Games Inbox: What survival horror video game to play on Halloween

The Monday letters page is not sure what Xbox’s next step is to promote Game Pass, as one reader demands a decent Ghostbusters game.

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A night of horror
So it’s going to be Halloween by the time you read this and I’m going to guess that most people had their fancy dress on at the weekend and probably aren’t going out partying tonight. Which means… video game time! I fully intend to put on a horror game but I’m not entirely sure what. I was tempted to buy Signalis and might still do, but I’m not generally a big fan of fake retro games.

I also thought of maybe Silent Hill 2, since it’s going to be ages before the remake and I have doubts about how we’ll it’ll turn out anyway. It’s been ages since I’ve played it too, plus I seem to remember it was relatively short and not particularly difficult.

Resident Evil 3 remake is also short, but to be honest that’s a fault not a benefit and I don’t think I liked it enough to replay it. So yeah, I think I’ll go with Silent Hill 2, unless anyone else can suggest some other quick/good survival horrors in the comments?
Royston

Next move
It’s hard to argue with a lot of what was being said about the Xbox in the Reader’s Feature at the weekend, since it’s all based on things Microsoft has actually said. I’m not sure if they’re panicking as such, and yet I can imagine sirens going off when they whiffed their targets for a second year in the row, and by a really wide margin.

The interesting thing for me is that I’m not sure what Microsoft answer to this is. They can’t make it any cheaper, if they buy any more companies they’ll be the entire games industry themselves, and it’s impossible for streaming to be all that successful at the moment because of broadband speeds.

I do think they’ll push playing on your phone and via things like Samsung TVs but I don’t know how much that’s going to push the needle. Maybe if Starfield is the next big thing that’ll make a difference, but does anyone that played Fallout 76 at launch really think that’s likely?
Focus

Call someone, anyone
Never have I agreed with GC more than when they described their dream Ghostbusters game, where you actually get to run Ghostbusters as a business. I can’t even think of an unofficial indie game (not saying there isn’t one) that does this. And yet we live in a world in which farming simulators and trombone games are a thing.

It wouldn’t need particularly good graphics or anything. Although I’m imagine that the guys that do Two Point Hospital and that would be a good pick. Change their usual art style for something more realistic, put some more action elements in there – maybe a kind of XCOM style element when you’re catching the ghost – and the thing basically makes itself.

Since video games don’t grow on trees I assume this is never going to happen, or at least not anytime soon, but I would like to hear one good reason as to why!
Mincemeat

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Three essentials
I think it’s pretty obvious that Resident Evil 9 is going to be a third person game at this point but I’m going to predict it’ll be a big all-stars style game with all, or most, of the main characters either playable or as allies/in cameos. Capcom missed the game’s 25th anniversary because of Covid but I bet that was totally the plan before the pandemic started.

They could still do it now though hand I think it’d go down very well. I have enjoyed Resident Evil 7 and Village but they’ve really underutilised all the amazing characters, which are a big part of the series. The only old school one they had was Chris and he’s the most boring. He’s just a blank slate, no personality at all.

But Jill, Claire, Leon, Wesker, heck even Barry Burton, those lot are iconic! You don’t even need to worry about the story of how they all meet up since none of them or dead or anything, except Wesker, and well… who cares about story in Resident Evil? I just want cheese, gore, and awesomeness.
Clef

Quick job
As a fan of the Song Of Ice And Fire books and FromSoftware I can absolute agree that there is not the slightest hint in anything from Elden Ring that suggests anyone outside the company helped out with the game or it’s story. There barely is a story and in the usual, wonderful, style it’s filled with contradictions and unexplained plot elements, with no explanation of what’s going on or even how it ends.

So what exactly did George R. R. Martin do? I realise he’s always looking for any excuse not to work on the next book but I don’t think this took him more than five minutes of making up some names and leaving it at that.
Lumpf

Back and forth
So just after the Xbox One came out and I was playing Far Cry 4 and Batman, etc. I was disappointed to see it still looked juddery. After seeing my friends running the same games at 60fps I sold up and spent £700 on a modest setup and spent the next few years enjoying PC gaming. However, being the nerd I am, I found myself playing with settings to get that stable 60fps in all my games and am not ashamed to say I didn’t really play anything I couldn’t.

Zelda on the Switch was the only game I was willing to accept it and even then I feel it would have been better if running smoother. But I do have to admit other readers and GameCentral’s attitude towards it has shocked me lately. I was fortunate to sell my old PC parts for quite a profit, considering their age and amount originally purchased for, so I have gone back to consoles – namely Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

Spidre-Man is beautiful in Performance RT mode but I genuinely don’t like it at 30fps. It makes me feel sick while playing and strains my eyes quickly. Obviously, these are modes I avoid so will not be trying Gotham Knights. I guess my point is I can see huge difference in 30/60fps and to me it is a deal breaker if locked at 30 (in 2022) and not just for racing games of shooters. I think all games just look and feel better this way.

Perhaps I’ve been spoilt, and my eyes cannot go back but if consoles are going that way again I’m jumping ship again and getting a PC again. I always felt the PlayStation 4/Xbox One gen was too early and underpowered. I expected more this time around and hope now that the cross-gen is coming to an end we can start getting consistent higher rates but with the Xbox Series S coming under fire lately who knows. Although thus far I have enjoyed both consoles and would like them to keep my custom by actually building some next gen games.
Phil
PS: 60fps is king.

Unnecessary error
It always amazes me when a game gets something as simple as a menu system wrong, especially when it’s a big budget one. I imagine the job to make the one in Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 involved several people, including those that looked at it and said it was okay.

And yet, as everyone has said, it’s absolutely completely awful. It’s the little things that can be the most frustrating sometimes and this was an unforced error.
Gorman

Eye candy
A Plague Tale: Requiem was an enjoyable 20 hour romp. It’s a game focused on story, characters, and the journey. There’s a lot of walking (often that annoying forced slow walking), talking, and cut scenes to watch.

The graphics are breathtaking and the reason the game is new gen only. Rather than the stunning scenery being the issue for last gen machines it’s the chase sections with the rats where the devs said they could ramp things up. Those chases are impressive, with huge volumes of rats and destructible scenery crashing around you as you flee.

I’m a bit loathe to cite the graphics as a central appeal of the game, as many have spent the last few generations getting exasperated at the industry’s pursuit of photorealism and graphics. Part of the context of the 60fps furore is a rejection of this and wanting to de-emphasise the importance of graphics. Performance suffers with a focus on graphics, but it also means less time, money, and resources for gameplay. This is where Requiem hasn’t moved on. It’s the same just on a grander scale.

The combat is mechanically sound but shallow and often slips into frustration and annoyance. The rats or puzzle sections are straightforward and the next gen chase sections just require you to push forward on the stick and hit a button. It would have been nice if some more time was spent crafting more compelling combat and engaging puzzles.

The 30fps is a bummer but no more. As a slow-paced, eye candy narrative game the extra smoothness and responsiveness of 60fps isn’t critical to enjoying theses aspects, which are very enjoyable. I played it in 120Hz 40fps mode and aside from some camera hitching found the experience extremely solid and impressive.
Simundo

Inbox also-rans
Keep up the great work, I couldn’t get through a day without my daily fix of Metro GameCentral. I might have missed it, but are you planning to review Beacon Pines, as it looks interesting and I really trust your opinion. If you are not, can any readers comment on it?
Jason

GC: Thanks, but since it’s over a month old now, we think we’ve missed the boat on that one. We’re sure a reader has played it though.

Going to have to agree with people saying the first Witcher sucked. I get CD Projekt want to celebrate their first game but I’m not sure a remake is going to be of interest to anyone other than themselves.
Callinan

This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was inspired by reader Rackam, who asks what’s the oldest video game hardware you still use?

Most retro games are relatively easy to play on at least some modern devices, but what’s the oldest piece of original hardware you still have in working order? How long have you had it for and is it still working as well now as it did originally?

Do you prefer to play older games on the original hardware or would you prefer to play everything on the same machine? If you’re simply using older generation consoles, why haven’t you upgraded yet and when are you thinking of doing so?

E-mail your comments to: [email protected]

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

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