PlayStation Magazine UK - 12.2019

065

INFO PUBRELEASEBANDAI NAMCO 2017 HOW TO PLAYDEVTARSIER STUDIOSPS STORE

Little Nightmares

Feast your eyes on this

T

he Maw is a fittingly named

vessel. Chapter four begins

with the ship taking on passengers

referred to in-game only as ‘The

Guests.’ Filing into the ship’s

dining area, its tables piled high

with all kinds of strange and

seriously unappetising meat, they

sit and gorge. But they’re never so

distracted by their meal that they’ll

ignore protagonist Six’s presence.

Just as you begin to think you’ve

figured out how best to sidestep

the doddering Guests, they begin

pouring out from rooms on all sides,

forming a hungry tidal wave.

What they lack in speed while upright

they make up for in their terrifyingly

determined crawl. With their grasping

hands to either side and behind

Six, the only way to get out is to go

through. The Maw casts a strange

spell on anyone aboard – including

Six – but the Guests’ overwhelming

hunger and singlemindedness really

takes the cake for us.

T

aking cues from Taiwanese history

and mythology, Red Candle presents a

memorably warped vision as young Ray

attempts to escape from a nightmarish version

of her school populated by hungry ghosts.

After avoiding spectres by holding her breath

and being forced to conduct a strange ritual on

the body of a classmate, Ray retreats

to a bathroom. Previously the mirror

would offer a moment of respite. This

time her reflection’s head twists and

grimaces. What it says just before

the glass fractures suggests Ray

knows a lot more about what’s going

on than she admits. It’s creepy and

only tightens the knot of dread the

previous shifts in perspective and the

oppressive sound design has been

fostering. How Detention’s story

slowly unspools from this defining

moment is why it makes our list.

Gone but not forgotten Summoning the ghost of PlayStations past for some retro scares

Siren

One hell of a callback

The living are few and far

between in Hanuda.

Sightjacking – the ability to

see through the living dead’s

eyes – is their only hope of

survival. The droning sound

design and uncanny facial

capture makes this an

unsettling classic.

Silent Hil

Oh, to return!

This is one of the best-

known examples of devs

turning limitations into

assets. Besides that fog

hiding a limited draw

distance, the low-polygon

graphics welcomed

ambiguity and added to the

horror. We miss this series!

Project Zero II –

Crimson

Butterfly

That’s the spirit!

A haunted village, the ritual

sacrifice of twins, and

sibling protagonists with only

a camera for protection. A

recipe for disaster that we

wish we could play more

easily on modern systems.

Resident Evil

The dog days of

summer aren’t over

Yes, you’ve got a gun in this

one, and it’s definitely an

improvement over Project

Zero II’s camera, but your

survival in this quarantined

mansion is far from a sure

shot. It’s just as well you

can’t pet the dog.

Haunting

Ground

Maid to gore-der

Everyone wants something

grim from Fiona Belli in this

castle. Even her maid is a

homunculus who envies her

humanity. Take it from us –

it’s always a bad idea to hide

inside a torture device.

INFOPUBRELEASE COCONUT ISLAND GAMES 2017 HOW TO PLAY PS STOREDEV RED CANDLE GAMES

Detention

High school never ends