There's nothing like a good, old-fashioned horror game, and an upcoming debut title magician Preferring solid scares and a compelling story seems understandable. That was after the thrill ride Resident Evil requestsI wouldn't blame horror fans for wanting a horror experience that's a little more meat and potatoes, which is exactly where it is. magician It might be able to help when it's released on April 8.
Coming from Spanish developer DALOAR (formerly Pentakill Studios), magician Embraces a familiar premise: the player steps into the shoes of Alan Rebel, a paranormal investigator looking for his father who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. After her disappearance, all that remains are Alan's memories of Godstone, the mysterious island where his father claims to have grown up. In search of answers and hoping to reunite with his father, Alan enters the Godstone, with only a handful of special tools and his career experience to guide him. But no research stint can prepare her for what she will encounter in this terrifying and strange place.
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The Occultist Hones in the Atmosphere, Puzzles, and Exploration
Basic idea behind magicianThe one that currently has a free demo on Steam is Godstone, where most of the games take place, abandoned since the 1950s. Until that point, the island was populated by “a macabre cult that performed disturbing experiments and brutal rituals”. Any “ritual” performed by this cult seems to have strange and terrifying consequences, turning Godstone into a hellish center of supernatural activity.
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Easy (5) Medium (7) Hard (10)
There are definitely shades to that premise silent hill Franchise, and that it is possible magician At least partially inspired by Konami's seminal horror franchise, but its moment-to-moment gameplay reminded me a lot more. Resident Evil 7. There's the first-person perspective, of course, but also a preference for tone and puzzle-solving in combat. Players will not run and gun magicianNor will they become increasingly powerful through an ever-growing arsenal of guns: they're playing as an explorer, not an action hero. Naturally, this makes for a much tenser, more fragile gameplay experience, which in turn facilitates greater horror.
Instead of fighting to rid the world of ghosts, monsters, or zombies, the Alan Rebels' task is to uncover the truth. likewise, magicianThe gameplay consists mainly of puzzles, many of which have already been teased or hinted at. It seems that both puzzles and exploration will be driven by various tools within the game, such as a glass object that can't be seen by the naked eye and a pendant that can turn back time. With these tools and others, magician It hopes to use gameplay to drive home its cosmic horror themes.
'Can a blind man describe light?'- How The Occultist captures cosmic horror
Cosmic horror, often called Lovecraftian horror, often dwells on existential or metaphysical themes due to the influence of writer HP Lovecraft on the genre. These stories are often less about immediate, physical danger and more about ideas so grandiose that they inspire paranoia and guttural, primal fear. For example, the classic cosmic horror story The Call of Cthulhu is about a cult that worships a giant being whose gigantic, otherworldly appearance can drive viewers crazy. In video games, cosmic fear can be conveyed through a number of unique methods, including playing with the player's perception. This can be seen in games like blood bornewhich changes what the player can see based on their insight level.
It appears magician In the same way he hopes to make the most of his means. In a cinematic trailer for the game, Alan refers to the “constant struggle between good and evil” and asks, “Can a blind man describe light?” He says that humans are limited in their capacity for perception, classifying our species as “blind” to the metaphysical world. It is only through Alan's abilities as a paranormal investigator that he can see the true nature of reality. Such concepts are inherently cosmic and idiosyncratic.
at the same time, magician Leaning on magical systems as in traditional folklore. For example, Alan causes a ghostly creature to explode in the reveal trailer, tricking it into seeing its reflection. It suggests adherence to ritualized magical rules Witcher. Combined with the Lovecraftian promise lurking beneath the surface of perception, this kind of formal magical system can make for a very compelling fantasy world. Hopefully, this will translate into some novel gameplay systems as well.
