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18.09.2023 - 12:55 / pcgamer.com / Alan Wake / New
Once thought far too cheesy to bring with us into the modern gaming era, FMV has been enjoying a bit of a renaissance over the last decade, thanks to games like Her Story and Alan Wake. If you're not familiar, it stands for full-motion video—in other words, it's when live-action filmed sequences are used in videogames. Also, it turns out it can be intensely creepy.
Even in this new age of FMV appreciation, upcoming survival horror game Tenebris Somnia uses it in an unusual way. As a woman investigating a house plagued by terrors, you explore a pixel art world reminiscent of classic point-and-click adventure games—Day of the Tentacle is what it brings to mind, for me. Colourful and a little cartoony, it doesn't strike too creepy a tone—that is, until the game cuts to an FMV sequence for a closer look at a grisly scene, or the introduction of a disturbingly deformed monster.
Though there are only a few short clips of the FMV in the trailer and current demo, I'm really impressed so far. These live action sequences wouldn't look amiss in a big budget horror movie, and the effects—particularly the monster, a truly horrible two-faced woman—are impressive, creative, and genuinely unsettling.
As it cuts back to the pixel art world, suddenly your imagination is filling in all the blanks. The pixelated version of the monster is rather less intimidating out of context, but having just been shown its 'real' form, your mind almost sees it as that. It's not completely seamless—the pixel art world could stand to be a little darker and sharper for a better blend between the two. But then the fact that the transition can be a little jarring itself throws you off-balance—across a full playthrough I could see it being a great tension-building tool, as you cling to the less immediately threatening reality and dread triggering the creepy FMV scenes.
Though Tenebris Somnia doesn't yet have a release date, you can get a taste of it already by downloading the demo on Steam. Just don't let the monster get a taste of you…
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You Will Die Here Tonight is as interesting as it sounds. The name is eye-catching, but the gameplay and premise are even more so. If you take a look at any of the game’s screenshots or trailers, you may notice a nostalgic chill go down your spine. Developer Spiral Bound Interactive created its debut game as a “love letter” to beloved classics, including the first two Resident Evil games and The House of the Dead. The developer has just revealed You Will Die Here Tonight’s specific release date, and it’s right on time for the most spooktacular holiday.
October is here and the month brings a non-stop train of game releases. It is perhaps the busiest month in gaming this year, with major titles fighting for space in the tight window of four weeks. Kicking off things on October 5 is Assassin's Creed Mirage, Ubisoft's next chapter in the long-running assassin's saga. This time, the game opts to shrink its scope and return to its roots with a more stealth and assassinations-based approach. The last three AC titles had adhered to a Witcher 3-style expansive RPG style, drawing criticism for open-world bloat.
Sneakerheads rejoice! If you're one of those people who dreams of owning every pair of Air Jordans released since 1985, or you see yourself loafing about in a pair of Chewbacca Crocs (no judgment here), then this PC might appeal to you. You can kick that old clunker PC to the curb with the Cooler Master Sneaker X.
Coming nearly a decade and a half after the release of the first game, Alan Wake 2 is obviously going to get a lot of players who’ve never had any experience with the franchise. That, combined with the fact that it’s also connected to Control through the Remedy Connected Universe, means there’s a lot to catch up on, even if Remedy has stressed that it’s tried to make the game as newcomer-friendly as possible.
13 (real-world and in-game) years have passed since we left Alan Wake in the Dark Place. The 2010 action game/psychological thriller gained a cult following thanks to a compelling narrative that blends Stephen King-esque psychological mystery with the quirky charm and evocative surrealism of Twin Peaks. In the decade-plus since, Remedy has grown to become one of the industry’s premier development studios, and now it’s writing an all-new chapter with its first survival-horror game, Alan Wake 2.
I never knew that I needed a mashup of Metal Gear Solid, BioShock, and Resident Evil, but after playing the demo for indie horror gem Endless Blue I can't wait to see more.
By Ash Parrish, a reporter who has covered the business, culture, and communities of video games for seven years. Previously, she worked at Kotaku.
By Darryn Bonthuys on
We all know it — the video game release schedule for the rest of 2023 is pretty ridiculous. So much so, that we've already seen one or two notable games shifting around in order to avoid clashing with others; take Alan Wake 2, for example. Well, another game is venturing even further out to get away from the hustle and bustle. Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is delayed into 2024.
New World is going wild, with the overgrowth and the beasts coming in the Rise of the Angry Earth expansion. Amazon has announced a new weeklong event to mark the expansion’s release, with special streams and Twitch Drops to get your hands on.
The latest part of our Alan Wake 2 IGN First is a section of exclusive 4K RTX gameplay played from the perspective of titular writer Alan Wake himself. The above video takes place in The Dark Place – a nightmare New York he’s trapped in - Alan finds a familiar face lurking in one of its many shadowy alleyways. This jacket-wearing, paisley tie-sporting detective is no other than Alex Casey, the hero from Wake’s successful crime book series.