JoeTheDestroyer's Cursed Mountain review

This was a great review that covers the game as it is and explains the missed opportunities. What happened with this sentence, though?

There are no psychologically scarring moments where Cursed Mountain pushes you into a direction you don't want to head, nor are very man environments and situations that produce panic-filled moments and/or desperate actions.

I know what you're trying to say, but you're missing one word ('there') and another ('many') is missing the 'y' that it so very much needs. You should fix that or something!

D'oh! Good catch! Thank you.

Nice review as always, Joe. I had to read this one especially, because I was vaguely interested in the game. Your penultimate paragraph and the one just before it make some good points.

Combat systems in titles like Silent Hill are basic for a reason. You aren't guiding a battle-trained badass like Dante, Kratos or Bayonetta. You're guiding an ordinary citizen with a broken pipe and a handgun, someone who can effectively swing a random item but not tear apart legion after legion of beasts. Developers of more effective survival/horror entries wisely left protagonists vulnerable, with gathering and avoidance as their only chances at survival. Sometimes there's nothing more terrifying than feeling disadvantaged and unable to fight off ghastly, flesh-eating hellbeasts. Eric, however, is empowered. Because he can exorcise ghosts so effectively that there's little reason to fear them.

This is mostly true, but Resident Evil 4 and its ilk remain compelling exceptions. I feel as if RE4 managed to be 'scary' despite Leon being incredibly bad ass, simply because of how badly he was outnumbered. Having a slick, powered up handgun capable of managing headshot instakills didn't mean that reloading at an opportune time with one's back against a door didn't have you peeing yourself when four groaning zombies rushed in. Such a special game...

More effective horror titles have relied on psychological scares to frighten gamers. I'll never forget, in Silent Hill 2, running down a deep flight of bloody stairs while a demonic howl emanated from the darkness below; or in Fatal Frame, exploring the depths of the mansion, creeping around in the narrow hallways of a basement and battling ghosts with little more than a camera as your weapon and limited film. You had to make every shutter count. Cursed Mountain is light on scares, relying too much on the atmosphere and grotesque spirits, which can be easily dealt with, to scare you. There are no psychologically scarring moments where Cursed Mountain pushes you into a direction you don't want to head, nor are there very many environments and situations that produce panic-filled moments and/or desperate actions.

You put this very well, and this is what it comes down to really: panic and desperation. If a survival horror game gives you a bazooka, it's not an instant fail if they can still make you fearful. Great summation of what works in horror, and what doesn't.

Thanks, Marc! I agree about RE4, though I wasn't quite as freaked out playing that one. I still absolutely love it, though. It's probably my favorite RE.

I think maybe the proper way of saying it is that horror games are scariest when there's a sense of vulnerability, and that's one thing RE4 definitely did right despite having such an empowered character. Rather than making him vulnerable by taking away his capabilities, they increased the volume of enemies.

Survival horror is about knowing that you probably have the resources to get through the unknown, but realizing that it still might not be enough unless you put every advantage you have to use.