Shocktoberfest: Enter The Nightmare -- A Month-Long Journey Through The Horror Game Genre

When does this start?

Shocktoberfest begins on October 1st, and will last the entire month of October, ending at 11:59 PM on Halloween night.

What should I play?

Anything that falls under the classification of a horror game. Survival horror, action horror, a horror-themed FPS, anything with zombies, etc. In the interest of having fun, this can be more of a loose definition of what defines a horror game, and constitute anything that is more-or-less "horror themed". So games like Gears of War or even Luigi's Mansion are fine.

For me, it's very much the same outlook as Backlaugust -- I've got horror games in my backlog, and it's time to play them. How many games you want to play is up to you, whether that's just one game or a few games. Any platform, doesn't matter. They can be new games, old games. Even horror games you've already beaten long ago and want to replay. You don't have to choose all of your games up front; you can if you want, but it's fine to just take it one-game-at-a-time.

Who should participate?

If you:

a. Enjoy horror games
and/or
b. Have at least one horror game in your backlog
and/or
c. Plan on buying a new horror game (such as, I don't know, ZOMBIU!!!!!!!!)

you should do this.

The purpose of this is a little less about seeing how many games we can beat, but for everyone to share in the experience of playing something scary. A good horror game can be a tough thing to get all of the way through to the end, but with some moral support from the rest of the community that's going through the same thing, maybe we can all make it back into the light by November! That's what it comes down to -- having fun, and being scared shitless. And being scared shitless is a lot more fun when being scared shitless as a group.

One last thing -- for your fellow NW-er who hasn't played every game, try using spoiler tags whenever possible for anything major that's story-related, or just in general anything that should not be spoiled. So, "I can't believe Leon died at the end!" instead of "I can't believe Leon died at the end!"


Completed (18)



Kentucky Route Zero, Act 1 (Secret_Tunnel, 10/6)
The House of the Dead: Overkill (GameDadGrant, 10/7)
Dead Space (PogueSquadron, 10/11)
Kentucky Route Zero, Act 2 (Secret_Tunnel, 10/14)
Fatal Frame (TheBigG753, 10/17)
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (PogueSquadron, 10/20)
Dead Rising 2 (Zero, 10/20)
Dead Space Extraction (Mop It Up, 10/21)
Super Castlevania IV (Het_Nkik, 10/23)
Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (GameDadGrant, 10/24)
Zombies Ate My Neighbors (Het_Nkik, 10/26)
ObsCure II (r_hjort, 10/26)
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (Jargon, 10/26)
Resident Evil: Revelations (ludist210, 10/28)
ZombiU (Mr_Mustache, 10/29)
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly (TheBigG753, 10/31)
Project Zero 2: Wii Edition (r_hjort, 10/31)
Zero: Tsukihami no Kamen/Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse (Het_Nkik, 10/31)


LEFT 4 DEAD (10)

999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (Secret_Tunnel, in progress)
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (GameDadGrant, *has thrown in the towel*)
Dead Space: Extraction (chrisguy, through 5 levels)
Doom II (Pokefreak911, 12 levels in)
Resident Evil Zero (gojira, at the Training Facility)
TellTale's The Walking Dead (Zero, finished Episode 3)
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Pokefreak911, through Stone Tower)
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (Zero, finished first run)
ZombiU (gojira, Tower of London)
ZombiU (r_hjort, whack-a-zombie)


The Players (20)

chrisguy: Dead Space: Extraction
deathly_hallows: Cult County, Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
DrFinkelstein: ZombiU
GameDadGrant: Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir, The House of the Dead: Overkill, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
gojira: ZombiU, Resident Evil Zero
Hero_of_Hyrule: Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
Het_Nkik: Super Castlevania IV, Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Zero: Tsukihami no Kamen
Jargon: Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Dead Space, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
kriswright: ZombiU
ludist210: Resident Evil: Revelations
Mop It Up: Dead Space Extraction
Mr_Mustache: ZombiU, Castlevania
PogueSquadron: Dead Space, Castlevania 3
Pokefreak911: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Bioshock, Bioshock 2, Doom II
r_hjort: Obscure 2, Project Zero 2: Wii Edition, ZombiU
Secret_Tunnel: Dead Space 3, Kentucky Route Zero, 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare.
Shadowlink: ZombiU
Stephen: Alan Wake
TheBigG753: Fatal Frame, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, Fatal Frame III: The Tormented
Zero: Dead Rising 2, Castlevania (III or Adventure Rebirth), Virtue's Last Reward, The Walking Dead


LAST YEAR'S THREAD

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@ludist210

Oh, they actually improved the visuals in the console versions? The demo I played made the game look pretty much exactly the same. What else did they add?

@GameDadGrant

They're sharper, especially the character models.

@GameDadGrant

They're sharper, especially the character models.

You could say that again.

I type this out with a heavy heart:

Alexander Marshall is no more.


I let him down, I let his FAMILY down; running up the Tower of London to meet the Evac chopper, I encountered a Blighter with a BOMB?! on his back. I shot him, he exploded, the helicopter crashed, the chick yelled NOOO!!, and some LOSER replaced Mr. Marshall at the Safe House. On a Quest to recover my BOB, DEATH BECAME HIM. Yes; my Bag full of goodies carried by my MVS (Most Valuable Survivor) for hours upon hours vanished when my brand new Score of 30 asshole crumbled like a house of cards.


Now I've got some chick named Zara (who shares a name with an English bartender at our local English pub, The Old Toad. Huh!), and I am DETERMINED to go the distance with her. No, thats not a sex joke -- who can think about sex at a time like THIS?! The WORLD is at stake. Or maybe just London. I don't know yet. Anyway, I've recovered some of my weapons from their new "original" locations, and lucky for me there was an AK-47 in the dumpster right off the first manhole you discover. Check it. Now I must get some petrol to keep my now in-the-dark Safe House running.


Terrible night after that. For those who haven't played, losing a survivor in Zombi U REALLY takes an emotional toll.


EDIT- Please don't comment on the specifics of the chopper crash. I plan on doing a Survivor Mode sometime after I've finished this run, and I'll find out if there was anything I could've done then. Thanks.

@Mr_Mustache
It sure is traumatic to lose someone like that, isn't it. It blows my mind how invested you actually get in the characters despite them being little more than a randomized name and a face. My favourite survivor, 52-year old CEO Christopher Hunt also died from an explosive walker (it's some kind of gas canister on their backs) in the Tower, but that was in the watery dungeons below. I had never seen one before, and my flashlight was recovering from the wetness when the undead suddenly popped out from behind a corner, and I hit it out of pure panic.

Good old Chris had been with me since before Buckhingham, so I just sat and watched the screen in disbelief for a minute when he died. At least there was comfort in knowing that he didn't have to turn into one of them. Yeah, I know that's pathetic, but I really felt like that.

@r_hjort

Yeah, that makes sense. I guess its a little better. The last thing Alexander saw was his outstretched hand falling to the ground to brace his fall. Soooo, those gas canister guys.. Whats the scoop? Crossbow??

--AND WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURK IS UP WITH THE ELECTRICITY THINGS!? I had NO IDEA what was going on when I first encountered one (took down my Last Asshole); knocked out my Pad -- in the Tower sewer area -- so I couldn't tell where they were coming from -- OR WHERE TO GO SINCE I COULDN'T BLACKLIGHT SCAN --, and I eventually died in a stairwell like a minute later, freaking out and WHIFFING with my bat and bullets. Its been the most defeated I've felt the entire game (primarily because I lost Alexander's bag with that death, and secondly because of this VIVID CONFUSION). Just an awful, awful feeling.

@Mr_Mustache
No matter what weapon you use against them, anything but a clean headshot will set off the explosives, so you'd just better watch your back! If you listen carefully, you can hear their gas canister leaking a little bit.

The electricity things? Are you talking about the jammers, like the one on the pier?

@r_hjort

No, an infected who looks fully composed of an electrical current. Reminded me of something out of Metroid Prime 2..or Gremlins 2... I'm guessing its something similar to the ones that are on fire, but this one was EXTRA fiesty, and I didn't kill it. Now I'm wondering what I might've missed..

My Pad reacted as it did at the Pier though, yes.


--Back to before, when I went back out with Zara, I about PUKED when I realized where I was when I went down with Alexander. The music was hurrying me along initially, but I was THAT close to TWO barred doors next to a manhole. HORRID.

Made it through 6-1. Making good progress. I should finish before midnight on October 31.

@GameDadGrant

I could, but I won't...again.

GameDadGrant said:

@Het_Nkik

Whaa...? But Seth, you like, beat Ninja Gaiden on NES!

ZAMN must be really difficult if that game forced you to use Game Genie, but Ninja Gaiden didn't....

Ninja Gaiden has three last bosses and sets you back two levels when you die, but at least whatever boss you last killed stays dead. ZAMN has 4 forms to its last boss and sets you back 4 levels when you die. And you have to start the boss over from scratch.

That being said, I'm totally getting the urge to go back and beat it legit. It's just going to take a lot of practice and luck.

@Mr_Mustache
What you've missed? I'm wondering what I've missed now!

I don't remember anything like that being in the sewers of the Tower!! As far as I knew, they were introduced quite a bit later than that! Ooooo, now I want to go back to playing the game to see what I might have missed.

EDIT: @Het_Nkik I played the hell out of ZAMN on my SNES (and occasionally still do), and I remember using a certain password when I wanted to beat the game after not having played it for a while. No cheat code or anything, but there was this one password that started you off at a point where you could gather up a decent arsenal of first aid kits and weaponry for the big fight. It did require me to play through a number of levels before I got to the boss, sure, but it was easier in the long run as I remember it.

@r_hjort

I wrote down every continue password along the way. It's probably two passwords back, which is 8 or so levels back from the end. But the last levels are so stressful I don't really want to start that far back. I think if I use a guide and collect every item I can while hopefully minimizing damage starting from the closest to end password I have, I THINK I can do it. Maybe.

@Het_Nkik
I recently compiled all the passwords from various games I jotted down as a kid in a book, so I could check which password it was, but like you say it's probably two passwords back. You can definitely do it from the last password though, there's obviously just less potential items for you to collect along the way.

@Het_Nkik

I really don't think thats true.. I just did it last year, and when you get back to fight Ryu's Dad, you gotta fight him again. Every time. Did I miss something? Did YOU miss something??

@r_hjort

There was definitely one there. I had NO idea what was going on. Resilient SOB's..
(if it DID play by the same rules as the Fire Guys though..Capacity Upgrade? Hmm. Didn't get a chance to scan..)

And I keep replaying Alexander Marshall's death in my head. I should've just chucked a grenade and shut the door!!

@Mr_Mustache
Pretty sure you're wrong on this one. Here we go, found a youtube video of an average player instead of someone showing off their sweet skills.



At 10:45 Ryu dies on Jaquio after the fight with his dad. At 20:17 Ryu finally makes it back to the boss room and it goes straight to the Jaquio fight without the dad fight again.

And if you die on the alien/demon thing fight, when you get back to the boss room, it goes straight to that last boss as well. But obviously the guy in the video is still better than me because he didn't have to do that.

@Het_Nkik

I dunno...I don't think he's better than you! You gotta believe in yourself, brother.

Maybe you're right though.. I thought you had to at least fight Jacquio again. HMM. Maybe my game hates me.

Yes..thats it.

@Mr_Mustache
The only electrically charged infected I'd seen up to that point was the punk rocker type that attracts other infected by screaming and unleashing its charge, like the one outside of supermarket in Brick Lane. Did the one you encountered kill you, or just get you disoriented enough for others to kill you?

Going to start Episode 8 this weekend of Revelations (Wii U) this weekend. Managed to survive up to this point, but other than the rifle, Jill is critically low on ammo.

Put in quite a lot of horror gaming today.

First I went back into Obscure 2, and managed to get out of the area I was in after four frustrating attempts at convincing my AI partner not to feed himself to the monsters. The next area was thankfully more puzzle-heavy than action-filled, and I managed to not only heal up the two previous characters but also find two full health bars worth of replenishing items for later. The two remaining characters that were available were still close to being dead, but I didn't have to use them much, so that felt OK.

Still, the difficulty of the game remains ridiculous. The few enemies that were in this new area jumped me immediately after I entered the room they were hiding in, and I don't mean that they came running at me from a few feet away, oh no -- the entire group was waiting right by the door, and their attacks came so quickly that the sound of my characters screaming in pain came before all of the game's graphics were displayed properly. That's not cool, I have to say.

I quit after I had gotten myself squished by the next boss, which was yet another showcase of the game's weird decisions. Apparently the script required me to fight the boss with two particular characters, and since I hadn't used them together for a little while they were both in bad shape and not properly equipped. Despite this, I managed to beat the first phase of the boss, but now I was forced to fight the second phase (which was identical to the first one) using two characters that I hadn't used for friggin' hours, characters that were in desperate need of healing and proper weapons, and that I had no chance of equipping before the battle. Getting real tired of your shit, Obscure 2.

I also tried some Project Zero 2: Wii Edition, mainly to see if I had transferred my save file to my Wii U properly, and I'm as impressed with that game as I ever was. Despite the fact that it was still daylight outside, the game made me truly uncomfortable. The sound design in that game is fantastic, the graphics are actually really pretty -- and not just for being a year old Wii game either. Loooooove Project Zero.

Lastly I went into ZombiU just because I wanted to whack zombies over the head. So I did, and it felt good.