Space is dark. In fact, it's not - the darkness of space doesn't even exist, it's merely an absence, of light, of emotion and of life. Space is simply not. It is both oppressive and liberating.
Thus it can be assumed that the setting of space within a game would be the most frightening of all. The player would be completely alone- with literally nothing surrounding them. Even the concept of nothingness is frightening for any human to comprehend - we have never experienced something that is void - the thought of something that is just not is difficult to grasp. This emptiness would be enough to wash the cold sweat of fear over the most hardened men.
Well, this would be the case if freaking necromorphs weren't constantly jumping out at me from every corner. This is what I don't understand about EA's 'Dead Space' for a game that is in essence a 'horror' in genre and set in the most remote of locations it fails to be even remotely frightening. The novelty of a brief startle is lost as quickly as the limbs of the mutated dead. Grotesque abominations continue to jump out at you from the same places, you start to expect their ambushes, and much worst, you begin to loathe them.
Thus it can be assumed that the setting of space within a game would be the most frightening of all. The player would be completely alone- with literally nothing surrounding them. Even the concept of nothingness is frightening for any human to comprehend - we have never experienced something that is void - the thought of something that is just not is difficult to grasp. This emptiness would be enough to wash the cold sweat of fear over the most hardened men.
Well, this would be the case if freaking necromorphs weren't constantly jumping out at me from every corner. This is what I don't understand about EA's 'Dead Space' for a game that is in essence a 'horror' in genre and set in the most remote of locations it fails to be even remotely frightening. The novelty of a brief startle is lost as quickly as the limbs of the mutated dead. Grotesque abominations continue to jump out at you from the same places, you start to expect their ambushes, and much worst, you begin to loathe them.
Whilst the game excels in making the player feel oppressed and heavy, you never really feel alone when surrounded by ravenous aliens - the silent and chilling atmosphere never really sinks in when the screen is constantly filled with frantic laser blasts, screams of pain and blood.
I've owned Dead Space for just under a year now and I can never bring myself to continue playing it long enough to reach completion - it never feels engrossing for me, by all means it's a solid game, it just lacks in it's main premise - fear. There's nothing particularly psychologically daunting about constantly being bombarded in the same way over and over, in fact you even get used to it. I'm sure even being shot would lose it's traumatising edge if it happened on the journey to school every day. Well, maybe.
There's less a fear of suffocating in the depths of space and more a fear of choking on the blood of the hordes of enemies you stamp into the ground. If anything 'Dead Space' would be better off telling the story of a disenfranchised space-ship worker with an overwhelming feeling of alienation because of his love of huge steel-souled boots who then grows to be an empowered confident young (wo)man. At least then the inclusion of a game mechanic where you effectively grind the big ever-present threat's skull into the ground would make sense in a game that's meant to instil terror.
I shall continue on however, perhaps the level where Isaac's emotional voyage into manhood becomes apparent is fast approaching.
I understand what you experienced thus far in DS and in a way I think you are right: horror games seem to have lost their spooky edge. DS is not a scary game, but since in my opinion we haven't had one of those since Silent Hill 2 I've kind of feel accustomed to it by now. But although DS is not scary it can be unsettling at times, particularly when scenes of insane human behaviour over the outbreak emerges (sawing lady for example).
ReplyDeleteIn this regard DS is a spiralling descent into madness (in more ways than one) while in the midst of an alien contamination. This is the best compliment I can give it, since as you mentioned before it does get repetitive and predictable.