Saturday 13 January, 2018

To preface my game logs for "Here They Lie", I own a PSVR unit so I will be switching between PSVR and normal PS4 depending on my stress level! Today, I started the game in PSVR but quickly became so stressed and scared that I had to switch to “2D mode”. I made it as far as talking to Dana (woman in the yellow dress, I assume) and then walking onto the train. I couldn’t even turn my head because I was so terrified that there would be something there! When I finally got the headset off and set aside, I was able to hesitantly continue. The entire environment is completely abandoned. It seems to be a shell of what it once was. Everything is washed out and grey or dark and dreary. The music is either entirely absent or very quiet and eery. It perfectly reflects the environment and helps create a very creepy atmosphere and a sense of suspense.

I’m really not too far in the game since I am trying to pace myself, but here are some of my initial thoughts and questions beyond what I wrote above:

When I looked at myself in the mirror in the bathroom and when I look down at my hands while walking, I can’t help but notice that my skin has a sickly, grey pallor. Almost like I’m already dead… Maybe a hint as to what the game is actually about?

The layout of the environment is very confusing. For example, why am I walking in a train station and then suddenly you open a door and walk down a hall to a kitchen in what seems to be a home? I’m not sure if it is supposed to be implying that I am in a city and randomly wandering into memories or something else entirely. I’m hoping that this will be explained in more detail later.

The weird notes throughout the game seem to be referencing either death in general or specifically brutal murder. And I’m a little confused by the locations of the notes. Am I supposed to be wandering around and looking for clues or am I supposed to be running away from something? Either way, I’m curious what the notes are trying to reference and where the story is headed.

My last random thought is that maybe the yellow that is everywhere in the game is possibly referencing the book/game “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream”… But that’s a long shot and I’m not 100% convinced of the reference yet.

Looking forward to playing more!

Good job Breanna! There are some good observations here, as well as critiques, with pertinent outside references to relate to the game. One interesting theme you hinted at was on player agency in the scene where you get a choice over whether you choose to attack the creature that’s been helping you or attack the bully. One thing to consider in regards to your frustration in this moment is, how do game’s limited choices (in your example, only being able to kill the bully as opposed to just harming him) contextualize the morality of the player’s actions? Is not knowing what the player character will do when you make a choice change the moral implications of the player’s choices?

Clay