Sorry if you’ve already seen this, uploaded it a while back but ended up removing it. However, in the past few days there’s been a lot of traction on my gaming content, so I wanted to keep the momentum going, enjoy.
I loved this video and all your gaming vids Kelly my boy however I must admit the chubby I gained from the excitement of a new vid from my boy but sadly I have seen this :( either way glad you put it back up! Don't take them down these are great and I love your take on games give me more!!!
I was thinking of buying this game for a long time but I was still wondering if it was worth it and scary. Now I just want to buy it and experience it myself.😎
Dolores chapter hit me harder then all the other stories honestly. All of the symbolism relates to dementia and her slowly losing her memories. The 3 paintings in the closet showing a head getting slowly more empty reminded me almost instantly of Caretakers "Everywhere at the end of Time" album covers which follow the same theme. Speaking of that album, that's how I learned that apparently music is one of the last things to go from your memory when you are succumbing to the final phases of dementia, So the staircase part where you are just trying to follow music and trying random nonsense doors is showing how her memory is almost completely gone at this point, and she dosent even recognize her own home anymore. The whole house become slowly more distorted until it becomes completely nonsensical and impossible to recognize, save for a few key things like her baby's crib. Idk the theme of dementia is really heavy and honestly terrifying, and I think the game did a lot of good symbolism in that chapter.
I know nothing about this game; but watching this, I was puzzled at the idea of Dolores even having a baby at all. She has dementia...surely her children are grown adults by that point. I wonder if the parts of the crib toy are scattered because that old crib hasn't seen use in decades, but Dolores is so far gone that she doesn't recognize she doesn't actively have an infant.
@@bluesonicstreak7317 I believe they made her look the way she did because her mental illness has affected her so severely by that point that she looks more aged than she is. That, and they wanted to make her look like Lisa from PT. The husband references taking care of the baby multiple times before he is murdered so the baby is really there.
@@bluesonicstreak7317 That's probably the case. Probably only remembered specific memories in the past about her baby. So the crib is important to her.
@@bluesonicstreak7317 Not all memories are the same. For instance I don’t remember many parts of my childhood but I do have a shockingly clear memory of the first time my mom yell at me. Btw no I didn’t have a bad mother just that piece of memory just stood out. In any case depending on when the dementia started going full swing and when she had the baby its entirely possible she lost all memories of her child but of the ones when they where a baby. Assuming they did grow up. Dementia isn’t the most understood subject. Granted, memories in general are a fickle beast. Or so I heard… I don’t know… I forgot.
I've played the entirety of this game fully with its achievements, the wardrobe part is meant for people who are trying to collect all the Russian dolls.
So funny enough, Rakan was in a mental hospital because he thought he was being monitored MkUltra style, it's unclear whether or not he was right, but at the end he succumbs to his delusion (or the sheer terror of having been right) and he eventually perishes scared and alone. This is all worse considering that Rakan's story is based off of the true experiences of someone the devs consulted.
I believe The talking kitchen scene is supposed to be related to Delores It honestly made me truly feel something more than anything else in this game because at first it was funny until I realized that this is part of Delores’ schizophrenia and I immediately got sad
@@cracinlac923 yeah that may very well be but I think the tone of the game is different plus when you really look at some of the worst case scenarios of people with schizophrenia, talking furniture fits
I love this game. I also enjoyed this review so take my comment as just commentary and not a critique. This game most definitely has its fair share of problems but I actually really like Dolores chapter and here's why: Everybody complains about how frustrating it is to play through Dolores' chapter and yet nobody makes the connection that the chapter is about dementia. Feeling lost in your own home, losing things that "were just right here" and on and on... It's like Rakans fear of being watched and the eyeballs, but way more subtle. Similarly, Lucy's battle with mental illness and medication had her so disoriented that she couldn't tell her parents from her demons. The knocks in the closet at the beginning of the chapter are the same as the knocks on the bathroom door at the end.
This game is severely underrated, and it's a shame. I've played the Roblox adaptation of this game first, liked it, watched some gameplay of it, liked it even more.
I remember nearly every major TH-camr (especially the ones who specialize in horror) were playing this game when the first two chapters dropped, but then nothing more came of it after that. I had thought the game had been left unfinished until recently.
When it comes to dealing with ghosts. I feel like the game should have take inspiration from Echo Night. In Echo Night you turn on the light to get rid of the ghost. With some reworks that's what they should have done. For example events like suddenly all lights in the house turn of and you start hearing the footsteps of a ghost and you desperatelly look for the light switch
The mask could represent something arguably more unsettling and sad. The house could be representative of the chaotic and unstable basis of living with intense trauma and/or mental illness. Mental health and substance abuse are very common topics in the game, and the 'good' ending being one in which the protagonist assembles and wears a mask before being able to rejoin their family could be a narrative on the necessity of hiding the internal struggles or trauma and mental illness, to maintain relationships, and some level of normalcy. It works with the other endings too. Being unable to cope with or handle these issues, and being trapped/lost to them (the house) or just ending it all. Way more depressing if you interpret it that way, imo.
Given that the colloquial term for presenting a false demeanor to others while distressed is called masking, I lean heavily in the direction of this interpretation. There is no good ending, to me. Just one where you harm yourself by suffering in silence and one where you harm others and end yourself. And without the option of support and help, the one ending naturally leads to the other.
That. That right there is what makes Visage a masterpiece. There aren't debatable interpretations because it checks off the list of required things in a horror game. It's debatable because it's well written.
I had the a similar thought. All I could see was masking. Putting on a mask to go to his passed family made me think of masking to escape a forced hospitalisation with the intent to pass away after leaving.
I forget what other TH-camr did it, but there was a theory out there that the issues are tied to an old IRL military experiment involving secretly putting psychotic drugs in the water. The game itself subtly references this and implies the MC worked on it, suggesting many of the hauntings where people driven insane by the drugs in the water, and the MC driven to depression and guilt over having worked on the project.
Isn't that also the premise of the movie Jacob's Ladder? I remember hearing that it was an inspiration for the Silent Hill series, so it kind of makes sense.
I think you’re probably thinking of Gaming Harry. He did an excellent video on Visage going into all the MK Ultra stuff. He does a game plot explanation series called Lore and Order which is brilliant.
Lucy's chapter was the original story, the first one they created, and was featured in the demo/beta. That's probably why it happens to be the longest and most drawn out, because the developers were pumping so much effort into it from the start, that they forgot they were also supposed to make the other chapters. They always intended on adding more since it was a beta build, but their ambitions with Lucy superceded future plans and they spent more time on it than they should have.
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The most interesting part to me was the very very subtle hidden MK-Ultra plot with Dwayne. Connecting those dots was mind-blowing
@@burdenuner9084 Before he lived in The House, Dwayne worked in Chemistry in some capacity and was approached by the CIA to work on MK-Ultra. At some point they task him with putting LSD in the local water supply. Everyone who lives in the house (and even the neighbor Rose) is affected by the LSD which explains their hallucinations, which at first the game makes you think were paranormal events. This eventually leads to their deaths in various ways until Dwayne and his family move in, for some reason which is not explained, and due to guilt and possibly LSD poisoning he starts losing it and well if you've played the game you should know the rest. You only find out Dwayne's story if you play all the VHS tapes, and do all their associated quests. Gaming Harry did a good video explaining it better than I can.
Ever played Fatal Frame? I recommend Fatal Frame 3, personally. Sweet combination of atmospheric haunting AND a mechanic allowing you to fight back using your camera obscura.
I watched this the first time you uploaded it, but it was well worth a second viewing. Glad to hear your gaming content is picking up traction. I like your fake martial arts series, but your other stuff is equally interesting. Keep up the good work.
Rakan's chapter actually made me think of social anxiety. The fear of being watched, the paranoia of being judged at all times, of being caught doing sth wrong (which can just also be just existing). Wanting to hide even when among people, looking down so you don't meet your eye, so you don't have to interact with them.
Game is definitely scary. When I first started, I walked around the house searching everything for hours before I began a chapter. I started with the old woman. Then I see that old man at the bottom of the stairs and it scared the absolute shit out of me. I done the little girl last. So you could imagine my horror when I seen that the light switches were gone after playing 2/3 of the game with the security of the lights. Another unappreciated game that is scary is The Forest. The first time you go into a cave, it's absolutely horrifying. A "NOPE" moment if there ever was one.
What about your first night out in Dying Light . That sh was scary as hell ( FYI I’m talking about DL1 , not DL2 , because DL2 is not scary when you can parachute away like you’re in CoD and the night is so bright you dont even need your flashlight)
7:05 Couldn't agree more. The "Outlast" demo was terrifying when I played it. Then I bought the full game & the tension melted away very quickly. Every trace of fear & caution I felt in the opening turned into frustration as the enemies automatically found me no matter where I was
They shouldn’t automatically find you. They only search for you for a bit after seeing you. Then, they go back to their regular paths. Sometimes they’ll guess correctly to where you’re hiding, but that’s fairly rare.
@@DeezN00tz99 Nah, Outlast 2 was slightly better than the first. If the second one was a run sim, then the first game and its DLC were too, especially the DLC.
I'm barely 3:30 in and I love it already. Came from your postal video. Glad I subbed and saw this after finishing the postal vid. Great videos dude, I love your humour and the videos.
@@TotallyPointlessTV you're doing great. Been checking in on your newest videos and they're just as good. I like your older content too, but I think your game analysis and your commentary on the games you cover is what's really going to make your channel explode into more and more popularity. But please, please make content you enjoy making, and take time for yourself. I know a lot of TH-camrs burn themselves out or add unneeded stress to themselves over what will keep them relevant. You are doing this is a career, but you should also take time for yourself and enjoy the process and subjects you cover. This channel is for YOU to share your thoughts and shit, we're just here to tag along, enjoy your content, and hopefully build you up enough to keep you on track for being financially stable through just your videos. If people don't like your older content but that's what you enjoy making, fuck em. There's a niche for every topic and you come across as extremely genuine in your videos and I don't want you to lose that because you want to please others and jump in line. That may be why you put the effort into these videos, but you need to love your content and what you do too :) You remind me a bit of Wendigoon in the way that you're genuine and really enjoy sharing the things you make videos on. Wish you the best dude
@@TotallyPointlessTV Yes please! New fan here and I've exhausted the gaming content. Binged it all after finding your manhunt videos. Great content, great humor, great lad.
Visage is one of the only games I've ever had to stop playing and take breaks from because it was scaring the fucking piss out of me. Genuinely the scariest game I've ever played. Gameplay is a bit minimalistic, but as a pure horror experience it is top notch.
1000% I love horror games, and can appreciate when one gets under me. This one got to me. Affected my sleep, creeped me out so fully with it's ambience, especially Lucy's chapter. When things got weird in the Dolores and Rakan chapter (like the weird outside areas, the painting room, the hospital) it felt less creepy, but the first few hours in the house and especially reliving what happened to Lucy made me only play in the bright sunlight for a few days ahahah
@@CJTranceAddiction Sorry I took this long to reply! I remember I played the first one when I was 14-15 and wasn't able to finish it (I ran out of film!) Now I'm 34 and I'm playing the original trilogy and I fell in love with them (I'm going through the 3rd one right now) The ambience, the atmosphere, the sound design, the pace, how they treat horror, no "loud-noise" jumpscares, the story of ghosts... They are 10/10 gems to me, and scary as well, especially thanks to how they use sound. It should go without saying that they must be played using earphones/headset. It's amazing how scary can be to walk by a room you've visited before many times but suddenly hear someone whispering, just to mention an example :)
@@CJTranceAddiction BTW this made me think that "the scariest in my list" (TOP 3) are Visage, Alien Isolation and RE2 Remake, which are somehow new, but what about before these games were released? I'd say the Silent Hill franchise, especially the 4 main ones, and the Project Zero trilogy. I need to play Rule of Rose yet
Keep this content coming! I love the documentary style, it's informative, clear, well edited, entertaining and enjoyable to watch and the narration is top notch. Would love to see more of these kinds of videos.
14:00 it's okay man I think you were on the right track and got the hev suit mixed with Apertures legs features from Portal. Both made by Valve. I got you
When you mentioned a mask, I immediately thought of the term "masking", where someone pretends that everything is fine, when really they are suffering from any number of problems beneath the surface. Maybe some part of the game was a mental breakdown of some kind, maybe one induced by real events during the game, and the ending is him masking how he truly feels? Hard telling, especially since masking an addiction isn't really something you can do, since physical signs of addiction are common. I'm stretching on this, but hey, THATS JUST A THEORY
The motif of descending down holes in Dolore's chapter also really drives home her method of unaliving It's most obvious alusion is the death drop when someone does hang themselves and reminded me of the trapdoor under a gallows The amount of times the game alluded to a sharp, sudden drop, its no surprise you got to witness her last moments
Since everyone's talking about delores's story, the clock test is a test given to early dementia patients to determine what stage of the illness patients are at. They are told to draw a clock at a specific time, and the later the stage, the more patients will struggle with depicting each number and the time itself. The idea of having to use a cheat sheet to recall what time each clock needs to be at probably plays into that idea, too
We have Amnesia to thank for the run and hide mechanic being so popular. It's like developers don't understand what made Amnesia scary in the first place. It's not because you can't fight back it's because the atsmosphere is so well done rather than "Oh no i can't fight back, that's scary."
Well, it’s both. Not being able to fight back was definitely a big part of its success. It works with and builds up the atmosphere, but the atmosphere itself wasn’t really the unique drawing in point at the time.
The atmosphere was definitely a selling point at the time. Who doesn't love castles and weird cthulhu necromancy type bullshit. Amnesia is a masterpiece, as is SOMA which was made by the same developer.
@@TheBlueLink3 at the time it came out I remember it feeling like that was scariest game I had ever played. Going back to it now it hasn’t aged the best..
I really dislike horror games where u cannot "fight back" it doesnt have to be a "haha lets shoot the scary thing" but some sort of way to defend urself So after saying that, i think that the "move objects" in amnesia a really cool way to defense there's plenty of objects that u could put in the enemy path to prevent him catching u or u could just lock the monster in a corner with well placed boxes
From a long time subscriber, I love your fake martial arts videos, but you also have the ability to create other types of content that is real high quality and I am definitely loving the different subject matter. Great job and keep up the fantastic work!
I saw a MK-Ultra theory about the house. I think the channel was called Gaming Harry. It was a really good theory and helped to explain some of the story.
I'm glad you mentioned this because I've been racking my brain trying to remember that vid. That guy made a great case for the MK-Ultra theory! It seemed to be legit considering a few lines of dialogue all but confirmed as much. I recall one character in particular who worked at the water plant (I think) and was overcame with guilt and shame for being complicit in his part of everything. Which, I do believe he was contaminating the water supply to the house as an experiment or some fucked up shit like that, and despite his reservations he did what was asked and proceeded to sort of let the consequences wash over him as people starting dying. What a fucked up game, man, holy shit. Spooky and just crushing depression all around.
Visage is a masterpeice of morden horror. I had such a spoopy time playing it. I wasn't so confused when during my play throughs (I couldnt leave it as a one and done, its just too good.) What probably helped me is that I have a friend who put 300+ hours into it; mainly due to testing purposes as they know the devlopers and knew a lot about the game.
After seeing the oneyplays crew play through this a while back it's pretty impressive to see how much they did since, and that they apparently did in fact cut out the stupid ink people scene
This review was wild I never knew where you were going. Talking about Lucy ch. “it was so annoying i hated it” talking about dolores ch “it was annoying i hated it” talking about rakan ch “a good time” then you go to rate them “i liked lucy, then dolores and liked rakan least” !?!?!?
If you want to not let people fight back, instead of death you need to make it so it changes something to your detriment, like you slowly go mad and get a worse ending because of it, just something so you can keep playing, but get punished for failing so often, but in a way that still leaves you wanting to continue.
I didn't get to see the video the first time you uploaded it and I'm happy that you reupped. Great stuff in its entirety. Editing was spot on and holy crap it probably took a boatload of time in making such a convoluted game make sense! Loved it!
Honestly the "run and hide" thing is part of why alien isolation is such a perfect horror game imo. I'm very biased because since childhood I've been a huge fan of the alien franchise, but I just think that game has the perfect mix of stealth and combat / fighting back for that type of horror game. I'm not very into shooter horror games or the like (amnesia had just come out around the time where i was old enough to play horror games so that definitely influenced my opinions on the genre) so you'd think outlast would be perfect for me, but it just never scratched that itch for me the way alien isolation did and I think you just perfectly illustrated why that its. The adaptive AI of alien isolation definitely also helps c:
Outlast set the trope of run and hide its good the first time but it gets old and repetitive fast. It's a crutch for lazy developers to use. Dead space, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, The Evil Within exist
each chapter is sort of like a crazy trial, the main character is sort of helping each lost soul find something they lost. the mask could also represent something the main character lost "himself".
thank you for making an inherently scary game into an laughable and enjoyable viewing. I literally got scared at any suspenseful part of the video of gameplay. Especially at 3:22. The memes helped. Thank you again.
24'42'' - 24'49'' ... best transision of the year. I loved it, made me laugh and rewind it many times. Thanks for making these horror games even 'funny' as the inserted fragments remind me of 'thoughts' while playing, or having 'feedback' from others while playing, taken the best moments of these and fit perfectly in the content seen. Thanks for makin' my day a bit darker. :)
This is a great video but here is a theory that a few friends and i have for this game. All the residents in the house have mental issues. This is not a coincidence. The whole game is hinting toward the MKULTRA program of the CIA. MK-Ultra is the programme where the CIA allegedly drugged United States citizens with multiple kinds of drugs to test their effects. Most notably LSD. In the story you, Dwayne, and your neighbour, Rose, are both part of this program. Dwayne is a field agent and Rose is an observer. Hence why she calls and says that she keeps a good eye on all three previous residents of you read the strips that are in the game. The water treatment facility in the game is in reference to how the people were drugged. By putting it in the water. The person who drugged the water: is you Dwayne. But under an alias, which you find on the keycard of the water treatment facility itself. The black goo monster is therefore a representation of Dwayne’s past actions and his guilt. In the lab where the fire breaks out there is a poster of an lsd molecule which also fits this theory. In the beginning of the game you see Dwayne killing his wife and children and immediately after himself. You wake up but you are not alive. You are a ghost now and stuck with the previous residents whom are there to haunt you. You learn more about the previous residents and how you ruined their mental well-being. Lucy got schizophrenia. Her medication was not meant to help her, also issued by the program to only make it more potent ruined her state according to her mom. Dolores whom went into states of deliriousness. She even believes that her husband is trying to poison her. The tea that you fetched from the attic turns into rat poison in her mind. Eventually she regressed so far that she took the life of her husband and eventually her own life too. Finally you have Rakan who got scopophobia. However he wasn’t suffering from this phobia, he was actually being monitored by the MK-Ultra programme. You as the goo monster try to take away all the evidence from the house but got caught and shot by him. There were no signs of break in because you as a field agent have the keys to the house. He gets taken to the hospital and tries to be gaslighted into believing that he is delusional. Rakan however can not be tricked and they ultimately decide to put him away forever. The last resident in the house is you. It’s right after MK-Ultra gets disbanded. You however still feel the guilt and drink and abuse drugs all in an effort to forget. This reaches into a breaking point and you cue to the gun scene of the into. Your wife and children went to heaven while you are stuck in endless purgatory. This branches out into the two available endings. Dwayne can give up by shooting himself again and again until all the bullets are emptied. The goo form of Dwayne is trying to stop him, as he gets more and more aggressive in stopping you. This is the bad ending and you end up in the well with and apple. Its a mythological story. The Apple represents wisdom and knowledge. He purposefully feigns his ignorance and innocence in what he did and about his voices in life. The good ending however is the total opposite. With each piece of the mask he faces his past actions. He faces all the sins he committed in his past which ultimately make it so he can move on. And how he can finally be reunited with his family. This is how i view the story. Let me know what you think. I really think this is one of the more interesting horror games of these last few years.
Here’s the thing about combat in horror games: In some settings it just doesn’t work. PT, Visage, Slender, Amnesia, and numerous other games just wouldn’t work if you added a combat mechanic. I understand that not everybody likes to run and hide, but that’s kinda the point. It’s a way to make you feel powerless, especially if your character is not supposed to be fighting. In a game like Visage where you are experiencing the same fear as it’s inhabitants once had, the last thing you should be allowed to do is fight. The erratic nature of the ghost matches the erratic experience of their lives. Could the mechanic have been handled a little bit better? Maybe. But that alleviates fear and frustration. If it were any other game, I would have a similar gripe. But in a game like Visage, a game laced with deeper meanings, I’d say changing this would be detrimental to the games vision… Not to sound like a pretentious bastard or anything 💀
No, it doesn't make one feel powerless - it instills the sense that there is always an "out" for the player, lest progression become impossible. Fighting at least makes you question your options.
I felt way more powerless playing Rule of Rose or Silent Hill 2 than playing Amnesia or Slender... Though I guess everyone is different. But overall, I agree: combat (or lack thereof) is usually part of the core vision in games, and especially in horror ones. On the other hand, I feel like "bad mechanics being meant to bring fear and frustration" is more of a gamedev's or overly invested fanbase's way of dealing with mechanics which, by design, should be fun instead of frustrating. You can very well instigate fear without frustration AND bad mechanics, especially with today's possibilities (as far as gamedev goes). A good game is a game which allows player to deal with them in a non-frustrating way (eg a game like Hotline Miami or RUINER is fun because death isn't as frustrating as dying in an RPG or survival-horror game, which usually happens far less often) and, to me, frustration isn't good game design.
@@Kaydje Fighting back is ok, but you shouldn't be allowed to kill it, maybe temporarily stagger it, and make the fighting back harder every time, you get caught. Like it adopts to you overtime. It makes the player less dependent on fighting back but will only be used as a backup. Also, Horror games that have enemies that are unkillable should have better stealth.
So one thing I just wanna point out to you. Fear and frustration are polar opposites of each other. A mechanic that makes a game more frustrating automatically makes it less scary. Ideally you want the player to NEVER DIE AT ALL but you want them to constantly FEEL like they should have. It's a delicate balancing act, one that doesn't always work, but a lot of horror games fail to understand this. And sure, dying a few times might even make you feel more tense when you realize there are consequences...dying over and over again just makes you angry and the repeated content isn't scary at all anymore. So a mechanic that "alleviates frustration" would be a GOOD thing.
It's not about throwing some punches in an ethereal being It's about having options beyond "run to a closet and hide, repeat it for 4 hours" FNAF did a good job with the small "gameplay" u can close vents and prevent the animatronics to come in Amnesia with it's physcs based And if u want the player to really feel something, give him some real situations. The protag is a human, when we are in fear of our life, WE FIGHT BACK, no matter what's on the other side Theres a lot of things that could've been done in this game, but it's essentially just a walking sim with pretty graphics Hell, even Spooky House of jumpscare did a great job with the "combat" and that game has half the budget that visage have
TBH IMO i legit like the concept of not being able to fight back against a paranormal thing because it makes it even scarier instead of finding that one "god tier item" that you can just beat some ass and not be afraid anymore. With not being able to fight back brings more fear and knowing when to actually run away instead of going to the obviously spooky place, to me, brings more fear since i cant just smack a ghost with a shovel or something EDIT: btw the reason you cant jump is because your leg is fucked up, it showed that when you had to limp to the door in the beginning
I never finished the vhs chapters because the footstool in the basement that you need to complete one of those glitched, and disappeared when I tried to pick it up way earlier in the game🤬
I have really mixed feelings about this game. Everybody seems to love it, but I just never really did. I think the game itself is impressive and visually looks amazing, but the gameplay itself is kind of.. mind numbingly boring. I feel like progress is so slow and there are so many repetitive moments. I think some of the puzzles are cool, but the inventory management, controls, enemy sequences inside the house, and having to go in circles for most of the game is just not that fun in my opinion. I don't mind the story. I'll give it credit cause it doesn't just do the "Protagonist did something bad and now they're getting lectured by the 3 ghosts of Christmas" cliche that a lot of psychological horror games have. I just don't know if the story really makes up for the gameplay issues. I definitely don't hate it, and I respect that such a small team created it, but it has certain issues that REALLY turn me away from it. Overall, it's just not that fun. Also regarding your comparison to Outlast with the no combat gameplay, I think Outlast does this style of gameplay significantly better and I'll explain why. Visage takes place in a house that basically acts as a giant circle to loop around when you're being chased. It's very basic and you spend so much time in the house that there's never any panic as to figuring out where to run because by the end of chapter 1, the house is basically burned into your memory and it doesn't change that much. You also always get chased while you're in the middle of doing something, making you have to step away from whatever you're doing to avoid an enemy, which is not something that should happen too often in a horror game (To be fair, you can be smart with your pills to avoid being chased, but these moments aren't particularly fun or scary outside of the first few times). In Outlast, you're constantly moving through the asylum, with brand new rooms and areas that you've never seen before. You're thrown into situations where you have to avoid an enemy by either stealthing (Typically in dark areas), or running. Usually when you're running, the level is built around that fact, and the indicators for where you need to go are very clear and it's really fun to first try a chase sequence like that. Also, the movement is very satisfying, with the ability to slide and climb ledges. Even when the game isn't scary, it's still fun, and I'd say that's a bit more important than making the character sluggish and artificially vulnerable. Visage has this problem where the movement isn't very satisfying, but that's because most of the levels aren't designed for chase sequences really, and that's why chapter 3's levels are so different.
The wardrobes you reference actually have a purpose. And Lucys chapter can be the scariest one. Theres a doll hidden in one of them which is needed for an achievement if you want to get that (and truthfully the section is incredibly easy if you don't throw open the wardrobe doors as the ones with the demon in will always snap back into place if you open them just a crack.)
love this video, the structure is really really satisfying. hope to see much much more content. got recommended your postal video, subscribed 10 minutes in and am currently watching through every video you have to offer. can't wait to see more!
I doubt you'll see this but just in case you do - I really appreciate the edits that make it less spooky. I've been trying to find a channel that'll analyze a scary game without making it...scary. I just subbed!
"cant we smash the box with a crowbar or the sledge hammer?" "oh it has a record in it" ya know, the easily breakable thing... jokes aside, great review, played it for myself and its pretty enjoyable!
Person no. 1 No clue Person no. 2 post child birth depression (maybe because the child was still born) Person no. 3. PTSD. Either from accidentally causing an accident or being in the military. I think the protagonist is haunted by the families "ghosts" as he was bound along with his family when thier house was broken into and robbed unable to do anything, all he could do was to witness his families demise, he also got shot but survived some how. Feeling survivors guilt and feeling like he failed his family, he saw it as he might as well have pulled the trigger (despite he didn't) , he when found a isolated house to be alone in, somehow either by finding and reading documents and or written notes and or seeing videos about the previous inhabitants for some reason left in the house, our protagonist fuelled by drugs , guilt and remorse when twisted the stories , to sorta escape from reality/ make his own life seem less bad. "The ghost of his family" crisis him for his drug and alcohol abuse. The mask , is something many people with mental illnesses (me included) does, it is metaphorical mask, we put on to hide our true selves to appear more "normal" to others, avoid unwanted questions and so we won't annoy others with our present
Honestly if you said this was a new silent hill id believe it. The fact that there are a lot of scenes outside the house makes it more easy to believe it could be in that series somehow. Awesome vid and narration!
I know this comment will get lost cuz this video is old, but this was the only game I had to take breaks from watching when it was popular because I was so absolutely terrified. No other game I’ve watched from Let’s Players has even come close to this day. However, everyone stopped playing it after 2 chapters so I really thought it went unfinished. I can’t believe that it’s not only finished, but was finished well over a year ago when this video came out! Still terrifying today.
Second watch through here. Definitely, without question the most thorough, insightful, and funny game review I've ever seen. The commentary is absolutely top notch, and I feel like you've touched in so much more in a single video than many reviewer touch on in multi part play throughs. Especially with this absolute unit of a game. Excellent work for sure!
Visage terrified me, mostly because the house was SO incredibly similar to my house growing up. I've never seen another house that had a staircase filled entirely with family pictures like that. The mess and clutter, the French doors, the unfinished basement, it was like walking through my childhood home, and I was scared shitless.
One of the most annoying aspects of horror is what I call 'assets piling' - you pile up a bunch of mannequins, cribs, wheelchairs, whathaveyou, and it is supposed to be creepy and deep and symbolic of (insert past trauma / mental issue here). I mean, it might have been off putting once, but now I feel like it is a bore, and it was especially jarring in the lastest Blair Witch game. It is like the game gave you a jolt that you're not in a different world but in a creation of Bloober Team.
When I recently played this game I tried to create the right atmosphere, play at night, all the lights off, but after 20 minutes I had to give up and continue in the afternoon next day. No other horror game had such a strong effect on me before.
I loved the house of the game, how you just get this moment of dread as you enter the basement and in complete darkness hear something walk to you. My only issue is the sanity mechanic being tied to light, some rooms I thought were well lit like the kitchen would drain my sanity and make it so I kept getting annoying ghost encounters.
Just a note regarding the hospital elevator part. You DON'T have to pull all the bodies out to get the elevator operational. If memory serves ye only need pull around 3 bodies. Also, if immediately start dragging the bodies to JUST outside the door as soon as ye hear the music change and you MAY be able to get the requisite number of corpse out and start the elevator just in time to slam the elevator door close in Rakan's face.
I have been interested in watching people play horror games recently and once I came across this, I knew I had to watch it. Upon starting the video, it looked VERY familiar even though I knew I hadn't played it. This game is on Roblox and I have played so many times. It's so so similar, even with the storyline, the way the house is designed, everything. I thought it was funny seeing how they're similar and different while watching this. Great video!!!
So I stumbled upon the video where you covered POSTAL now I'm binging all your vids lol...Just had to say all your content is really interesting and well published dude
I love horror games. I've became so numb to them over years that pretty much nothing scares me any more, but I still enjoy them, even if they suck. Visage is the only game ever that I've refused to complete, because it scares the absolute living shit out of me. I fucking love and hate it at the same time. This is a masterpiece to be honest. Sometimes a bit janky, but overall scary as fuck.
I finished it awhile ago on ps4. But now I'm going back to it on pc. After alien isolation i didn't think another horror game would scare me. Then I played this and it creeps me out more than alien isolation. I couldn't imagine this in vr😳
I loved this video. I didn't like this game it felt like it was trying to do too many things that have already been done better and the mechanics of the light bulbs and candles and your sanity if not in the light was absurd. But it was an indie game made by a small team with a relatively small budget so they did do a good job
Much love for the music "Silent Hill3 - Never Forgive Me, Never Forget Me" in the Conclusion part (this time really fits the mood) remember you used in past "The Dumbest Paranormal Frauds" video and since we share a same interest(horror games which are my life)I like to add a personal note despite I don't like these long analysis contents (I mean nowadays I can't focus on something for 5 damn minute so this is all on me) I think you have an awesome personality in person as it in videos so just wanted to say thanks for the content you make and I wish you more success and energy! :)
Gotta ask, you wouldn't happen to know what music is playing at around 40:00? The melancholic piano bit I mean. I hear him use it in several other videos, and I'm sure I've heard it somewhere else before, but for the life of me I cannot put my finger on it.
I wanna put my two cents in about the 2nd chapter. I believe that it's chaotic to create an idea of a declining mental state, depression, and insanity.
these video's are honestly so good it's really hard to find this kind of video essay on TH-cam. I honestly lost count of how many times I've watched this video and all of your others (except the early really weird one maybe one day) it's probably over sixty at this point and even then I'm inviting a buddy over to rewatch dead space 3 video and drink to it I thank you so much for keeping me entertained for so long.
unpopular opinion: i LOVE running and hiding, only because it's way scarier than being able to fight back. As soon as I can fight back, I am not scared. fear boner flaccid
13:48 You were close, it was an object in a valve game and it is technically in the half-life universe. You were thinking of Chell's Long Fall Boots from portal.
Bro, you panic-singing 99 Luftballons in broken german with the song dubbed in just completely destroyed me. That's the kind of weird s**t I do when being chased by unfathomable horrors too!
I have no idea why people have so much trouble playing Visage. I never encountered a fraction of the frustration and confusion it seems to have given most players. And Dolores chapter was the most Silent Hill 2 thing since, well, Silent Hill 2.
That Layers of fear soundtrack never ceases to be ear candy!! Great work my dud And if you want to do one video about Layers or Soma in the future I would be the best
At the beginning, I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. Actually, I can't tell if he's praising the game or hating on it. On second thought, he basically did both.
I have no idea why "The real slim shady" got me so badly, but I appreciate it for getting me to sub to this channel. Still one of the best videos on this game that i've seen
Sorry if you’ve already seen this, uploaded it a while back but ended up removing it. However, in the past few days there’s been a lot of traction on my gaming content, so I wanted to keep the momentum going, enjoy.
Glad to see this back up, thank you.
I loved this video and all your gaming vids Kelly my boy however I must admit the chubby I gained from the excitement of a new vid from my boy but sadly I have seen this :( either way glad you put it back up! Don't take them down these are great and I love your take on games give me more!!!
I was thinking of buying this game for a long time but I was still wondering if it was worth it and scary. Now I just want to buy it and experience it myself.😎
You should do a review for RE Village next.
I was just going to comment to recommend more gaming content.
Dolores chapter hit me harder then all the other stories honestly. All of the symbolism relates to dementia and her slowly losing her memories. The 3 paintings in the closet showing a head getting slowly more empty reminded me almost instantly of Caretakers "Everywhere at the end of Time" album covers which follow the same theme. Speaking of that album, that's how I learned that apparently music is one of the last things to go from your memory when you are succumbing to the final phases of dementia, So the staircase part where you are just trying to follow music and trying random nonsense doors is showing how her memory is almost completely gone at this point, and she dosent even recognize her own home anymore. The whole house become slowly more distorted until it becomes completely nonsensical and impossible to recognize, save for a few key things like her baby's crib. Idk the theme of dementia is really heavy and honestly terrifying, and I think the game did a lot of good symbolism in that chapter.
I know nothing about this game; but watching this, I was puzzled at the idea of Dolores even having a baby at all. She has dementia...surely her children are grown adults by that point. I wonder if the parts of the crib toy are scattered because that old crib hasn't seen use in decades, but Dolores is so far gone that she doesn't recognize she doesn't actively have an infant.
@@bluesonicstreak7317 I believe they made her look the way she did because her mental illness has affected her so severely by that point that she looks more aged than she is. That, and they wanted to make her look like Lisa from PT. The husband references taking care of the baby multiple times before he is murdered so the baby is really there.
@@bluesonicstreak7317 That's probably the case. Probably only remembered specific memories in the past about her baby. So the crib is important to her.
@@bluesonicstreak7317 Not all memories are the same. For instance I don’t remember many parts of my childhood but I do have a shockingly clear memory of the first time my mom yell at me. Btw no I didn’t have a bad mother just that piece of memory just stood out.
In any case depending on when the dementia started going full swing and when she had the baby its entirely possible she lost all memories of her child but of the ones when they where a baby. Assuming they did grow up.
Dementia isn’t the most understood subject. Granted, memories in general are a fickle beast. Or so I heard… I don’t know… I forgot.
hey so uhhh... the author behind "Everywhere At The End of Time" is actually called Caretaker, not Caregivers
I've played the entirety of this game fully with its achievements, the wardrobe part is meant for people who are trying to collect all the Russian dolls.
1.3k likes and no comments? how much did you pay for those?
@@elyrienvalkyr8167 A lot
@@elyrienvalkyr8167 I mean, even author's pinned comment has less likes
So funny enough, Rakan was in a mental hospital because he thought he was being monitored MkUltra style, it's unclear whether or not he was right, but at the end he succumbs to his delusion (or the sheer terror of having been right) and he eventually perishes scared and alone. This is all worse considering that Rakan's story is based off of the true experiences of someone the devs consulted.
I believe The talking kitchen scene is supposed to be related to Delores
It honestly made me truly feel something more than anything else in this game because at first it was funny until I realized that this is part of Delores’ schizophrenia and I immediately got sad
Holy shit yes! I didn't think of it like that, but you're absolutely correct!
Pretty sure it’s an evil dead reference
@@wowzzz402 i think its a requiem for a dream reference
i just thought of that scene in evil dead 2 when the cabin is laughing at ash
@@cracinlac923 yeah that may very well be but I think the tone of the game is different plus when you really look at some of the worst case scenarios of people with schizophrenia, talking furniture fits
I love this game. I also enjoyed this review so take my comment as just commentary and not a critique. This game most definitely has its fair share of problems but I actually really like Dolores chapter and here's why: Everybody complains about how frustrating it is to play through Dolores' chapter and yet nobody makes the connection that the chapter is about dementia. Feeling lost in your own home, losing things that "were just right here" and on and on... It's like Rakans fear of being watched and the eyeballs, but way more subtle. Similarly, Lucy's battle with mental illness and medication had her so disoriented that she couldn't tell her parents from her demons. The knocks in the closet at the beginning of the chapter are the same as the knocks on the bathroom door at the end.
This game is severely underrated, and it's a shame. I've played the Roblox adaptation of this game first, liked it, watched some gameplay of it, liked it even more.
Yup. Great post!
Ohhh! I like that! Good catch!
Beautiful catch and interpretation! I hadn't quite noticed or considered that!
Damn, Visage is so good.
just because theres a reason doesnt make it any less boring to play through
I remember nearly every major TH-camr (especially the ones who specialize in horror) were playing this game when the first two chapters dropped, but then nothing more came of it after that. I had thought the game had been left unfinished until recently.
Nah many of them never made it past the puzzles
When it comes to dealing with ghosts. I feel like the game should have take inspiration from Echo Night. In Echo Night you turn on the light to get rid of the ghost. With some reworks that's what they should have done. For example events like suddenly all lights in the house turn of and you start hearing the footsteps of a ghost and you desperatelly look for the light switch
I was thinking Echo Night also. It was fun for the ps1 era.
should've just used the camera as a stun
I thought I was the only person who remembered this game. Echo Night was fucking sick.
That game feels like a fever dream,especially during the ship part
Helping ghosts is also a mechanic that i think is cool.
The mask could represent something arguably more unsettling and sad.
The house could be representative of the chaotic and unstable basis of living with intense trauma and/or mental illness.
Mental health and substance abuse are very common topics in the game, and the 'good' ending being one in which the protagonist assembles and wears a mask before being able to rejoin their family could be a narrative on the necessity of hiding the internal struggles or trauma and mental illness, to maintain relationships, and some level of normalcy.
It works with the other endings too. Being unable to cope with or handle these issues, and being trapped/lost to them (the house) or just ending it all.
Way more depressing if you interpret it that way, imo.
that was my interpretation as well thank you
Given that the colloquial term for presenting a false demeanor to others while distressed is called masking, I lean heavily in the direction of this interpretation. There is no good ending, to me. Just one where you harm yourself by suffering in silence and one where you harm others and end yourself. And without the option of support and help, the one ending naturally leads to the other.
That. That right there is what makes Visage a masterpiece.
There aren't debatable interpretations because it checks off the list of required things in a horror game. It's debatable because it's well written.
anti-persona kekw
I had the a similar thought. All I could see was masking.
Putting on a mask to go to his passed family made me think of masking to escape a forced hospitalisation with the intent to pass away after leaving.
I forget what other TH-camr did it, but there was a theory out there that the issues are tied to an old IRL military experiment involving secretly putting psychotic drugs in the water. The game itself subtly references this and implies the MC worked on it, suggesting many of the hauntings where people driven insane by the drugs in the water, and the MC driven to depression and guilt over having worked on the project.
Isn't that also the premise of the movie Jacob's Ladder? I remember hearing that it was an inspiration for the Silent Hill series, so it kind of makes sense.
Yeah I think this is less of a theory because if you're looking in the right places, the developers all but confirm it's true.
You’re thinking of MK Ultra/ Operation Midnight Climax.
I really like this theory, it ties up all the stories. I also can't remember who did that video tho.
I think you’re probably thinking of Gaming Harry. He did an excellent video on Visage going into all the MK Ultra stuff. He does a game plot explanation series called Lore and Order which is brilliant.
Lucy's chapter was the original story, the first one they created, and was featured in the demo/beta. That's probably why it happens to be the longest and most drawn out, because the developers were pumping so much effort into it from the start, that they forgot they were also supposed to make the other chapters.
They always intended on adding more since it was a beta build, but their ambitions with Lucy superceded future plans and they spent more time on it than they should have.
The most interesting part to me was the very very subtle hidden MK-Ultra plot with Dwayne. Connecting those dots was mind-blowing
Explain?
@@theattacktitan9885 love his vids too.
@@burdenuner9084 Before he lived in The House, Dwayne worked in Chemistry in some capacity and was approached by the CIA to work on MK-Ultra. At some point they task him with putting LSD in the local water supply. Everyone who lives in the house (and even the neighbor Rose) is affected by the LSD which explains their hallucinations, which at first the game makes you think were paranormal events. This eventually leads to their deaths in various ways until Dwayne and his family move in, for some reason which is not explained, and due to guilt and possibly LSD poisoning he starts losing it and well if you've played the game you should know the rest.
You only find out Dwayne's story if you play all the VHS tapes, and do all their associated quests. Gaming Harry did a good video explaining it better than I can.
Ever played Fatal Frame? I recommend Fatal Frame 3, personally. Sweet combination of atmospheric haunting AND a mechanic allowing you to fight back using your camera obscura.
I have indeed, great recommendation, great game!
Yessss such an underrated game. I only played 3 but it was amazing
Fatal Frame 2 scarred me, was the first horror game to terrify me
I would love to play the wii version
Great recomendation, fcking awesome games.
12:50 The German part killed me completely. That was unpredictable. Thank you for this laugh
Same! Vid is playing in the background and I'm just hit with "Sprechen Sie Deutsch?". Deffo made me laugh
Meddl, du Kaschper!
We even got the pronaunciation right, respect
I was listenign to this while faling asleep. I tought i was having a fucking stroke
I watched this the first time you uploaded it, but it was well worth a second viewing. Glad to hear your gaming content is picking up traction. I like your fake martial arts series, but your other stuff is equally interesting. Keep up the good work.
Rakan's chapter actually made me think of social anxiety. The fear of being watched, the paranoia of being judged at all times, of being caught doing sth wrong (which can just also be just existing). Wanting to hide even when among people, looking down so you don't meet your eye, so you don't have to interact with them.
Game is definitely scary. When I first started, I walked around the house searching everything for hours before I began a chapter. I started with the old woman. Then I see that old man at the bottom of the stairs and it scared the absolute shit out of me.
I done the little girl last. So you could imagine my horror when I seen that the light switches were gone after playing 2/3 of the game with the security of the lights.
Another unappreciated game that is scary is The Forest. The first time you go into a cave, it's absolutely horrifying. A "NOPE" moment if there ever was one.
@D.
I never played that game co-op lol
What about your first night out in Dying Light . That sh was scary as hell
( FYI I’m talking about DL1 , not DL2 , because DL2 is not scary when you can parachute away like you’re in CoD and the night is so bright you dont even need your flashlight)
@@mediumsurmoon6283 I recently played and beat Dying Light and I never found it scary.
7:05
Couldn't agree more. The "Outlast" demo was terrifying when I played it. Then I bought the full game & the tension melted away very quickly. Every trace of fear & caution I felt in the opening turned into frustration as the enemies automatically found me no matter where I was
git gud, hide better
@@SeanGauseOfficial yeah, it gets repetitive really fast
They shouldn’t automatically find you. They only search for you for a bit after seeing you. Then, they go back to their regular paths. Sometimes they’ll guess correctly to where you’re hiding, but that’s fairly rare.
outlast 1 and DLC was great, outlast 2? terrible run sim
@@DeezN00tz99 Nah, Outlast 2 was slightly better than the first. If the second one was a run sim, then the first game and its DLC were too, especially the DLC.
I'm barely 3:30 in and I love it already. Came from your postal video. Glad I subbed and saw this after finishing the postal vid. Great videos dude, I love your humour and the videos.
Thanks man, I’ll try to keep the moment going on the gaming content
@@TotallyPointlessTV you're doing great. Been checking in on your newest videos and they're just as good. I like your older content too, but I think your game analysis and your commentary on the games you cover is what's really going to make your channel explode into more and more popularity. But please, please make content you enjoy making, and take time for yourself. I know a lot of TH-camrs burn themselves out or add unneeded stress to themselves over what will keep them relevant. You are doing this is a career, but you should also take time for yourself and enjoy the process and subjects you cover.
This channel is for YOU to share your thoughts and shit, we're just here to tag along, enjoy your content, and hopefully build you up enough to keep you on track for being financially stable through just your videos.
If people don't like your older content but that's what you enjoy making, fuck em. There's a niche for every topic and you come across as extremely genuine in your videos and I don't want you to lose that because you want to please others and jump in line. That may be why you put the effort into these videos, but you need to love your content and what you do too :)
You remind me a bit of Wendigoon in the way that you're genuine and really enjoy sharing the things you make videos on. Wish you the best dude
@@TotallyPointlessTV Yes please! New fan here and I've exhausted the gaming content. Binged it all after finding your manhunt videos. Great content, great humor, great lad.
Visage is one of the only games I've ever had to stop playing and take breaks from because it was scaring the fucking piss out of me. Genuinely the scariest game I've ever played. Gameplay is a bit minimalistic, but as a pure horror experience it is top notch.
100% agree. I've played lots of horror games and this is the scariest in my list.
@@juanjbrieva5168 Scarier than the original Fatal Frame?
1000% I love horror games, and can appreciate when one gets under me. This one got to me. Affected my sleep, creeped me out so fully with it's ambience, especially Lucy's chapter. When things got weird in the Dolores and Rakan chapter (like the weird outside areas, the painting room, the hospital) it felt less creepy, but the first few hours in the house and especially reliving what happened to Lucy made me only play in the bright sunlight for a few days ahahah
@@CJTranceAddiction Sorry I took this long to reply! I remember I played the first one when I was 14-15 and wasn't able to finish it (I ran out of film!) Now I'm 34 and I'm playing the original trilogy and I fell in love with them (I'm going through the 3rd one right now) The ambience, the atmosphere, the sound design, the pace, how they treat horror, no "loud-noise" jumpscares, the story of ghosts... They are 10/10 gems to me, and scary as well, especially thanks to how they use sound. It should go without saying that they must be played using earphones/headset. It's amazing how scary can be to walk by a room you've visited before many times but suddenly hear someone whispering, just to mention an example :)
@@CJTranceAddiction BTW this made me think that "the scariest in my list" (TOP 3) are Visage, Alien Isolation and RE2 Remake, which are somehow new, but what about before these games were released? I'd say the Silent Hill franchise, especially the 4 main ones, and the Project Zero trilogy. I need to play Rule of Rose yet
Keep this content coming! I love the documentary style, it's informative, clear, well edited, entertaining and enjoyable to watch and the narration is top notch. Would love to see more of these kinds of videos.
14:00 it's okay man I think you were on the right track and got the hev suit mixed with Apertures legs features from Portal. Both made by Valve. I got you
When you mentioned a mask, I immediately thought of the term "masking", where someone pretends that everything is fine, when really they are suffering from any number of problems beneath the surface. Maybe some part of the game was a mental breakdown of some kind, maybe one induced by real events during the game, and the ending is him masking how he truly feels? Hard telling, especially since masking an addiction isn't really something you can do, since physical signs of addiction are common. I'm stretching on this, but hey, THATS JUST A THEORY
Even though the HEV suit from Half Life offers no protection from falls, the boots that Chell uses from Portal sure do. Would work as an editors note
The motif of descending down holes in Dolore's chapter also really drives home her method of unaliving
It's most obvious alusion is the death drop when someone does hang themselves and reminded me of the trapdoor under a gallows
The amount of times the game alluded to a sharp, sudden drop, its no surprise you got to witness her last moments
Since everyone's talking about delores's story, the clock test is a test given to early dementia patients to determine what stage of the illness patients are at. They are told to draw a clock at a specific time, and the later the stage, the more patients will struggle with depicting each number and the time itself. The idea of having to use a cheat sheet to recall what time each clock needs to be at probably plays into that idea, too
Regardless of anything else; the visuals in this game are absolutely stunning from a compositional and thematic standpoint. Great video as always :)
Absolutely. Insane lighting, game design and graphics overall.
We have Amnesia to thank for the run and hide mechanic being so popular. It's like developers don't understand what made Amnesia scary in the first place. It's not because you can't fight back it's because the atsmosphere is so well done rather than "Oh no i can't fight back, that's scary."
Well, it’s both. Not being able to fight back was definitely a big part of its success. It works with and builds up the atmosphere, but the atmosphere itself wasn’t really the unique drawing in point at the time.
The atmosphere was definitely a selling point at the time. Who doesn't love castles and weird cthulhu necromancy type bullshit. Amnesia is a masterpiece, as is SOMA which was made by the same developer.
@@TrippyTheShroom I'll agree with you on SOMA, though I found Amnesia to just be okay.
@@TheBlueLink3 at the time it came out I remember it feeling like that was scariest game I had ever played. Going back to it now it hasn’t aged the best..
I really dislike horror games where u cannot "fight back" it doesnt have to be a "haha lets shoot the scary thing" but some sort of way to defend urself
So after saying that, i think that the "move objects" in amnesia a really cool way to defense
there's plenty of objects that u could put in the enemy path to prevent him catching u or u could just lock the monster in a corner with well placed boxes
From a long time subscriber, I love your fake martial arts videos, but you also have the ability to create other types of content that is real high quality and I am definitely loving the different subject matter. Great job and keep up the fantastic work!
the graphical fidelity/style and other elements actually reminds me a hell of a lot of Resident Evil 7.
I saw a MK-Ultra theory about the house. I think the channel was called Gaming Harry. It was a really good theory and helped to explain some of the story.
I'm glad you mentioned this because I've been racking my brain trying to remember that vid. That guy made a great case for the MK-Ultra theory! It seemed to be legit considering a few lines of dialogue all but confirmed as much. I recall one character in particular who worked at the water plant (I think) and was overcame with guilt and shame for being complicit in his part of everything. Which, I do believe he was contaminating the water supply to the house as an experiment or some fucked up shit like that, and despite his reservations he did what was asked and proceeded to sort of let the consequences wash over him as people starting dying.
What a fucked up game, man, holy shit. Spooky and just crushing depression all around.
Visage is a masterpeice of morden horror. I had such a spoopy time playing it. I wasn't so confused when during my play throughs (I couldnt leave it as a one and done, its just too good.) What probably helped me is that I have a friend who put 300+ hours into it; mainly due to testing purposes as they know the devlopers and knew a lot about the game.
After seeing the oneyplays crew play through this a while back it's pretty impressive to see how much they did since, and that they apparently did in fact cut out the stupid ink people scene
Same, I watched Oney play it and from then it looks like they've changed a ton.
They should add the oneysephiroth sword in the basement, and the fly buzzing could genuinely be unnerving at certain points.
This review was wild I never knew where you were going. Talking about Lucy ch. “it was so annoying i hated it” talking about dolores ch “it was annoying i hated it” talking about rakan ch “a good time” then you go to rate them “i liked lucy, then dolores and liked rakan least” !?!?!?
I hate playing horror games, but I absolutely love watching videos about them. Such an amazing and well done video!
Game can be downright frustrating and rage inducing at times but visage is still a great horror game
I love how you can make talking about scary horror games funny and able to sit through!
If you want to not let people fight back, instead of death you need to make it so it changes something to your detriment, like you slowly go mad and get a worse ending because of it, just something so you can keep playing, but get punished for failing so often, but in a way that still leaves you wanting to continue.
I didn't get to see the video the first time you uploaded it and I'm happy that you reupped. Great stuff in its entirety. Editing was spot on and holy crap it probably took a boatload of time in making such a convoluted game make sense! Loved it!
Honestly the "run and hide" thing is part of why alien isolation is such a perfect horror game imo. I'm very biased because since childhood I've been a huge fan of the alien franchise, but I just think that game has the perfect mix of stealth and combat / fighting back for that type of horror game. I'm not very into shooter horror games or the like (amnesia had just come out around the time where i was old enough to play horror games so that definitely influenced my opinions on the genre) so you'd think outlast would be perfect for me, but it just never scratched that itch for me the way alien isolation did and I think you just perfectly illustrated why that its.
The adaptive AI of alien isolation definitely also helps c:
Outlast set the trope of run and hide its good the first time but it gets old and repetitive fast. It's a crutch for lazy developers to use. Dead space, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, The Evil Within exist
28:06 Even the ghost has more vibe than me. Honestly jealous 😔
"What the Ghost Doin?" 😳
each chapter is sort of like a crazy trial, the main character is sort of helping each lost soul find something they lost. the mask could also represent something the main character lost "himself".
thank you for making an inherently scary game into an laughable and enjoyable viewing. I literally got scared at any suspenseful part of the video of gameplay. Especially at 3:22. The memes helped. Thank you again.
24'42'' - 24'49'' ... best transision of the year. I loved it, made me laugh and rewind it many times.
Thanks for making these horror games even 'funny' as the inserted fragments remind me of 'thoughts' while playing, or having 'feedback' from others while playing, taken the best moments of these and fit perfectly in the content seen. Thanks for makin' my day a bit darker. :)
24:42 - 24:49 there you go
This is a great video but here is a theory that a few friends and i have for this game.
All the residents in the house have mental issues. This is not a coincidence. The whole game is hinting toward the MKULTRA program of the CIA. MK-Ultra is the programme where the CIA allegedly drugged United States citizens with multiple kinds of drugs to test their effects. Most notably LSD. In the story you, Dwayne, and your neighbour, Rose, are both part of this program. Dwayne is a field agent and Rose is an observer. Hence why she calls and says that she keeps a good eye on all three previous residents of you read the strips that are in the game. The water treatment facility in the game is in reference to how the people were drugged. By putting it in the water. The person who drugged the water: is you Dwayne. But under an alias, which you find on the keycard of the water treatment facility itself. The black goo monster is therefore a representation of Dwayne’s past actions and his guilt. In the lab where the fire breaks out there is a poster of an lsd molecule which also fits this theory.
In the beginning of the game you see Dwayne killing his wife and children and immediately after himself. You wake up but you are not alive. You are a ghost now and stuck with the previous residents whom are there to haunt you. You learn more about the previous residents and how you ruined their mental well-being. Lucy got schizophrenia. Her medication was not meant to help her, also issued by the program to only make it more potent ruined her state according to her mom.
Dolores whom went into states of deliriousness. She even believes that her husband is trying to poison her. The tea that you fetched from the attic turns into rat poison in her mind. Eventually she regressed so far that she took the life of her husband and eventually her own life too.
Finally you have Rakan who got scopophobia. However he wasn’t suffering from this phobia, he was actually being monitored by the MK-Ultra programme. You as the goo monster try to take away all the evidence from the house but got caught and shot by him. There were no signs of break in because you as a field agent have the keys to the house. He gets taken to the hospital and tries to be gaslighted into believing that he is delusional. Rakan however can not be tricked and they ultimately decide to put him away forever.
The last resident in the house is you. It’s right after MK-Ultra gets disbanded. You however still feel the guilt and drink and abuse drugs all in an effort to forget. This reaches into a breaking point and you cue to the gun scene of the into. Your wife and children went to heaven while you are stuck in endless purgatory. This branches out into the two available endings. Dwayne can give up by shooting himself again and again until all the bullets are emptied. The goo form of Dwayne is trying to stop him, as he gets more and more aggressive in stopping you. This is the bad ending and you end up in the well with and apple. Its a mythological story. The Apple represents wisdom and knowledge. He purposefully feigns his ignorance and innocence in what he did and about his voices in life.
The good ending however is the total opposite. With each piece of the mask he faces his past actions. He faces all the sins he committed in his past which ultimately make it so he can move on. And how he can finally be reunited with his family.
This is how i view the story. Let me know what you think. I really think this is one of the more interesting horror games of these last few years.
ive always loved this theory and truly believe it to be cannon to the actual story.
Wow
“The puzzle in this room is sound, so if your deaf your ****ed”
Rip
Here’s the thing about combat in horror games: In some settings it just doesn’t work. PT, Visage, Slender, Amnesia, and numerous other games just wouldn’t work if you added a combat mechanic. I understand that not everybody likes to run and hide, but that’s kinda the point. It’s a way to make you feel powerless, especially if your character is not supposed to be fighting. In a game like Visage where you are experiencing the same fear as it’s inhabitants once had, the last thing you should be allowed to do is fight. The erratic nature of the ghost matches the erratic experience of their lives. Could the mechanic have been handled a little bit better? Maybe. But that alleviates fear and frustration. If it were any other game, I would have a similar gripe. But in a game like Visage, a game laced with deeper meanings, I’d say changing this would be detrimental to the games vision… Not to sound like a pretentious bastard or anything 💀
No, it doesn't make one feel powerless - it instills the sense that there is always an "out" for the player, lest progression become impossible. Fighting at least makes you question your options.
I felt way more powerless playing Rule of Rose or Silent Hill 2 than playing Amnesia or Slender... Though I guess everyone is different. But overall, I agree: combat (or lack thereof) is usually part of the core vision in games, and especially in horror ones.
On the other hand, I feel like "bad mechanics being meant to bring fear and frustration" is more of a gamedev's or overly invested fanbase's way of dealing with mechanics which, by design, should be fun instead of frustrating. You can very well instigate fear without frustration AND bad mechanics, especially with today's possibilities (as far as gamedev goes). A good game is a game which allows player to deal with them in a non-frustrating way (eg a game like Hotline Miami or RUINER is fun because death isn't as frustrating as dying in an RPG or survival-horror game, which usually happens far less often) and, to me, frustration isn't good game design.
@@Kaydje Fighting back is ok, but you shouldn't be allowed to kill it, maybe temporarily stagger it, and make the fighting back harder every time, you get caught. Like it adopts to you overtime. It makes the player less dependent on fighting back but will only be used as a backup. Also, Horror games that have enemies that are unkillable should have better stealth.
So one thing I just wanna point out to you. Fear and frustration are polar opposites of each other.
A mechanic that makes a game more frustrating automatically makes it less scary. Ideally you want the player to NEVER DIE AT ALL but you want them to constantly FEEL like they should have. It's a delicate balancing act, one that doesn't always work, but a lot of horror games fail to understand this.
And sure, dying a few times might even make you feel more tense when you realize there are consequences...dying over and over again just makes you angry and the repeated content isn't scary at all anymore.
So a mechanic that "alleviates frustration" would be a GOOD thing.
It's not about throwing some punches in an ethereal being
It's about having options beyond "run to a closet and hide, repeat it for 4 hours"
FNAF did a good job with the small "gameplay" u can close vents and prevent the animatronics to come in
Amnesia with it's physcs based
And if u want the player to really feel something, give him some real situations. The protag is a human, when we are in fear of our life, WE FIGHT BACK, no matter what's on the other side
Theres a lot of things that could've been done in this game, but it's essentially just a walking sim with pretty graphics
Hell, even Spooky House of jumpscare did a great job with the "combat" and that game has half the budget that visage have
You were probably thinking of the shoes from Portal, that prevent you from taking fall damage.
Happens to the best of us.
Really like how you frequently talk about art direction and palette choice, as an artist it's really good to hear. It's very important in game design.
TBH IMO i legit like the concept of not being able to fight back against a paranormal thing because it makes it even scarier instead of finding that one "god tier item" that you can just beat some ass and not be afraid anymore. With not being able to fight back brings more fear and knowing when to actually run away instead of going to the obviously spooky place, to me, brings more fear since i cant just smack a ghost with a shovel or something
EDIT: btw the reason you cant jump is because your leg is fucked up, it showed that when you had to limp to the door in the beginning
that rave ghost moment was genuinely terrifying
I rewatched it in slow-mo and clearly seeing the disfigured face made it even more scarier.
Life goals: be rich enough to live in a house as creepy as this one.
I never finished the vhs chapters because the footstool in the basement that you need to complete one of those glitched, and disappeared when I tried to pick it up way earlier in the game🤬
I have really mixed feelings about this game. Everybody seems to love it, but I just never really did. I think the game itself is impressive and visually looks amazing, but the gameplay itself is kind of.. mind numbingly boring. I feel like progress is so slow and there are so many repetitive moments. I think some of the puzzles are cool, but the inventory management, controls, enemy sequences inside the house, and having to go in circles for most of the game is just not that fun in my opinion. I don't mind the story. I'll give it credit cause it doesn't just do the "Protagonist did something bad and now they're getting lectured by the 3 ghosts of Christmas" cliche that a lot of psychological horror games have. I just don't know if the story really makes up for the gameplay issues. I definitely don't hate it, and I respect that such a small team created it, but it has certain issues that REALLY turn me away from it. Overall, it's just not that fun.
Also regarding your comparison to Outlast with the no combat gameplay, I think Outlast does this style of gameplay significantly better and I'll explain why. Visage takes place in a house that basically acts as a giant circle to loop around when you're being chased. It's very basic and you spend so much time in the house that there's never any panic as to figuring out where to run because by the end of chapter 1, the house is basically burned into your memory and it doesn't change that much. You also always get chased while you're in the middle of doing something, making you have to step away from whatever you're doing to avoid an enemy, which is not something that should happen too often in a horror game (To be fair, you can be smart with your pills to avoid being chased, but these moments aren't particularly fun or scary outside of the first few times).
In Outlast, you're constantly moving through the asylum, with brand new rooms and areas that you've never seen before. You're thrown into situations where you have to avoid an enemy by either stealthing (Typically in dark areas), or running. Usually when you're running, the level is built around that fact, and the indicators for where you need to go are very clear and it's really fun to first try a chase sequence like that. Also, the movement is very satisfying, with the ability to slide and climb ledges. Even when the game isn't scary, it's still fun, and I'd say that's a bit more important than making the character sluggish and artificially vulnerable. Visage has this problem where the movement isn't very satisfying, but that's because most of the levels aren't designed for chase sequences really, and that's why chapter 3's levels are so different.
I like how i click on a video to see some spooky stuff but end up laughing my ass off. Love your channel.
The wardrobes you reference actually have a purpose. And Lucys chapter can be the scariest one. Theres a doll hidden in one of them which is needed for an achievement if you want to get that (and truthfully the section is incredibly easy if you don't throw open the wardrobe doors as the ones with the demon in will always snap back into place if you open them just a crack.)
love this video, the structure is really really satisfying. hope to see much much more content. got recommended your postal video, subscribed 10 minutes in and am currently watching through every video you have to offer. can't wait to see more!
Thanks dude, really appreciate that, currently working on another big gaming video. Hope you enjoy it!
@@TotallyPointlessTV nice!
I doubt you'll see this but just in case you do - I really appreciate the edits that make it less spooky. I've been trying to find a channel that'll analyze a scary game without making it...scary. I just subbed!
Me too!!’ Let me know if u find anymore hahaha
Really enjoying your content especially the long form stuff such as this, much respect thank you for your work
"cant we smash the box with a crowbar or the sledge hammer?" "oh it has a record in it" ya know, the easily breakable thing...
jokes aside, great review, played it for myself and its pretty enjoyable!
The real slim shady line killed me fr 💀(I'm literally a skeleton bro)
right? i was like 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Person no. 1 No clue
Person no. 2 post child birth depression (maybe because the child was still born)
Person no. 3. PTSD. Either from accidentally causing an accident or being in the military.
I think the protagonist is haunted by the families "ghosts" as he was bound along with his family when thier house was broken into and robbed unable to do anything, all he could do was to witness his families demise, he also got shot but survived some how. Feeling survivors guilt and feeling like he failed his family, he saw it as he might as well have pulled the trigger (despite he didn't) , he when found a isolated house to be alone in, somehow either by finding and reading documents and or written notes and or seeing videos about the previous inhabitants for some reason left in the house, our protagonist fuelled by drugs , guilt and remorse when twisted the stories , to sorta escape from reality/ make his own life seem less bad. "The ghost of his family" crisis him for his drug and alcohol abuse.
The mask , is something many people with mental illnesses (me included) does, it is metaphorical mask, we put on to hide our true selves to appear more "normal" to others, avoid unwanted questions and so we won't annoy others with our present
Really enjoy your game analysis videos very much I hope we have more of this
The demon isn't random you can tell when it's near by the flashing lights, and you can scare it away with the Camera flash.
Honestly if you said this was a new silent hill id believe it. The fact that there are a lot of scenes outside the house makes it more easy to believe it could be in that series somehow. Awesome vid and narration!
I LOVE how you narrate videogames... or everything, keep going dude!
The Run and Hide thing is from Amnesia, where it was great and part of the core theme of the story.
A lot of other places it feels weird
I know this comment will get lost cuz this video is old, but this was the only game I had to take breaks from watching when it was popular because I was so absolutely terrified. No other game I’ve watched from Let’s Players has even come close to this day. However, everyone stopped playing it after 2 chapters so I really thought it went unfinished. I can’t believe that it’s not only finished, but was finished well over a year ago when this video came out! Still terrifying today.
Second watch through here. Definitely, without question the most thorough, insightful, and funny game review I've ever seen. The commentary is absolutely top notch, and I feel like you've touched in so much more in a single video than many reviewer touch on in multi part play throughs. Especially with this absolute unit of a game. Excellent work for sure!
Damn, two watches, I’m honoured!
Visage terrified me, mostly because the house was SO incredibly similar to my house growing up. I've never seen another house that had a staircase filled entirely with family pictures like that. The mess and clutter, the French doors, the unfinished basement, it was like walking through my childhood home, and I was scared shitless.
Lucy's chapter was sooo impressive and amazing!! Loved everything about it... Other 3 chapters, sorry, I was not feeling them... :(
One of the most annoying aspects of horror is what I call 'assets piling' - you pile up a bunch of mannequins, cribs, wheelchairs, whathaveyou, and it is supposed to be creepy and deep and symbolic of (insert past trauma / mental issue here). I mean, it might have been off putting once, but now I feel like it is a bore, and it was especially jarring in the lastest Blair Witch game. It is like the game gave you a jolt that you're not in a different world but in a creation of Bloober Team.
Dude, your channel is full of good content! Please, bring more of game analysis!
When I recently played this game I tried to create the right atmosphere, play at night, all the lights off, but after 20 minutes I had to give up and continue in the afternoon next day. No other horror game had such a strong effect on me before.
Another great video, thank you and keep them coming!
Thanks, got another big one in the works :)
@@TotallyPointlessTV feel like a kid at Christmas!
I loved the house of the game, how you just get this moment of dread as you enter the basement and in complete darkness hear something walk to you. My only issue is the sanity mechanic being tied to light, some rooms I thought were well lit like the kitchen would drain my sanity and make it so I kept getting annoying ghost encounters.
Just a note regarding the hospital elevator part. You DON'T have to pull all the bodies out to get the elevator operational. If memory serves ye only need pull around 3 bodies. Also, if immediately start dragging the bodies to JUST outside the door as soon as ye hear the music change and you MAY be able to get the requisite number of corpse out and start the elevator just in time to slam the elevator door close in Rakan's face.
I have been interested in watching people play horror games recently and once I came across this, I knew I had to watch it. Upon starting the video, it looked VERY familiar even though I knew I hadn't played it. This game is on Roblox and I have played so many times. It's so so similar, even with the storyline, the way the house is designed, everything. I thought it was funny seeing how they're similar and different while watching this. Great video!!!
So I stumbled upon the video where you covered POSTAL now I'm binging all your vids lol...Just had to say all your content is really interesting and well published dude
Your editing style and delivery kept me laughing through the whole thing, had to sub instantly
I love horror games. I've became so numb to them over years that pretty much nothing scares me any more, but I still enjoy them, even if they suck. Visage is the only game ever that I've refused to complete, because it scares the absolute living shit out of me. I fucking love and hate it at the same time. This is a masterpiece to be honest. Sometimes a bit janky, but overall scary as fuck.
Same here man. Horror vet, having played nearly every major horror game ever made, but I still can’t finish this lmao.
I finished it awhile ago on ps4. But now I'm going back to it on pc. After alien isolation i didn't think another horror game would scare me. Then I played this and it creeps me out more than alien isolation. I couldn't imagine this in vr😳
Poosay
Nothing gets me into a video quicker than good editing definitely subscribing
I loved this video. I didn't like this game it felt like it was trying to do too many things that have already been done better and the mechanics of the light bulbs and candles and your sanity if not in the light was absurd. But it was an indie game made by a small team with a relatively small budget so they did do a good job
That talking on the first phone call had me crying. It sounds like Taz the Tasmanian devil trying to give you a warning
Much love for the music "Silent Hill3 - Never Forgive Me, Never Forget Me" in the Conclusion part (this time really fits the mood) remember you used in past "The Dumbest Paranormal Frauds" video and since we share a same interest(horror games which are my life)I like to add a personal note despite I don't like these long analysis contents (I mean nowadays I can't focus on something for 5 damn minute so this is all on me) I think you have an awesome personality in person as it in videos so just wanted to say thanks for the content you make and I wish you more success and energy! :)
Gotta ask, you wouldn't happen to know what music is playing at around 40:00? The melancholic piano bit I mean. I hear him use it in several other videos, and I'm sure I've heard it somewhere else before, but for the life of me I cannot put my finger on it.
@@WaaaghbossOrkamungus Yes ofcourse its Layers Of Fear - Paintings on the Wall
@@Aworr YUSS! Finally! Thanks a million mate!
Never would've expected to be jumpscared by the screaming cowboy song, but here we are.
I wanna put my two cents in about the 2nd chapter. I believe that it's chaotic to create an idea of a declining mental state, depression, and insanity.
these video's are honestly so good it's really hard to find this kind of video essay on TH-cam. I honestly lost count of how many times I've watched this video and all of your others (except the early really weird one maybe one day) it's probably over sixty at this point and even then I'm inviting a buddy over to rewatch dead space 3 video and drink to it I thank you so much for keeping me entertained for so long.
unpopular opinion: i LOVE running and hiding, only because it's way scarier than being able to fight back. As soon as I can fight back, I am not scared. fear boner flaccid
Exactly. How could he not get this?
I wouldn't say it's unpopular. I think it's like a 50/50 split if someone would prefer combat or no combat in horror.
13:48 You were close, it was an object in a valve game and it is technically in the half-life universe. You were thinking of Chell's Long Fall Boots from portal.
Bro you gotta drop more game analysts I just subbed🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🧡
Thanks dude, working on another big one as we speak :)
@@TotallyPointlessTV lets goooooo!!!! keep up the grind my guy💯
Bro, you panic-singing 99 Luftballons in broken german with the song dubbed in just completely destroyed me. That's the kind of weird s**t I do when being chased by unfathomable horrors too!
I have no idea why people have so much trouble playing Visage. I never encountered a fraction of the frustration and confusion it seems to have given most players. And Dolores chapter was the most Silent Hill 2 thing since, well, Silent Hill 2.
????
@@McPyore ¿¿¿¿
Your commentary is genuinely hilarious I couldn’t stop snorting LOL
My theory is that they all went insane because they couldn’t get blink 182 tickets and the demon is Tom Delonge’s physical manifestation haunting them
That Layers of fear soundtrack never ceases to be ear candy!!
Great work my dud
And if you want to do one video about Layers or Soma in the future I would be the best
Love the use of the Layers of Fear soundtrack! Another favorite in horror in 'recent' years!
Thank you
I was looking for the music he used in the video
At the beginning, I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.
Actually, I can't tell if he's praising the game or hating on it. On second thought, he basically did both.
There's stuff to praise and stuff to hate honestly haha
@@someone_you_know6 Yeah, that makes sense
🗿
I have no idea why "The real slim shady" got me so badly, but I appreciate it for getting me to sub to this channel. Still one of the best videos on this game that i've seen
I started my playthrough on Delores' story, so the ending for me was at the mirror circle.