A Taiwanese Horror Legend Comes To Life
There may be a select few of you who are familiar with the 2015 Taiwanese horror film The Tag-Along. It became a cult classic in Taiwan, largely thanks to a narrative derived from one of the country’s most popular urban legends, and saw a relatively successful box office which locally surpassed horror staples such as The Conjuring. Whether or not you’ve experienced this surprisingly frightful piece of cinema, or even like films in general, a gaming adaptation is now officially available, promising an experience which will fill your house with blood curdling screams.
With this title stemming from a movie, of course many will draw comparisons between the two vastly differing mediums of entertainment, yet I want to preface this review with the note that I will not be doing so. At their core, both art forms offer completely separate experiences to one another, and there is no calibre or measure to objectively say if one did something better than the other.
With that said, and if you’re ready for some Halloween scares, even mid-year, how does this latest addition to Asian horror gaming stack up against the many competitors?
Hui-Ting is the TV reporter you take the mantle of in THE TAG-ALONG OBSESSION, returning to an abandoned resort that killed her reporting crew, and seemingly harbours many vengeful spirits. One specific spirit latched onto Hui-Ting during the initial tragedy, and now you must survive a combination of supernatural forces, goosebump inducing horror, and environmental puzzles for any chance at survival. It’s a rather generic narrative, yet the Taiwanese urban legend root brings a plethora of unique visuals and story beats to keep it somewhat refreshing.
Familiar Survival Horror With A Supernatural Twist
On the gameplay side of things, it follows the route of the iconic Resident Evil or Silent Hill series, with THE TAG-ALONG OBSESSION utilising the standard survival horror loop of find items, use items to solve puzzles, and repeat. Not coincidentally, where it manages to mould its own personality is also where it successfully differs from the pre-established loop. Yes, a majority of your time will be spent finding keys or other major items such as elevator buttons, yet THE TAG-ALONG OBSESSION offers one distinct gameplay system which, at least for me, is new to my survival horror experiences.
The Talisman System Brings Something New
It goes by the Talisman system and can be viewed as a mechanic which blends the personification of negative emotions (resentment, jealousy, etc) that are so crucial to the title’s core narrative, into a system you as the player can utilise; in short, they mirror a journey of emotional development. These Talismans are acquired through a crafting system which presents itself in the form of tables found throughout your journey, needing ingredients to be crafted. The end result are items to aid you in regenerating health, turning invisible, and all manner of other crazy shenanigans.
The system mechanically is nothing revolutionary, it’s essentially a rebranding of alchemy or crafting from other games, yet THE TAG-ALONG OBSESSION’s ability to weave it into the aesthetic of the game shows the power of a little polish and excellent visual design.
This ability to merge gameplay with visuals also extends to the established mechanics taken from others in the genre, each with their own Taiwanese spin. Most blatant of these are the stalker foes THE TAG-ALONG OBSESSION employs, with designs and backstories taken straight from the terrifying urban legends. A tragic hanging is the backstory for the initial enemy you encounter, simply named the Lantern Sister. You’ll encounter many more throughout your horrific adventure, each complete with distinct appearances and equality frightening sound and gameplay design to hunt you down.
Terror Is THE TAG-ALONG OBSESSION’s Greatest Strength
A horror game, no matter how objectively well crafted or poorly designed, will be viewed as a success or failure based on its ability to evoke fear and terror in the player. In this regard, THE TAG-ALONG OBSESSION smashes it out of the park, remaining truly terrifying from start to finish. Each mechanic and the overall aesthetic coalesce into one fear-inducing experience, leaving a game where no matter what you’re doing, the eeriness and edginess constantly remains.
Returning to the technical side of things, sadly the map design remains a stagnating disappointment throughout. THE TAG-ALONG OBSESSION employs various questionable tendencies, most perplexing of which is utilising locked doors, only for the key to be found in close proximity with no puzzle or challenge to progress. It begs the question why are the keys there if it just adds an extra step to pick up and use them compared to leaving the door unlocked in the first place.
Take for example the first floor of Baqi Hotel. Upon obtaining your first key which requires a journey through various rooms and foes, you come across two elevators. Inside the same room is another locked door, and the key is… in the elevator about two steps away. If this doesn’t convince you enough, once you go up the elevator you will eventually reach a toy room, the note there reads “The secret of the toy box key is hidden within the Man doll. Find the name of the 5th tenant to break the gap in time.”. My note read the number five, yet it can be any number between one to ten, and just how do you find these names? On a note right beside the padlocked door with a list of all ten tenants names on!
These are the most egregious examples, and as the game progresses so does the level designs quality. But expectations should be set before a playthrough and certainly not to the incredible standards of other franchise’s locations such as the Spencer Mansion or Brookhaven Hospital.
A Stunning Horror Experience With Familiar Flaws
The greatest strength of THE TAG-ALONG OBSESSION, as alluded to many times, is the absolutely perfect presentation. Ranging from the opening cutscenes being classic hand drawn canvases, to the heavily spiritual imagery and design, the atmosphere and visuals are a masterclass in the traditional East Asian aesthetic so many of us in the west have fallen in love with. Pair this with truly immersive world-building, achieved through a plethora of chilling documents, evil iconography, and any other manner of horror to raise the hair on your arms, and THE TAG-ALONG OBSESSION’s visuals excel in every conceivable manner.
Taiwanese urban legends, to my knowledge, have never had such fascinating and compelling visual representation in gaming so far, with each and every mechanic or gameplay loop merging with the stunning Asian beauty the concept offers. Sadly, THE TAG-ALONG OBSESSION presents major flaws with the overall gameplay approach that has been seen and done better many times before, with the aesthetic and horror being the only reasons to visit.
Important Links
Can You Survive THE TAG-ALONG OBSESSION? – https://www.thexboxhub.com/can-you-survive-the-tag-along-obsession/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/the-tag-along-obsession/9NVC60RG5542/0010
