HorĀ­ror trends seem to come in waves any time someĀ­thing parĀ­ticĀ­uĀ­larĀ­ly scary hits the scene. Hideo KojiĀ­ma and GuillerĀ­mo del Toroā€™s horĀ­ror opus of a demo, P.T., would have been that spark for the genre if the full game had come to fruition. SadĀ­ly, only a short demo gave proof of conĀ­cept to what is one of the most unique and terĀ­riĀ­fyĀ­ing horĀ­ror gamĀ­ing expeĀ­riĀ­ences. NothĀ­ing had come close to me in matchĀ­ing what I felt when wanĀ­derĀ­ing through the endĀ­less hallĀ­way of P.T.ā€˜s demo, that is, until SadĀ­Square StuĀ­dio released the final verĀ­sion of VisĀ­age. Promised as the spirĀ­iĀ­tuĀ­al sucĀ­cesĀ­sor to a horĀ­ror game we would now nevĀ­er pry from the clutchĀ­es of KonĀ­aĀ­mi, VisĀ­age wears its inspiĀ­raĀ­tion of its sleeve. EveryĀ­thing from the sound and visuĀ­al design, to the obscure puzĀ­zles of VisĀ­age screams P.T. and I have finalĀ­ly found myself transĀ­portĀ­ed back to the exciteĀ­ment I felt for a truĀ­ly terĀ­riĀ­fyĀ­ing horĀ­ror game.

TakĀ­ing place entireĀ­ly inside a three-bedĀ­room sinĀ­gle-famĀ­iĀ­ly home, VisĀ­age is a very intiĀ­mate horĀ­ror expeĀ­riĀ­ence. It is not too long into the game before you could draw a floor plan of the VisĀ­age house from memĀ­oĀ­ry. The game takes you throughĀ­out every area of the house, searchĀ­ing for clues as to how to proĀ­ceed. This setĀ­ting lends itself to horĀ­ror extremeĀ­ly well, since as you explore the house, you come to know it very well, only to have unexĀ­pectĀ­ed changes and encounĀ­ters rear their heads as you round a preĀ­viĀ­ousĀ­ly safe corĀ­ner. VisĀ­age does take you outĀ­side of the walls of the house on occaĀ­sion, but most of the action expertĀ­ly uses that priĀ­maĀ­ry house to bring the scares.

The main thrust of VisĀ­age is guidĀ­ing you through the expeĀ­riĀ­ences of mulĀ­tiĀ­ple spirĀ­its who met a grueĀ­some and untimeĀ­ly end. These spirĀ­its are not your friends and you are always being huntĀ­ed from the moment you wake up inside the dingy empĀ­ty room and stumĀ­ble out into the main house. The intenĀ­siĀ­ty of the atmosĀ­phere in VisĀ­age is a bit of douĀ­ble-edged sword. On the one hand, just like in P.T., there is a weight to existĀ­ing inside this house. There is a conĀ­stant fear of what could jump out at you if you turn a corĀ­ner or light up your lighter. KeepĀ­ing this going is a difĀ­fiĀ­cult thing for any game to do, but VisĀ­age actuĀ­alĀ­ly manĀ­ages to stay scary for the long haul. While P.T. was a shortĀ­er expeĀ­riĀ­ence, VisĀ­age is sigĀ­nifĀ­iĀ­cantĀ­ly longer and after my first few play sesĀ­sions I was exhaustĀ­ed from being tense. This can be pretĀ­ty easĀ­iĀ­ly resolved by playĀ­ing in shortĀ­er bursts, but if you are espeĀ­cialĀ­ly senĀ­siĀ­tive to scary games, this one might be a bit much. VisĀ­age comes at you hard with a comĀ­biĀ­naĀ­tion of slow-burn scary moments and even some well-earned jump scares. I am a huge horĀ­ror fan and even I had a nightĀ­mare the first night after playĀ­ing VisĀ­age.

One of the realĀ­ly unique things about P.T. was the puzĀ­zle design. It took some true pokĀ­ing and prodĀ­ding to figĀ­ure out what that game wantĀ­ed from its playĀ­ers, and this is someĀ­thing othĀ­er imiĀ­taĀ­tors like LayĀ­ers of Fear nevĀ­er quite got right. This type of puzĀ­zle design makes for a satĀ­isĀ­fyĀ­ing expeĀ­riĀ­ence when you manĀ­age to crack the code and VisĀ­age offers this in spades. Any of the moments where I came to the soluĀ­tion of any of these obscure puzĀ­zles natĀ­uĀ­ralĀ­ly felt like I was a great detecĀ­tive solvĀ­ing a difĀ­fiĀ­cult case under harĀ­rowĀ­ing cirĀ­cumĀ­stances. On the flip side, wanĀ­derĀ­ing around aimĀ­lessĀ­ly can feel realĀ­ly frusĀ­tratĀ­ing, espeĀ­cialĀ­ly when the threat of getĀ­ting jump scare killed or runĀ­ning out of pills to heal your sanĀ­iĀ­ty are conĀ­stant conĀ­cerns. Some of these puzĀ­zles rely on a bit of luck to stumĀ­ble upon and it can occaĀ­sionĀ­alĀ­ly feel a bit like pixĀ­el-huntĀ­ing at times.

WalkĀ­ing into the stairĀ­well hallĀ­way of VisĀ­age and hearĀ­ing the groan of the the chain holdĀ­ing up the light immeĀ­diĀ­ateĀ­ly sent a shivĀ­er down my back. The dusty remĀ­nants of whomevĀ­er lived in this house before litĀ­ter the floor and shelves renĀ­der in impresĀ­sive high-fideliĀ­ty. Is that laughĀ­ing, or cryĀ­ing Iā€™m hearĀ­ing from just around that corĀ­ner? You would be forĀ­givĀ­en for thinkĀ­ing I was talkĀ­ing about P.T. for all of these comĀ­ments, but that is just how well that VisĀ­age has manĀ­aged to evoke the setĀ­ting and tone of that demo. If you have been waitĀ­ing for the game that can make you feel as though you got to play the full verĀ­sion of P.T., then VisĀ­age has you covered.

Pros:

  • ExpertĀ­ly-craftĀ­ed atmosĀ­phere that directĀ­ly injects horĀ­ror into your veins
  • A conĀ­sisĀ­tentĀ­ly scary expeĀ­riĀ­ence from beginĀ­ning to end
  • Pays homage to P.T. while buildĀ­ing upon the blueĀ­print that it left

Cons:

  • PuzĀ­zles can be obscure at times to the point of frustration
  • The conĀ­stantĀ­ly scary atmosĀ­phere can get a litĀ­tle exhaustĀ­ing at times

The year that it came out, I gave P.T. game of the year, in spite of it just being a demo. I was crushed when the project was canĀ­celled, but I finalĀ­ly feel as though I have gotĀ­ten the chance to play a full P.T. game with VisĀ­age. If you are a horĀ­ror fan that has been yearnĀ­ing for a truĀ­ly terĀ­riĀ­fyĀ­ing horĀ­ror game, I highĀ­ly recĀ­omĀ­mend VisĀ­age. The probĀ­lems that P.T. had are even more apparĀ­ent when bringĀ­ing it into a full game with VisĀ­age, but it is worth divĀ­ing in if you can hanĀ­dle the puzĀ­zles and scares. VisĀ­age delivĀ­ers on a promise to eleĀ­vate horĀ­ror video games and if you loved P.T. then you should not miss the chance to play VisĀ­age right now. VisĀ­age is availĀ­able now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Final Score: 4.5 out of 5.0 stars

PlayStaĀ­tion 4 verĀ­sion played on the PlayStaĀ­tion 5 for this review. Review code was proĀ­vidĀ­ed by Plan of Attack for this review.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *