters and adjust the volume. The available display options are CRT, old TV, terminal and black/white filters. Saving and loading your games are done within each title, giving you the option to come back later and resume from where you left off (this was still a pretty rare feature back in those days).

Gameplay-wise, all three titles in 8-Bit Adventure Anthology play similarly and feature the same user interface. On the bottom of the screen you have a list of commands, the upper left shows the current location and the upper right shows your inventory. While these games obviously play most intuitively with a mouse, Kemco Seika did a commendable job setting everything up for a controller, especially considering how long ago these were released. The cursor movement still feels a bit clunky, but there aren't really any quick reactions required that make it much of an issue. The analog stick moves the cursor quickly while the d-pad is slow making it easy to line up your pointer. I found the analog stick difficult to use and the d-pad, while slow, definitely made everything a bit easier. There are also some shortcut commands new to this version, making it easy to quickly open doors and move without having to access the open and move commands at the bottom of the screen.

Déjà Vu begins with your character awakening in a toilet stall with blood on his hands and complete amnesia. The story will slowly unravel as you explore the environment around you. There's some excellent chiptune music, which is important as you will hear the same handful of songs repeatedly throughout your time with the game. There's not much for sound effects except for a few here and there, but the music does a good job of setting the mood. There's a good variety of locations to explore and lots of items/people to interact with. The game is a bit easier than the other two featured in the compilation, but is still quite challenging if not resorting to a guide or walkthrough. The game is also a bit more grounded in reality than the other two games and I feel is a good entry point for somebody who wants to check out these style of games.

Uninvited has your character start out in a crashed car with his sister missing. Now it's up to you to explore the area and find out what happened to her. The game features some unsettling music and some genuinely creepy moments. Some of the puzzles here are a bit tough and I don't think I'd ever have figured some of these without a guide. There's quite a bit to see and do in this one and I always enjoyed figuring out what the next gruesome way to die would be. The game deals a lot with the supernatural, and your character will even learn spells he can cast in the game! This one's a good time and there are some gruesome deaths you can get yourself into.

Shadowgate is the third and final title included in the anthology, and this is another one that's really tough to crack without a guide of some sort. I remember thinking this game was impossible as a youth when I only had access to a few hints in an issue of Nintendo Power. Now playing through it with a guide makes it feasible, but it's pretty insane the amount of stuff the developers assumed the player would be able to figure out. One unique feature to Shadowgate is the fact that you have to carry around a lit torch and if at any point the torch goes out you die. It sounds much worse than it actually is, since there are ample torches available for pickup and even if you die you can just continue from the previous screen with a freshly lit torch. This is yet another solid port from Kemco and probably the hardest, most involved of the three.

These point 'n click titles were a niche genre back when these originally came out (especially on the NES) and still remain as such to this day. I think most people can tell pretty quick if they're going to have the patience for these types of games. These being such text-heavy games also require the use of your imagination quite a bit and I know that's something many people just don't want to mess with these days. However, if you're the type that enjoys a good retro point 'n click adventure you definitely want to get this one! I'm interested to see if they intend to release a volume two of this anthology, and wonder what could be included? Deja Vu 2 was ported to the Game Boy Color later on down the road, so I suppose that's a possibility.

Final Verdict: If you're looking for some 8-Bit point 'n click adventure style retro gaming goodness, 8-Bit Adventure Anthology Volume One should fill that void.

Related Links:
Buy 8-Bit Adventure Anthology - Microsoft Store
8-Bit Adventure Anthology - GameFAQs
Abstraction Games - Official Site
8-Bit Adventure Anthology Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements

Dead by Daylight (Xbox One, 2017)

Dead by Daylight
Developed by Behaviour Interactive
Published by Starbreeze & 505 Games
Released for Xbox One (6/2017)
Also on PC & PlayStation 4

Dead by Daylight is a game I really wanted to like. It's a multiplayer title that pits four survivors against one ruthless killer. On the mission I played, the survivors were tasked with starting up several generators, which I'm assuming if we'd succeeded we would have escaped alive. Unfortunately, the killer took us down one-by-one, despite all of our best efforts to help each other out. After losing while playing as a survivor, I was ready to try my hand as the killer. Here's where the major issues with this title begin, as the game froze while loading the match. I figured maybe it was just a freak occurrence, so I restarted the game and attempted to join another game as the killer, only to have the game freeze on the loading screen once again. Tried a hard reboot of the system in order to clear the memory cache, still froze at the loading screen. Deleted and re-installed the game, still froze at the killer loading screen. The fact that this game was cleared for release absolutely blows my mind! Half of the game doesn't even work and it's the half that most gamers would be interested in playing.

The fact that the game has two publishers involved makes it even more confusing and makes me wonder if anybody even play-tested the X-Box version of this port! It looks like it could be a fun game if it functions properly on PC or PlayStation 4, but I recommend to stay far away from the Xbox One version. It also makes me wonder why Microsoft is letting broken games like this make it to the store. I always liked Starbreeze as a developer but this doesn't bode well for the efforts as a publisher. It was well after two months since the game had been released when I tried to play it, and if the developers can't get their product even halfway working by that point then perhaps they should try making a more simple type of game. If you've somehow managed to play as the villain on the Xbox One port of Dead by Daylight, leave a comment below as I'm interested in hearing if this ever gets fixed.

Final Verdict: Dead by Daylight is a broken product that should have never made it to the digital store in this shape. Don't waste your money on this one!

Related Links:
Dead by Daylight - GameFAQs
Behaviour Interactive - Official Site
Starbreeze Studios - Official Site
505 Games - Official Site
Dead by Daylight - Microsoft Store