Hideo Kojima wants to loosen our bowels with his upcoming Silent Hill sequel for the PlayStation 4, and he’s not messing around. I’ll concede to diving headfirst into the recently released P.T. (or Playable Teaser) demo yesterday in a bullish mood, expecting the tense but not exactly unsettling experience that the survival horror genre has taught me to anticipate over the past few years. An hour later, I was a mess.
I’ll happily admit that I’m far from the archetypal man: I don’t particularly like spiders, I avoid violence and antagonism at all costs, and I generally worry about everyday things in a wimpy kind of way. That said, the one tough guy weapon in my arsenal is that I’ve always been able to cope pretty well with horror games. I actually find the act of being in control easier than having a more passive role, and the sense of apprehension has always made this one of my favourite genres.
Now, I’ll also concede that I haven’t played every horror game in existence – I’m informed that Amnesia: The Dark Descent is pretty petrifying – but this is certainly the most disturbing piece of software that I’ve ever had the misfortune of playing through. And, while in the aftermath of my first run I haven’t fully put my finger on why just yet, I think that it’s actually the relative lack of danger combined with the growing sense of familiarity that makes it so disconcerting.
For those of you that haven’t played it yet, the whole demo takes place in a single ‘L’ shaped hallway. This cluttered, claustrophobic corridor is clearly the culmination of a teensy development budget that no doubt stemmed from developer Kojima Productions’ attempts to justify the entire initiative to tight-fisted executives. However, it also happens to be the teaser’s greatest strength at the same time.
Strutting through the microscopic game space caused me to roll my eyes at first; the outdoor rain storm, chilling radio message, and old family photographs are all survival horror clichés at this point. Then you exit the room and do it all over again – and again and again. By the third or fourth time, I was in a pretty lax state of mind, and that’s a dangerous place to be. See, it’s around this point that the world starts to change: subliminal sound samples play, doors open and close, and you realise that you’re not alone.
And it’s because you’re already familiarised with the tiny space, that you notice every minute change. Why is there a ‘hello’ message suddenly etched onto the wall? Where has that picture disappeared to? Why does the radio want me to turn around? It’s not a spoiler to say that you really shouldn’t turn around, but you, like 99.9 per cent of others, absolutely will – and it’s from that particular point that the game gets inside your mind.
That makes solving its remaining – and, let’s be honest, obtuse – puzzles all the more stressful, even though there isn’t especially any danger at all. The majority of horror games place you in impossible scenarios to ramp up the tension; whether it’s trying to sneak past a particularly unpleasant nasty or a stern set of challenges that must be completed quickly, the terror comes from your heightened sense of mortality. And that’s where the frustration also sets in.
But this game has none of that: the checkpoints are frequent and regular, the concept of death seems utterly diminished when you take into account the parallel universe plot mechanic, and the level itself is so small that any slight error is unlikely to ever punish you with significant progress loss. And yet, it had my heart racing like no other game before it, as I searched almost insufferably for the next environmental clue that would get me to the end.
In fact, so frazzled was I by the time that I got to the final puzzle that I actually considered giving up – it all got a bit too much. Now, there’s some debate online about how you solve this last conundrum, and, despite seeing it through, I’m not convinced that I properly understand it either. It could be that way because Kojima, by his own admission, expected people to spend a week or so trying to happen upon the conclusion – but I’m not sure that I agree.
Indeed, I reckon that it’s all part of the experiment. Executing the exact – but ambiguous – set of steps required to reach the Silent Hills trailer teetering on the horizon shouldn’t be hard, but even waiting for a digital clock to strike midnight feels like the most utterly nerve-racking thing in the world. And so, as mentioned, I wanted to turn the game off. I’d walked through the same corridor dozens of times, I knew that there was no danger in the hall, and, heck, I even had access to a variety of instructions detailing roughly what I needed to do. Following them through, though, was almost impossible.
And that’s because the demo gets into your head in a way that no other survival horror title that I’ve ever experienced does. I suppose that I shouldn’t have expected anything less from the man that dreamed up the Psycho Mantis battle in the original Metal Gear Solid – but I did. So, from overconfident opening to terror stricken conclusion, Kojima gradually made me crack over the course of an impressive but unpleasant hour. And, as a result, I’m now convinced that he'll be able to coax me into a toilet related incident over the course of several more.
Have you managed to see through P.T. yet? Were you terrified by the teensy taster, or is Sammy just being a baby? Scream like you mean it in the comments section below.
Have you finished the P.T. demo? (49 votes)
- Yes, but I was absolutely terrified
- Yes, but I didn’t find it scary at all
- No, I haven’t actually had chance
- No, I don’t want to give it a go
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Comments 44
My experience with this game was very similar to yours, Sammy, with the only difference being that I forced a friend to play with me so that we could share the terror.
After we finished the demo, we decided to boot up Outlast to try to keep the excitement and fear going. However, we found that after playing P.T., Outlast just didn't seem scary anymore. Which is hilarious, because I found Outlast quite tense the last time I played it. I guess we'd been desensitized after the sheer unadulterated terror of P.T.
@k_andersen I didn't want to look in my bathroom's sink this morning...
@k_andersen I had the exact same feeling when I went back on Outlast. I refused to even go in my bathroom this morning.
It was pretty terrifying the first few times the surprise pops out, then You get used to it, it was a little too repetitive towards the end but that's not really a problem for such a short demo. It got extra creepy in the red corridor though. Absolutely loved it.
The first time I tried it out I honestly crapped myself 😂 I turned around and that person was there and I screamed soo loud 😂😂
If I'm honest, it left me more bored than scared. I thought P.T. stood for 'pretty tedious'.
@get2sammyb @Gr3ggl3s Eugh! The bit in the bathroom was the absolute worst!
what scares me is the prospect that the game may be first person. That would be a dealbreaker for me
I just have one thing to way........turn around...I SAID turn around!
Excellent and the most jumpy game I've played for ages , for such a small corridor I've spent hours playing it , really looking forward to the final version
Not for me, not by a long shot, but I had to comment for "hell hath no halleay".
Nice.
@rjejr I wanted to use 'Hallway to Hell', but Eurogamer got in first.
I loved P.T and I look forward to Silent Hills...I got a greater sense of achievement from finally getting the damned phone to ring to end the demo than I have from completing a game in years.
I very much doubt the game will be in the 1st person...P.T seems to have been done in FP to keep the identity of the protagonist a surprise...which is also why there is a tarnish across the bathroom mirror where your face would be visible. I personally would prefer Silent Hills to be first person but I expect it will be the usual 3rd person set up.
I'm the type of person who loves extreme horror movies and games, but this? No. This just absolutely gave me the fear. I've never played anything so tense.
it's going to be first person.
One thing that scares the crap out of me in suspense/horror is the sound of babies and when a door is slightly open and no lights are on . O.O
I think they'll play around with the 1st and 3rd person perspective switching it up for maximum excretion.
First person gives more immersion to the horror atmosphere. 3rd person not so much. also, for this type of game they are trying to create with such a huge ammount of suspense, 3rd person will take a lot of that away. I hate 3rd person, I freakin hate it.
So if you were to turn around in 3rd person to see a creature in your characters face, it's not going to scare you nearly as much as in first person where the apperance is right in your face on the screen.
@Demi_God I'm hoping it ends up on morpheus
Loved this demo. Only kojima can make you walk around in a loop for 3 hours trying to make a baby cry and a phone ring and still be entertained. The graphics were scaled down to hide the fact that it was the fox engine apparently and when I walked into that hallway for the first time I was blown away. Outstanding. Just imagine this on morpheus. Kojima will be getting a hefty laundry bill from me.
How do you get the demo
My wife was playing this last night. I was watching while feeding a bottle to our baby girl. When the gost grabbed us my wife let out a shout and i jumped so bad I scared the baby and she started screaming. I had to turn it off. This one will be to much for me.
@Demi_God totally agree. There are so many games that would be better in first person perspective. So much more emersive.
@Johnnycide yep to much for me too.
@get2sammyb I was locking up my house last night with my iPhone flashlight and had a flashback to P.T. I love survival horror but last gen was a joke. This is showing some promise on ps4 with games like outlast and this. I agree wholeheartedly that this is the scariest game I've ever played. It's scarier because u can't die and it feels like it will never end.
Didnt make me jump or as scared as I had hoped. The door being closed did but the others not so much. Still psyched though!
God, me and my friend haven't played it. We both watched it and were both udderly terrified. He said he go back to the game he fears the most before he dared get close to this game. Imagine this game with Project Morpheus or the Rift, especially if you lived in a house with that design. And that fetus-baby. I want to buy Silent Hills now, just from that, but I know I'll get 2 minutes in and never wanna touch again out of fear.
@Dordrid Scaled back?!
I hope for 1st person but expect 3rd person...I don't see them making a big deal of having Norman Reedus play the main character and then using the first person perspective where he can't be seen. It's all pointless conjecture right now anyway...we can only guess. Whatever the viewpoint used a new silent hill that is being created with care is enough reason to be excited.
I had my playstation gold headsets on full voulume at night with all the lights turned off! I had the ultimate experience!!
oh yeah, I have surround sound in my living room and when you hear "Turn around", it comes from behind me and guess what, there isn't a wall there, it's a railing, so something could hover in the main entrance of my house. o.O
really though, when a door slightly opens up and there are no lights on to see anything in that room, I literally cringe the closer I get to that door.
@Munkyknuts like @SimonAdebisi said, I think they'll play around with first and third person perspectives. Though you could still have the game star Reedus and be totally first person, they could just show him in the cut scenes.
@get2sammyb You should have had the option "yes I played it, but it was too damn scary to finish" I downloaded the demo when it dropped, played it that night and stopped partway through because, yea it freaked me out. I just gathered the nerve to finish it last night! If Silent Hills is anywhere close to being this nerve wrecking I'm really going to enjoy it. I haven't been this scared of a game since... Well... The first Silent Hill! I still need to play Outlast though!
@Sir_JBizzle well I hope for 1st person as I prefer it...I still think it was only used in P.T as a device to keep your identity a secret/surprise, but we will see when more details of Silent Hills come to light.
are we so sure that the atmosphere and all the creepy ambiance is all the work of kojima and not del toro?
I don't think anyone said it was all kojima, it's the entire team that is put together to form this game, Guillermo del Toro, Norman Reedus, and Hideo Kojima. Fact is, Hideo Kojima is a big name in gaming and the fact that he is actually involved in another big game other than MGS is HUGE.
I personally don't care for Kojima as I think he is very much a giant drama queen as he is a developer and it's because of his back and forth with the MGS series and his depressing attitude in general with last gen. on past articles with him in it. I've wanted to see Hideo Kojima participate in new projects, but he kept going right back to MGS, which made me rolls my eyes every single time. With that being said, I can say FINALLY!
Beat it. Loved it. In the dark with headphones on for 3 hrs wad pretty goddamn intense. Can't wait for the full game. Kojima and Del Toro are a f'n dream team. Anyone who isn't stoked for this just doesn't appreciate horror games. See yall in the fog.
I don't scare easily anymore because of years of games trying to get you with cheap jump scares, that's what I've always liked about Silent Hill (at least the older ones), it's more of the creepy atmosphere and themes mixed in with a rare jump scare. I'm not sure this game will scare me or not but the demo nailed the freaky kind of feel I want from SH so that's a good thing. Interested to see how this play out though, because I was also somewhat excited for more recent games in the series only to be letdown.
Part way through. Its brilliant.
@get2sammyb - ah, that's low hanging fruit for you, too easy. Though it is probably my all time favorite album. The highway, not the hallway.
Not only do I love how absolutely terrifying this game is but I also love how it's like the old PS2 games where when you're on a really hard puzzle and you start looking everywhere for a clue or the thing you need.
To the people asking if the actual game will be first person, why would they bother to get a recognizable star like Norman Reedus and put his likeness in the game as the protagonist, Only to hide it away by making the game first person? It may have some first person bits though, like in Silent Hill 4 which I actually rather enjoyed.
I hope it is first person. Its definetly.more scary in that view than 3rd and a lot easier to control than 3rd. Me and my lady jumped out of our skin near the end when your trying get the baby cry and walk around the corner towards the swinging light when the ghosts appears and rushes at you...oh my days...brown pants
I'm trying to like the horror genre but i get bored with just a phone or flash light, I played two so far on psn so im kinda burnt out already but I'm still keen on action/horror though.
I can't get the baby to laugh a second time!!!!!!!!!!!
Help!!!!!
I really loved the whole thing but I wasn't scared by it after the first 20 minutes or so. I found myself painfully aware that I was playing a video game because of the random nature of the last puzzle.
So when I'm wandering around trying to figure out how to make something happen I'm more bored than scared.
Like I said though, I loved the experience and I'm sure that Silent Hills WILL be terrifying with few, if any, arbitrary win conditions
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