Against my better judgment, I decided to continue playing horror/dark games. I found so much cool stuff last year that it seems like there’s enough left for another one. However, I will continue a subtheme from last month, modifying it to include games with companions. In fact, this theme extends beyond games to my other media consumption.

Predator: Badlands is a pretty enjoyable action flick. It won’t surprise you — you’ll know how it ends almost from the start, though there are a couple of interesting twists — but it will entertain you all the way through.

I don’t want to be on the defensive, but you have to if you want to compare Decay of Logos to other soulslikes. So, let me just call it a pretty good action RPG inspired by Dark Souls and co.

It put its own spin on almost every element of the genre, and most of them are at least interesting. Some are clearly not. Your elk steed in the game, for example, is one of those mechanics that looks good on paper but is more cumbersome than fun. It has the art style you’ve seen a million times, but it knows how to use it. There are cool locations and a pretty good atmosphere. The variety of enemies and equipment is not bad for a relatively short game. The combat is serviceable. And, hey, it’s free!

I maybe accidentally got, replayed, and 100%-ed The Last Campfire. In my defense, it’s not only the best game by Hello Games, but it’s also clearly a soulslike. You play as a lost ember (undead). You travel from campfire to campfire (bonefire), lighting them up. The world is interconnected as you constantly open new shortcuts. There are also NPCs with cryptic lines. You solve puzzles. The themes and atmosphere are similar.

And it’s also a delight!

I hate to be crawling back to Logitech, but it seems like they still make decent mice at a good price-to-feature ratio, especially if you lower your expectations. My minimal requirements are a wireless mouse with programmable buttons that work without software.

The Logitech G304 is that mouse. It’s wireless only with a dongle, there’s no multi-device or Bluetooth capability. It runs on one double-A battery that cannot be charged inside the device. You can set up one on-board profile with DPI settings and custom shortcuts, including G-Shift, which allows you to hold one button and use the others for different functions.

The benefit of going with a popular brand is that someone, somewhere, will do something about it. For example, a battery percentage could be shown as a tray icon on Windows without official software installed.

Another mouse that I’ve had for a while that almost fits the bill is the Razer Orochi V2. Here are the main differences, according to me:

It’s slightly smaller, but not in an uncomfortable way. You can pair it to two devices and quickly switch between them if you don’t mind the Bluetooth connection. You can make it even lighter by using a triple-A battery. But I chose to designate it as my secondary mouse for non-main PCs because of the shortcuts.

On G304, you can assign keyboard shortcuts, such as Ctrl + Shift + T or Super + Shift + →, as macros. These macros live in the device itself, you don’t need software running. While you can customize Orochi V2 in the same way, including the DPI, Hypershift (the G-Shift equivalent), and even slightly more (the up and down scroll wheel functions are assignable), for some bizarre reason, you can’t assign some shortcuts as, well, shortcuts, only as macros. And all macros require software. So, you can have Ctrl + Shift + T but not Super + Shift + →. It’s not a huge deal since you can change the shortcuts in the operating system, but it’s still somewhat annoying.

The surprising part about Sunshine Manor is that each level introduces a new mechanic. What starts as a top-down, light survival horror game can be more action-oriented at times. None of the mechanics overstay their welcome, and the entire game is reasonably short. Visually, it’s quite nice, as it tries to invoke 8-bit era graphics. The good, spooky, sometimes tense music adds to the experience.

/i\ Slight spoiler for Rule of Rose.

Rule of Rose is, to put it politely, queer as fuck. While I feel it depicts that theme with decent tact and respect, ultimately, I can’t be the judge of that. Knowing horror games, I can see how some aspects can fall into harmful stereotypes. Another thing that gives me pause in this regard is that it’s a story about children made by adult developers, which always has a certain sheen of sleaziness. I do appreciate that, despite some supernatural elements, there are no ancient burial grounds or secret cults in sight, which is refreshing.

Your dog companion, Brown, is a very cool addition to the gameplay. He not only helps with notoriously awkward combat, but he is also an interesting in-game help system of sorts. You can pet him, too.

Regardless, the game is a hidden gem. Maybe a rough one (the camera and aftermentioned combat come to mind), and perhaps not particularly hidden, but I very much enjoyed it.

What is a dragon, if not a dog with wings? And scales? And firebreath?.. Okay, I’m reaching. I wouldn’t call Drakan: Order of the Flame a horror either. Dark fantasy? Sure.

It’s a blend of The Legend of Zelda and Tomb Raider. Plus a dragon. And not a bad blend. There is mostly combat and not a lot of puzzles. While the technical aspects have not aged particularly well, they are not bad either. Flying can be disorienting, but it’s a neat addition.

It’s an old game, though. Some choices, especially in design of female characters, can be cringe-worthy. It also has a quick save for a reason. Expect instant death traps and enemies that can one-shot you. It’s the Dark Souls of its time (not really).

Tales of the TARDIS is great because it allows you to watch a sample of episodes from a previous era of Doctor Who and realize that you don’t want to watch any more. It has not aged well. Great scarves, though!

The story of  Blood: The Last Vampire is pretty straightforward. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t bring anything new or unique to the genre. However, there are interesting things happening on the periphery. The most obvious example is that the movie clearly in a conversation with Western horror media. The visuals are striking, the pace is good, and overall, it’s not bad at all.

Is it fair to say that live action adaptation is worse, though? I have to say so. Whether you like the way it expands the story or not, it just add galring flaws, from poor character mativation, to bad monster design. It ramps up the action in a “more is better” way and fails. The pacing suffers as well. It’s not all bad, it could have been worse, but it’s hard to say that it’s worth it.

I wasn’t inspired to explore that franchise further.

The whole autumn was full of things that I either didn’t finish, that don’t fit the themes of this blog, or both. One of those things, I guess.

I can only assume that the creators of  Van Helsing thought they would go after something like The Walking Dead. However, I think that it is more or less a classic Sci-Fi (Syfy) channel deal. Those shows figured out two things. First, they realized that they need likeable characters so that, no matter what adventures the writers sent them on, the show would still be entertaining. Second, the storyline shouldn’t be too hard to follow.

I’m not going to point any fingers, but some shows have crawled up so much of their own creativity, that no length of “Previously on…” would help. Even if the first thing – likable protagonists – is still there, it just stops being enjoyable.

In a sense, Van Helsing is a fantasy set in a post-apocalyptic world, rather than a post-apocalyptic world with vampires instead of zombies, as it seemed at first glance. However, it doesn’t delve too deeply into its lore and magic rules, so you can enjoy it more casually. I stopped watching it for months at one point, but managed to pick up where I left off pretty easily. So, yeah, not bad, not bad at all.

Herdling is neat. Okay, it’s not horror at all, so let’s consider it a vacation that many people traditionally take in August. The game isn’t long or complicated, but, as with other games by the same developer (I like them all), it’s pleasant and has a good atmosphere.

Xenowerk is a straightforward, polished, and enjoyable “podcast game.” It’s free to play, but in the least intrusive way possible: you can watch ads for coins, and that’s it. Actually, it’s not even worth it. The game is grindy, hence the “podcast game,” and those coins aren’t going to make a dent.

But enough of that. Here are some short horror – or at least somewhat dark – themed games you can play in your browser for free. Small bites!

• Bonefall is an Arkanoid with skeletons.
• Demon Castle is a Castlevania.
• Dino Sort is a puzzle game about picky dinosaurs. How is it dark? Play a level.
• Juurru is not really dark, more of a trippy puzzler.
• Halloween Horrors. You thought cats were mischievous? They protect you from ghosts!
• The Lost Night is a fetch quest with combat and RPG elements.
• Night Ride is a top-down racing shooter.
• Steps. Turn-based Minit.
• To Take Root Among the Stars is also not dark, maybe a bit melancholic. I liked how much it managed to accomplish in such a limited form.

I suppose I can see why people consider Metroid Prime 2: Echoes to be weaker than the first game. It’s a classic sequel problem: what to improve and leave alone, what to add and remove.

I wouldn’t say that, though. I think it’s not better, but worse? Nah. All my complaints are still there, which some would argue is part of the genre. But whatever the reason, I’ll remember the annoying parts, not the difficult parts. And the annoying parts should be improved.

However, I don’t want it to seem like I’m just complaining. While no part of it is amazing, I think it’s a good game overall. And, in a genre dominated by 2D games, a rare one.

White Zombie is an influential horror film that, as one might guess, is pretty problematic. Sadly, a theme I would be comfortable discussing – zombies as unpaid, tireless laborers, – is barely in the movie. And kinda absent from the modern movies, huh.

I called it problematic, but as I, a white dude, can judge, I don’t think it’s awful. It’s simple but not boring, despite being slow like old movies tend to be, and still interesting, at least from a historic perspective.