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General discussionRelease: Obscuritas(71 posts)(71 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted March 18, 2016
Home alone(?)



<span class="bold">Obscuritas</span>, a haunting horror adventure where you explore a foreboding mansion filled with your nightmares, is now available DRM-free on GOG.com with a 10% launch discount.

Good horror stories prey on our fear of the unknown. The truly great ones, however, confront us with what we already fear but are too scared to admit. Sarah is about to face all her personal nightmares in a desperate attempt to retain her sanity and not succumb to crippling horror.

Her great-uncle has passed away and now Sarah finds herself in an old country house, eager to check out her mysterious inheritance. But her newly-acquired property comes with some undesirable remains of the past which will need something more drastic than a thorough dusting to get rid of. Is she going mad, or is the mansion slowly turning against her, bringing her most horrible fears to life? It's almost as though the place actually recognises her mental state and constantly assaults her mind, plunging her into a gallery of obscure realities. Sarah must keep her wits about her as best she can in order to stay alive and solve the puzzles creeping behind every haunted corner.



Navigate a mansion's sinister past as you enter the twisted world of <span class="bold">Obscuritas</span>, DRM-free on GOG.com. The 10% launch discount will last until March 25, 1:59 PM GMT.
Posted March 18, 2016
QWOP is a real walking, well...technically a *running* simulator and makes for a good laugh as you struggle through it.
Dear Esther plays more like a linear Visual Novel in 3D.
Posted March 18, 2016
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IFW: Any reviews yet?

This or Oxenfree?
I bought Oxen Free because it was on special and just barely within my acceptable budget. I have wishlisted this though. Going to search for some lets plays to see what it is like.

Going to play Oxenfree later today. I have to recommend Vanishing of Ethan Carter though, it's excellent. Just a pity I finished it in 2 days though over a weekend. Also they say there are no artificial blocks in that game but there are, the first thing I did was climb down from the dock to the water wanting to go into the water...pow first block found in under 2 minutes :) Anyway it is awesome.
Posted March 18, 2016
I won this game in the GOGcom twitch stream of Obscuritas and it *does* look interesting, but I probably wouldn't have bought it at this high a price, as it also looks a bit rough around the edges.

The "fear detection" mechanic is what will probably make it or break it, for me, though. During Outstar's stream the game did pick up on some of the stuff she felt more scared by, probably via analyzing the reactions when something is thrown at the player (if a certain sound makes the player stop or even move backwards, how much mouse wiggling is there when something happens, the paintings/portraits/sculptures the player looks at the most/the least, etc.), but I really need to experience this for myself, to fully understand how well it's implemented.

Graphically speaking, it just looks like a sloppily made Layers of Fear (and do bear in mind Layers of Fear was entirely made using Unity, which makes it all the more impressive, whereas I think this one uses a custom engine), not very polished at all. Sound design seemed good enough for a horror game, puzzles are clever but not overly hard -- then again, I only watched 2 hours of it, maybe they get worse or better later on.

All in all, a game I'm willing to try out and that I was eventually going to buy, when greatly discounted. Fortunately, I don't need to, anymore, but I was in no rush to play it, either.
Posted March 18, 2016
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Fairfox: Scary no-no.
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ashwald: So.... the game is too scary and gets a no-no from you or are you saying no-no in a scary way? :P
It's got a clown head. Pass. Clowns are too evil.
Posted March 18, 2016
So is this game like Outlast or Amnesia where you don't get any weapons? Or is it like Silent Hill?
Posted March 19, 2016
Yeah, it should have been kept obscure. :P
Posted March 19, 2016
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EckoShy: Also it probably wouldn't have any story at all.
Why not? Imagine the main story to be someone's usual day -- get up, run to catch the bus, descent many stairs to take the subway, arrive at work, return home and go outdoors to work out. Of course there will be side quests too -- escort the kids to school! Achievements -- how many miles have you walked? Unlockables -- new pink shoes! Roguelike features -- take the wrong street and face a pack of wild dogs; will you make it to safety or be food for the dogs? Permadeath feature. Health powerups only at hospital. Wow I can't believe what I'm writing.... I need sleep. :)
Posted March 19, 2016
That's a beautiful eye. I like it. :D
Posted March 19, 2016
[UPDATE]

Now that I own the game (fortunately, without having to have paid for it -- thank goodness for GOGcom twitch raffles!), I decided to do some browsing, and most of my fears were justified: the other game I remember attempting this "fear detection" mechanic -- and miserably failing at that -- was Pineview Drive. As it turns out, the devs of Pineview Drive are exactly the same ones that made Obscuritas.

For those who don't know, Pineview Drive is a horror game that apparently has some following in Germany and/or German-speaking countries, and it basically consists of lazy jumpscares while the player walks around solving "hidden object"-like puzzles, picking up keys and trying opening one of the many locked doors. It does have atmosphere going for it, but that's about all it does have, nothing more. As a fan of "walking simulators", I have to say Pineview Drive is a bad game even to those of us who enjoy interactive experimental narrative games -- especially because it is lacking in the actual *narrative* part, having no story, whatsoever.

I tried Obscuritas for a bit. It's a carbon copy of Pineview Drive, with slightly updated graphics that look beautiful at times, but mostly just suffer from "Unity asset pasting" all of the time. It's a shame, because that intro scene with the train and the outside of the manor look gorgeous, but as soon as you enter the house you can't help but feel there are 10 year old games that look way better than this -- heck, even Silent Hill 2 looks infinitely better, even if it is technically inferior. The art design in Obscuritas is appaling, and it ends up hurting the game. Just like the devs' previous game, Obscuritas has no story -- Sarah, the lady we play as, inherits a house, moves in, then finds notes and letters left by her late uncle (all pretty badly and boringly written) discussing some "evil" and whatnot. Pretty standard stuff, nothing particularly interesting. The gameplay is also just Pineview Drive all over again: try all the doors until one opens, solve puzzles, get keys, go back to the doors, one will open, get more keys, open more doors, get lost, go back, solve more puzzles, wander around, open doors, find boring notes, look for keys, try all the doors until one opens, solve more puzzles (you get the gist of it)...

As for the "fear detection" thing, well... they kind of improved on the pathetic one they had in Pineview Drive, but that one was so badly done, that an improvement doesn't necessarily mean it's good. They basically throw a ton of stuff at you, hoping *some of it* will work and scare you. And it probably will, since they got pretty much all of the phobias in the game (automatonophobia, pediophobia, arachnophobia, coulrophobia, equinophobia, sportaldislexicartaphobia, nosocomephobia, to name a few). They basically resorted to cheaply trying to trigger some sort of response by trying *everything* they can on the player. I don't even think the game "analyzes" any actual reactions we may have, it just keeps placing creepy dolls and paintings and covered furniture and statues in dark hallways and rooms.

I honestly can't recommend this game to anyone. Not to horror fans, not to adventure fans, not even to "walking simulator" fans. It doesn't seem to have anything going for it. And it's a shame, because there are times when it shows potential. Maybe they learn something from this and their next game is actually at least... decent and somewhat enjoyable. For now, just skip it.
Post edited March 19, 2016 by groze
Posted March 19, 2016
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groze: [UPDATE]

Now that I own the game (fortunately, without having to have paid for it -- thank goodness for GOGcom twitch raffles!), I decided to do some browsing, and most of my fears were justified: the other game I remember attempting this "fear detection" mechanic -- and miserably failing at that -- was Pineview Drive. As it turns out, the devs of Pineview Drive are exactly the same ones that made Obscuritas.

For those who don't know, Pineview Drive is a horror game that apparently has some following in Germany and/or German-speaking countries, and it basically consists of lazy jumpscares while the player walks around solving "hidden object"-like puzzles, picking up keys and trying opening one of the many locked doors. It does have atmosphere going for it, but that's about all it does have, nothing more. As a fan of "walking simulators", I have to say Pineview Drive is a bad game even to those of us who enjoy interactive experimental narrative games -- especially because it is lacking in the actual *narrative* part, having no story, whatsoever.

I tried Obscuritas for a bit. It's a carbon copy of Pineview Drive, with slightly updated graphics that look beautiful at times, but mostly just suffer from "Unity asset pasting" all of the time. It's a shame, because that intro scene with the train and the outside of the manor look gorgeous, but as soon as you enter the house you can't help but feel there are 10 year old games that look way better than this -- heck, even Silent Hill 2 looks infinitely better, even if it is technically inferior. The art design in Obscuritas is appaling, and it ends up hurting the game. Just like the devs' previous game, Obscuritas has no story -- Sarah, the lady we play as, inherits a house, moves in, then finds notes and letters left by her late uncle (all pretty badly and boringly written) discussing some "evil" and whatnot. Pretty standard stuff, nothing particularly interesting. The gameplay is also just Pineview Drive all over again: try all the doors until one opens, solve puzzles, get keys, go back to the doors, one will open, get more keys, open more doors, get lost, go back, solve more puzzles, wander around, open doors, find boring notes, look for keys, try all the doors until one opens, solve more puzzles (you get the gist of it)...

As for the "fear detection" thing, well... they kind of improved on the pathetic one they had in Pineview Drive, but that one was so badly done, that an improvement doesn't necessarily mean it's good. They basically throw a ton of stuff at you, hoping *some of it* will work and scare you. And it probably will, since they got pretty much all of the phobias in the game (automatonophobia, pediophobia, arachnophobia, coulrophobia, equinophobia, sportaldislexicartaphobia, nosocomephobia, to name a few). They basically resorted to cheaply trying to trigger some sort of response by trying *everything* they can on the player. I don't even think the game "analyzes" any actual reactions we may have, it just keeps placing creepy dolls and paintings and covered furniture and statues in dark hallways and rooms.

I honestly can't recommend this game to anyone. Not to horror fans, not to adventure fans, not even to "walking simulator" fans. It doesn't seem to have anything going for it. And it's a shame, because there are times when it shows potential. Maybe they learn something from this and their next game is actually at least... decent and somewhat enjoyable. For now, just skip it.

P.S.: I never thought a day would come when I would say this, but I honestly think GOG would be better off not selling this piece of crap.
R.I.P. Gog's quality control .


edit : Do i see giant flashlight batteries on the table ?

https://images-1.gog.com/c0f4d0aed125596dd6074c467e4c97e113058c9ce25430ca78e2825b9dc3da08.jpg
Post edited March 19, 2016 by Painted_Doll
Posted March 19, 2016
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groze: ...

P.S.: I never thought a day would come when I would say this, but I honestly think GOG would be better off not selling this piece of crap.
That seems harsh, but mostly confirms what the trailer and screenshots imply...

Would be nice to hear from people who actually enjoy Obscuritas, or have been following its development, just to give us a less one-sided impression of the game.

So far, it looks like Horror fans would be better off with Layers of Fear, also available here and at a ( slightly ) lower base price.
Posted March 19, 2016
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groze: ...

P.S.: I never thought a day would come when I would say this, but I honestly think GOG would be better off not selling this piece of crap.
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CharlesGrey: That seems harsh, but mostly confirms what the trailer and screenshots imply...

Would be nice to hear from people who actually enjoy Obscuritas, or have been following its development, just to give us a less one-sided impression of the game.

So far, it looks like Horror fans would be better off with Layers of Fear, also available here and at a ( slightly ) lower base price.
You are absolutely right about the harsh words; I edited my post accordingly. Calling the game "a piece of crap" was taking it a bit too far.

I don't think you'll get a less one-sided review of the game, though... if it's anything like its predecessor, not that many people will know it exists, and reviews will be few and far between, mostly giving the game average-to-low scores. Also, mind you, I didn't go into the game with my mind set on ending up hating it, I was genuinely interested in finding out how they had implemented the "fear detection mechanic", because if they had made that work, the game would have been very interesting. Unfortunately, said "fear detection" thing it's just lazily throwing things at the players' faces, hoping at least one will scare them.

As for Layers of Fear, I'm with you on that one. I had been following its development for months and found out it was getting a day 1 release here on GOG (via a Polish investor news website) -- Layers was one of my most anticipated games of this year, and it was really nice to be able to purchase it from my digital store of choice. I got it right at midnight, as soon as GOG got it up. It's arguably one of the best psychological horror experiences in the video game market, right now, if you ask me. Randomized scares each time you play, lots of stuff to unlock, superbly written, unsettling environments, three different endings (one of which is very hard to get), and a very well optimized game for how absolutely gorgeous it looks -- oh, and it's entirely made using Unity, by the way, which just goes to show that if the dev isn't lazy and does more than just using Unity's preset assets, Unity can actually be a great development tool and game engine (Kôna and The Long Dark also look gorgeous and are made using Unity, but, let's face it, Layers of Fear takes the cake, when it comes to how beautiful and polished it looks -- if anyone told you it had been made using the Unreal Engine you would have probably believed them). Layers of Fear also uses circa 3.5 GB HDD space, while Obscuritas needs almost 8 GB, if that happens to matter to anyone looking into buying either one of the titles. And Layers of Fear is extremely well optimized, you'd be surprised how well it runs even on 2008 machines, considering how good it looks. Obscuritas, on the other hand, has ludicrous system requirements, especially when you take into account it doesn't look all that great.

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Painted_Doll: edit : Do i see giant flashlight batteries on the table ?

https://images-1.gog.com/c0f4d0aed125596dd6074c467e4c97e113058c9ce25430ca78e2825b9dc3da08.jpg
Oh, god, yes, the flashlight batteries are some of the worst offenders in the game, they look downright ugly and out of place... you should also try finding screenshots of the mirrors. Seriously, I'm not a graphics junkie by any means, but for a horror game atmosphere is a make it or break it condition, and having stuff like these batteries just... kind of ruins it all.
Posted March 19, 2016
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groze: You are absolutely right about the harsh words; I edited my post accordingly. Calling the game "a piece of crap" was taking it a bit too far.

I don't think you'll get a less one-sided review of the game, though... if it's anything like its predecessor, not that many people will know it exists, and reviews will be few and far between, mostly giving the game average-to-low scores. Also, mind you, I didn't go into the game with my mind set on ending up hating it, I was genuinely interested in finding out how they had implemented the "fear detection mechanic", because if they had made that work, the game would have been very interesting. Unfortunately, said "fear detection" thing it's just lazily throwing things at the players' faces, hoping at least one will scare them.

As for Layers of Fear, I'm with you on that one. I had been following its development for months and found out it was getting a day 1 release here on GOG (via a Polish investor news website) -- Layers was one of my most anticipated games of this year, and it was really nice to be able to purchase it from my digital store of choice. I got it right at midnight, as soon as GOG got it up. It's arguably one of the best psychological horror experiences in the video game market, right now, if you ask me. Randomized scares each time you play, lots of stuff to unlock, superbly written, unsettling environments, three different endings (one of which is very hard to get), and a very well optimized game for how absolutely gorgeous it looks -- oh, and it's entirely made using Unity, by the way, which just goes to show that if the dev isn't lazy and does more than just using Unity's preset assets, Unity can actually be a great development tool and game engine (Kôna and The Long Dark also look gorgeous and are made using Unity, but, let's face it, Layers of Fear takes the cake, when it comes to how beautiful and polished it looks -- if anyone told you it had been made using the Unreal Engine you would have probably believed them). Layers of Fear also uses circa 3.5 GB HDD space, while Obscuritas needs almost 8 GB, if that happens to matter to anyone looking into buying either one of the titles. And Layers of Fear is extremely well optimized, you'd be surprised how well it runs even on 2008 machines, considering how good it looks. Obscuritas, on the other hand, has ludicrous system requirements, especially when you take into account it doesn't look all that great.
I think I actually mistook Kôna and Layers of Fear as Unreal 4 games, when I first saw them. Kôna is also the first Early Access title on GOG I've bought so far, since the devs seem nice, and the game looks promising.

Still haven't picked up Layers of Fear, but I intend to do so eventually. Would you say it's better than most of the other Horror titles here? I've played most of them, and some were quite good, but none of them really "blew me away".

As for Obscuritas, since GOG accepted the game, I figure there has to be something to it. How much time did you spend with it? I just find it hard to believe that there's absolutely nothing remarkable about it. Maybe it would help if some of the devs showed up here, to provide some more info about the game and its features.
Posted March 19, 2016
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CharlesGrey: I think I actually mistook Kôna and Layers of Fear as Unreal 4 games, when I first saw them. Kôna is also the first Early Access title on GOG I've bought so far, since the devs seem nice, and the game looks promising.

Still haven't picked up Layers of Fear, but I intend to do so eventually. Would you say it's better than most of the other Horror titles here? I've played most of them, and some were quite good, but none of them really "blew me away".

As for Obscuritas, since GOG accepted the game, I figure there has to be something to it. How much time did you spend with it? I just find it hard to believe that there's absolutely nothing remarkable about it. Maybe it would help if some of the devs showed up here, to provide some more info about the game and its features.
I'll try to keep it short, as I tend to keep posting huge walls of text.

Regarding Layers of Fear, I wouldn't say it's the best horror game ever made (for all intents and purposes, it is a "walking simulator" -- as a fan of the genre, I absolutely loathe the term --, so, if you buy it, bear that in mind), but it's definitely one of the best psychological thrillers I've played. Nothing mindblowing, mind you, but a great game, nonetheless.

When it comes to Obscuritas, I have now played 4 hours of it. Granted, I didn't make much progress, since, like I said previously, the game is based around the player getting lost, having a bunch of jumpscares, solving cryptic hidden-object-like puzzles, finding keys and opening doors. If you liked Pineview Drive, you should definitely get this this one, and that's the most positive thing I can say about it. I didn't like their previous game at all. It tries to be one of the Dark Fall games (all of which are available on GOG, and all of them are great horror games, in their own right) but fails miserably at that. There are absolutely better horror games on GOG; the aforementioned Dark Fall trilogy, Layers of Fear, Kholat, Montague's Mount, Deadly Premonition, Alan Wake and even its "sequel" American Nightmare, The Cat Lady, Downfall and Downfall Redux, the Penumbra trilogy, both Amnesia games (I even prefer A Machine for Pigs over the overrated The Dark Descent, to be fair), SOMA, the *great* Sanitarium, heck, even the F.E.A.R. games are better horror games than Obscuritas, just to name a few.

I think that being 4+ hours in would have given me enough time to experience the proposed fear detecting mechanic. It hasn't. All I experienced, so far, is a buttload of jumpscares, music cues and random placing of statues, dolls, paintings, bloody blades and operating tables.

I will keep trying the game out, as I want to finish it, since I already started it, but, like you said, devs chiming in and presenting a different -- perhaps more grounded -- insight on their game would be highly appreciated.
Post edited March 19, 2016 by groze
Posted March 19, 2016
Yes, game looks pretty decent but the minimum of 670 which is mildly better than 760 doesn't bode well in my stomach. I miss silent hill and those kinda games.. Well there wasn't actually many there has always just been res evil and silent hill and silent hill died years ago.. well resident evil too. Still I did like kinda Resident evil revelations 2 main campaign. Raid mode was the disappointment.
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Community
General discussionRelease: Obscuritas(71 posts)(71 posts)
(71 posts)