Retrospective: The Last of Us

The third in my horror retrospective series is Brandon on the PS4 exclusive that took the gaming world by storm: The Last of Us. All of the photographs throughout the article were taken by him, to see more of his work check out his Instagram page. 

The Last of Us for me, was and still is one of my favorite horror games to date.  The game starts you off in such an eerie setting, that it's kind of indescribable, post apocalyptic maybe?  The raw emotions that were introduced in the beginning, eventually chaining themselves along with the many unforgettable npcs you encounter through your journey, is phenomenal.

I have followed this game from the first time it was announced to today.  It has been one of my go to horror games to say the least. The originality of the infected are also something to behold. From the recently infected humans , to the fully covered with 'no sign of humanity left' clickers and bloaters.

Fun fact:  The game's infection is actually a real life fungus, the same effect it has on humans in the game, it has on different species of insects and arachnids, scary right?  No worries though, there has never been any instances of the cordyceps fungus infecting humans in real life ever recorded.

The Last of Us will always be to me, one of the best games ever to hit the gaming market. If you have yet to play this game this you are dreadfully missing out.

Retrospective: Resident Evil HD Remake

Here is the second post on the horror retrospective. These were originally going to be in one article like the International Woman's Day feature, but due to the quality of what I received I decided to post them separately,  giving each virtual photographer their space to shine. 

Here is Gaming_kweenz on Resident Evil the HD remake. A game that will also always have a special place in my heart. The addition of Crimson heads was terrifying and seeing my favourite series, original feature get a beautiful re-skin was beyond a gift. 

Resident Evil is definitely my favourite horror games. I feel that it is an underrated gem of the horror genre. It is a classic that really captures the true meaning of survival horror. The lighting is used perfectly to set the eerie atmosphere. Throughout the game you are constantly on the edge of your seat because of the unique fixed-camera angle. Due to the slow pace of the game the tension always slowly builds and enemies often catch you off guard. 

Resident Evil was one of the first games I ever played. It filled me with a range of emotions from excitement to being instantly terrified. 

Due to this I now have a little dark corner of my heart reserved just for the Resident Evil games. 

Retrospective: Alien Isolation

With the release of Resident Evil 3, I took some time to consider my experiences in horror gaming and contemplated knocking a post together about it. After some thought I decided that instead I would choose some standout people within the Virtual Photography community to share their favourite horror game instead. This is the first in a line of retrospectives from the VP community. Have a favourite classic, wish to share your memories? Contact me and I shall give you the platform to share your shots and tales here.

Today we have Rusty with his favourite horror game Alien Isolation. All of the atmospheric photographs throughout the article were taken by him, to see more of his work check out his Instagram page. 

I’m amazed it took until 2014 for us to get a survival horror game based on Ridley Scott’s classic 1979 sci-fi/horror film, Alien. After all, video games are the perfect medium for the genre, being more immersive than movies. Alien: Isolation not only manages to be a fantastic horror game, it also lovingly recreates, and adds too, the iconic retro-futuristic look of Alien.

The game takes place on Sevastopol Station, a world gone to hell due to the presence of something horrifying. We know that something is the Xenomorph and the game plays on this, expertly building suspense. When he finally shows up and begins hunting for you, the tension is immense. It remains that way for large sections of the game, although you do get moments of relative calm and safety that help avoid burnout.

None of this would work effectively if the A.I wasn’t up to scratch, as nothing kills tension like frustration. Luckily the Xeno comes across as intelligent, but beatable. If you’re careful, quiet and use your limited tools well, you can remain undetected and progress, in the knowledge that the alien won’t just pop-up out of thin air. The AI can be unpredictable too, which leads to some wonderful dynamic game play and unscripted jump scares.

I do have a couple of issues, the first being that no horror game has any business being this long. The section where you go for a space-walk certainly feels a lot like padding. Amanda Ripley is also a fairly bland protagonist, reacting to a series of increasingly horrifying events in a way that no rational person ever would.

It’s still a brilliantly tense horror experience, in a beautifully realised, lived in world, that’s dripping with atmosphere. I’d recommend it to any survival horror fan, but particularly those who love games like Amnesia: The Dark Descent.