Category: monsters

Remothered: The Red Nun’s Legacy

First, a huge thank you to Stormind Games for sending us the deluxe version of the game. The soundtrack is exquisite and I really enjoyed the artbook; absolutely worth the extra money. This is my first time with the Remothered series, so unfortunately I can’t really compare it to the previous installments or pick up on the series overall connections.

Sarah’s daughter Agata went missing without a trace. Her and her husband might’ve come across a glimmer of hope at the Ashmann Villa beneath the looming, slumbering volcano Mt. Etna. Quickly Sarah and her husband are separated and it becomes clearly they aren’t safe. Sarah is plunged into a dark mystery of vengeful nuns out for blood as she discovers her own supernatural gifts, learning Agata maybe the final piece in a horrific puzzle.

Oh boy, the story of this game is not for the faint of heart. Much like Hellraiser: Revival and Mouthwashing, this game deals with some incredibly heavy topics such as sexual assault and the trauma related to it. There is a trigger warning upon starting the game, but I’m just putting it out there. The game’s overall story I found to be one of it’s best selling points. I was genuinely intrigued to find out what in the hell was going on. I will say I wasn’t so much invested with Sarah, the player character, but the tragic story of Gloria we unravel throughout the game through memories. I really enjoyed the use of psychic abilities like recovering memories and finding secrets within mirrors.

Gameplay is predominately stealth based with puzzle solving. You can’t kill the enemies but hide, run, and stun. I was utterly grateful this wasn’t an Outlast situation where it’s running simulator. The enemies are persistent but not enough to be annoying. The Bride is the standout enemy of the game for good reason, her design is pretty damn disturbing and instantly elevates the anxiety the game does well to maintain. I like the unsettling black and white clips littered throughout the game with some jaw dropping imagery I wasn’t prepared for. The puzzles aren’t too demanding but not brain dead.

I must confess I wish the game clicked more with me. Partly way it took me so long to finish this review was trying to putting my finger on why it wasn’t. Great story, atmosphere, music, and enemy design with solid gameplay. I think part of it was I never connected with Sarah at all. Her voice actress did great. All the voice talent did. Sarah does a few stupid things throughout the game like running into danger alone when she could’ve had back up if she waited thirty seconds, and some of her narration made me laugh when it wasn’t supposed to. I found the enemies of the story so much more engaging than the main character. Part of it maybe the stealth aspect which makes traversing slow, which ain’t bad, but when you suck at path finding like myself, that means a lot of ground to back track.

In the end, I enjoyed Remothered quite a bit although ultimately, the game wasn’t quite for me. As it stands, I’d give it a solid 8/10 because it will hook you and keep on edge throughout a fair length game. Again, many thanks to Stormind Games for sending us the deluxe version, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Crystal Lake (sn1)

We all have secrets. Pam Voorhees knows all too well the weight of secrets. Struggling single mom with a sweet, albeit deformed son, Jason, she takes a summer job as the cook for Camp Crystal Lake. All Jason ever wanted was to fit in, be a normal kid and have a normal summer. Then tragedy strikes. Unsupervised, Jason seemingly drowns, leaving Pam devastated and alone. Convinced her son isn’t gone and confronted by her past, can Pam ever move on from her endless grief or will will she succumb to it?…yet again, what if she was right and Jason isn’t truly gone?

For many, Jason and Friday the 13th are as iconic to horror as can be. We all know Jason Voorhees, the mute, gigantic, hockey mask clad killing machine who primarily haunts Crystal Lake when he’s not visiting Manhattan, fighting Freddy Krueger, or venturing through outer space as a nanite infused cyborg. I’m glad we got to a glimpse of the young, vibrant, loving kid before his fateful drowning as well as the downward spiral that turned Pam Voorhees into a brutal serial killer. Hands down, Linda Cardellini absolutely steals the show as Pam. She’s haunting as a grieving, heartbroken mother while managing to recapture the manic rage of Betsy Palmer. Also, the show makes Jason a very tragic character but still keeps him terrifying.

This show is a huge love letter to the entire series. I was impressed at the attention to detail when it came to the music, and scenery. Even the title sequence harkens back to the glory days of the original series. The characters were well done with even Crazy Ralph returning as a major part of the series. As for continuity, I think it does pretty well. We get a lot of answers with a frankly bonkers, batshit insane backstory for Pam and Jason that alters the story quite a bit but I argue that’s a good thing. It’s definitely a memorable and unique origin that helps explain a lot of the discrepancies between movies. And for me, Friday the 13th was always at it’s best when it was over the top so I liked it- I hated how the Friday The 13th (2009) remake tried grounding Jason in reality.

The only real issue I have with the series is the pacing. It’s 8 episodes but I feel it could’ve been 6 or 7. The 1st episode is really strong, then it drags a bit until the end of the 5th where we come to the opening of the original film, remaining strong all the way until the end after that. There is a change made to that particular scene that irked me but what followed was pretty awesome. Even if the pacing was off, the gore is nothing short of top notch when it comes.

In the end, Crystal Lake did a rare thing for me- it made appreciate the source material even more. As I said, it’s huge love letter to the legend of Jason and is full of the stuff I loved about the series as a whole. If not for anything, Linda Cardellini gives one hell of a performance that made watching Crystal Lake worth it. I’d say the show was well worth the watch. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Hellraiser: Revival Playstation 5 Review

So first and foremast, insanely huge thanks to Saber Interactive for granting us access to the game. This particular game was the game I’ve been most excited for all year. As a longtime fan of Clive Barker’s writing, The Hellbound Heart, Hellraiser, and Hellbound: Hellraiser 2  I was incredibly pumped to see Barker’s world unfolded of pain and pleasure in game form.

We play as Aiden Lynch, a dude who simply loved a girl. Convict, addict, Aiden never felt whole until he met Sunny, who seemed to share his need for pain and desire as well as her own inner darkness. During a night of BDSM play, she brings out the box, summoning the Cenobites. Sunny is torn apart and whisked away to the mysterious Labyrinth. Now Aiden must not only face a deadly, sadistic cult devoted to the enigmatic Cenobites but face never-ending depravity and torture to save the woman he loved. Can Aiden survive and free Sunny from hell itself or will he give in to the darkness of Levithan?

Ok, much like Terminator: Resistance and Alien: Isolation, the love and attention to detail for the source material is incredible. The labyrinth, the Cenobites, the creatures, Levithan are all captured beautifully. The game uses its IP to the fullest extent, and respects it in ways so few games do. Doug Bradley triumphantly returns to voice the iconic Hell Priest, Pinhead, and is still spine chilling in his line delivery. The game’s strongest feat is making you feel on edge, whether it’s being chased by the gruesome Chatterer through the mazes of the Labyrinth, or roaming through the smoky, vulgar sex clubs fronted by the cult. Seriously, full disclosure, this game holds nothing back in terms of sex and violence- totally understand why this game nearly got the dreaded A rating.

As for gameplay, it’s very akin to Resident evil 7 and Dying Light in terms of melee combat. The box adds a lot in terms of abilities and puzzle solving. The box grants you telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and can summon chains as a ultimate attack. Combat is most fun using the box and strategically wiping out crazed gimp and hell beasts. I appreciate that the game is about creativity and never gives you too much to work with but never fully leaves you dry. I will say, I wish weapons weren’t so flimsy. Melee weapons feel like they’re made of glass so you have to use them sparingly. Aiden himself practically feels like he too is made of glass; god love you if you get set on fire. A few times I was annoyed and wished I had some kind of armor or the weapons lasted longer. Overall, it was still mostly fun to play throughout.

The game had a few clipping issues and a few funny glitches at times but meanwhile played well. During a ten hour hour playthrough, I had just 1 hard crash and only really noticed a couple laughable glitches. My biggest complaint that had nothing to do with skill (because I fully admit I sucked at this game) is the inventory system. I get having to worry about space for weapons and health. I hated having to factor in treasure. The real killer has the oddly huge size of the ammo boxes. I don’t see why a box of ammo should take up nearly as much space as 9MM, SMG, or a damn bear trap. Inventory layout is borrowed from Resident Evil 4 but I can’t lie, I felt it was unneeded enemy in the game.

In the end, I had a lot of fun with Hellraiser: Revival. It’s a good, shorter horror game that doesn’t wear out it’s welcome and it’s a hell of a treat and love letter to an incredible horror writer and his most iconic work. I’d absolutely recommend it with full warning; it’s not for the faint of heart. It is an 8/10. Thanks again to Saber for sharing it with us. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

IT: Welcome t Derry (sn1)

Derry, Maine is a quiet town tat slips right out of your memory once you leave. Every 27 years, children disappear and no one has answers. Every 27 years children see terrible things, hear voices around the drains, and many are never heard or seen again. What happened in Derry 27 years before the Losers Club fought Pennywise, well, come on down and see what surprises lurk in the lovely little town.

I love the IT movies and the miniseries (RIP Tim Curry) so I was expecting a iffy, low effort season that vaguely resembled the remakes. However, I’m ecstatic to say in a lot of ways I enjoyed the show more than the movies. Fans of King’s lore will have a lot of chomp at; I lost my shit a few times with certain Dark Tower references and the Shining connections were great. The acting is fantastic and I gotta say all the characters felt like they belonged in a Stephen King story. Again there’s a few surprise reveals I don’t want to spoil but they are well done. This show is very hard-hitting when it comes to brutality and the imagery- full warning, you’ll see some messed up shit happen to children. I even shivered a few times with how far the show was willing to go. The effects and setting are incredibly done. It has one of my favorite opening title sequences ever. Lastly, I was thrilled this wasn’t the Pennywise show- we don’t see the iconic clown til halfway in but the revelations we get and the shocking moments make him feel more threatening than ever.

Of course, nothing’s ever perfect. In this case, there is a plotline involving the army and Derry that never fully full circle for me. The ending is a bit too heavy handed with the “power of friendship” and the finale did feel drawn out. I also had to wonder why the Hanlon’s chose to stay in Derry after all the crazy crap that happens. I do love the little surprise appearance at the end that connects to IT 2017.

In the end, I adored Welcome to Derry and I’m incredibly hyped we’re getting a second season. I highly recommend it but I’m warning you their is a lot of triggers and tons of disturbing imagery. May the gaming gods let you float down here.

Dying Light 2: Stay Human

Dying Light was a hell of an experience. It was like Far Cry meets 28 Weeks Later. Like many, I was pumped when the sequel crawled out of development hell only to fade into obscurity. Seriously, it’s one of those games I knew so many people waited for but no one really talked about. Is Dying Light 2 a missed masterpiece or better left forgotten?

We play as Aiden, a pilgrim on a quest in plague ravaged Villedor for his lost sister. Aiden, as well as hs sister and a bunch of other children were part of a cruel series of experiments at the hand of Waltz. Villedor holds the answers Aiden seeks, as well bloodthirsty bandits, peace keepers run amok, people trying to survive and of course hordes of zombies. If all this wasn’t enough, Aiden is changing…can he find his sister and a cure before joing the legion of the undead?

So I’m not going to mice words, Dying Light 2 isn’t a bad game. It’s fun in bursts and I appreciate some of what they were trying to do in terms of scope and feeling like you were in a wider cityscape. Unfortunately I gotta drop into the same category of meh games as Dark Souls 2 Scholars of the First Sin , Resident Evil 3 (2020) and Aliens: Fireteam Elite.

First, I tuned out of the story pretty quick. I never really got invested in the factions involved, the choices never packed a punch, and the missions felt pretty repetitive-especially the side missions. I felt like they took the wrong lessons from Fallout 4. Exploration can be fun but the enemies start to become a pain in the ass instead of scary or menacing. There is more than a fair amount of bullshit deaths, especially when it came to the game’s paraglider. Sometimes it would draw super fast, sometimes it would delay and I’d splat on the concrete. Gameplay overall is fine but there was small subtractions from the first I sorely missed- a mini map, being able to customize and repair my own weapons, easily accessible fast travel, and a faster, more fulfilling progression system. In this game, progression feels more like a slog and I never really felt like a badass as I did in the first. Safe zones are also now a chore.

While I have a lot of complaints and I genuinely believe its inferior to the first, it’s not a bad game. It ran fine, it looked really nice throughout, and the voice acting was solid. I had plenty of fun murdering zombies and bandits and using parkour…but it wasn’t much more than that. I never got the fear or intrigue of the first game. Its a ok game overall. Alright. Nothing too special. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Lee Cronin’s The Mummy

The Cannon’s are a happy family on a business trip in Egypt. Things go horribly wrong when their daughter Katie gets snatched out of their yard by a mysterious woman. For eight years, there’s no word, no updates. Katie is gone and the family moves on with their other daughter. Until miraculously Katie is found alive inside of a sealed sarcophagus. She’s virtually catatonic, malformed, malnourished and…ok, there’s no feasible way this kid is alive. But they take her home…

I’ll be honest, I’m having a hard time just getting through the recap of this damn movie. This isn’t The Mummy (2017) which wanted to to desperately wanted to be a MCU movie and kick off its own. Cronin instead wanted to make another Evil Dead movie; so much so I’ve seen this film included in way too many Evil Dead series countdowns. Katie is basically a Deadite. There’s a evil book that sounds awfully similar to the Necronomicon and she’s possessing people, there’s gross scenes of bodily harm and general possession movie tropes. I can’t say I was invested in any of the characters and for pretty good reason. The parents are pretty crappy. Not bad people, just dammit they are stupid from how Katie gets kidnapped to the level of ignorance on display when the full on horror movie shit starts kicking up. The kids are fine actors but I never found them scary. The effects are fine, mostly, but the gore is clearly trying to gross you out. I think the best way I can describe this movie in a nutshell is it’s trying to be modern Evil Dead without anything that makes Evil Dead special. Lastly, I’m going to say this movie is over 2 hours and it absolutely feels longer; Oppenheimer felt quicker by comparison.

In the end, watch the classic Mummy movies. Karloff, the Hammer movies with Christopher Lee, the classic 90’s Mummy movies with Brendan Fraser- you can’t got wrong. Friends don’t let friends watch Mummy 2026. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Harry Potter 2026 trailer 2

My feelings on the Potter series are pretty mixed overall. I’ve loved it, hated it, appreciated it, and now I’m just numb to it. Part of it was growing up during the height of Potter mania. Admittedly J.K Rowling has soured the overall experience of her work for me over the years.

When we got the first trailer for the reboot, I was very meh to it. Mostly I just felt like it was the same exact movie with different faces. Watching the second trailer, all that kept running through my head was “we have Harry Potter at home.” Hogwarts, the uniforms, the scenery looks strikingly similar to the original movies only without natural color grading (I seriously hate modern filmmaking’s hatred of natural lighting). I mean, it looks fine for what it is. If this was the first attempt at bringing the Wizarding World to screen, I’d honestly be fine with it. However, the others exist and were mostly bright, enjoyable and full of heart. I’ll give the new series a shot but I’m not getting my hopes up. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Maneater 2 announcement trailer

Maneater was a blast. Pure and simple. Fun, goofy, bloody, weirdly educational fun. Seeing confirmation we’re getting a sequel absolutely brought a smile to my face. I can’t wait to see what kind of bizarre mutations we’ll get and hopefully some new ways to devour our prey. I liked that there will be new predators as well to face off against. As you’d imagine, I’m really pumped to dive back in as a shark. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Until Dawn 2 release date trailer

I’m still very confused how this is a sequel to Until Dawn. I gave some leigh way when the Until Dawn 2 reveal trailer dropped. After getting a more in depth look, I’m still fairly convinced the title was tacked on for brand recognition. On it’s own, the game looks nice visually so far. The story elements aren’t really grabbing me so far. I’ll keep an eye out but in the end I’m not really anywhere near as hyped as I should be. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Night of the Living Deadpool

Aren’t you just sick of zombies? Well, I’d bet Wade sure is. After waking up from a gnarly food coma, our favorite (or not so favorite) Merc with a Mouth finds himself in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Along his quest for a cure he encounters survivors, lunatic church grannies, and the revelation his healing factor maybe the world’s last hope or the final nail in it’s coffin.

So I gotta start by shouting out our mutual friend and battle buddy Arragas for the epic comic haul. Honestly, Deadpool has always been special because he was my gateway into reading Marvel comics. Stories like this are a prime example why. It’s not a long read and it doesn’t require homework or an encyclopedic knowledge of characters to enjoy. Bunn, who also did a great job writing Deadpool vs Carnage , fills the story with humor and the all so important drops of pathos many forget to include with Deadpool. I like the zombies are vocal and actually tragic, lamenting their undead fates and feeling sorrow for the pain they are causing. The art is really eye catching, predominately black and white with Deadpool and his speech bubbles being the only color- a cool nod to Kirkman’s Walking Dead books. The book pokes a lot of fun at everything from Walking Dead to Evil Dead to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and Dawn of the Dead . In the end, this is damn quick, fun read that I highly recommend checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.