Sunday, December 27, 2020

Horror Gaming Nostalgia: The Haunted PS1 Demo Disc

 

 

My time as a gamer essentially ended in the last century with the PlayStation 1.  Resident Evil was kind of a big deal.  Now, thanks to 90s nostalgia (and maybe relative ease of programming), indie game developers are bringing back that low-poly 3D aesthetic.

One example of this trend is the Haunted PS1 Demo Disc, a collection of 17 diverse demos in lovingly-crafted retro PS1 style, down to a jewel case mock up and a pseudo-commercial.

 

Some of the demos are non-spooky and forgettable.  Others are so blurry that they act as a “lost my glasses” simulator, although arguably not being able to see what’s going on enhances the horror.  

A common issue...

There are some standouts, though.  Heartworm, “a game about the memories we keep and the ones we wish we could forget” transports a Tomb Raider-ish character into an empty neighborhood full of mist and menace.  What exactly is that red glow in the side yard?  Filthbreed, while nothing novel concept-wise, is polished and harrowing as the protagonist navigates an infested house.  Much more novel is Sauna2000, which combines a sauna simulation and informal Finnish language tutorial with surreal horror and multiple endings.   

Sauna2000

Among the best is Ode to a Moon, which unexpectedly segues from detective procedural to hypnotic, shifting, psychedelic Lovecraftian geometry.  Nothing much describable happens in the Ode to a Moon demo, but that’s ok – it’s enough to sit back and soak up the atmosphere.

Ode to a Moon

I liked these demos not so much for the 90s flavor as for the imagination the developers put into them – out of the mainstream, there’s a sense of the unexpected, and you never know what might lurk around the next murky, blocky corner.