Nope. Nope, double-nope. Watch the trailer for Visage and see what we mean. This is some Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark-style nopeness that we hope to never find booting on our Xbox One. Visage is out now on Xbox One and PS4, while it has been out for a while on PC via Steam.
Visage is cracking Halloween fodder, then, and while we wouldn’t personally say that we’re enjoying the trailer, it’s certainly got some impressive PT-like sensibilities that’s going to make it a highlight.
For reasons that the press materials don’t quite make clear, you are locked in a haunted house where countless people have died in terrible ways. Their dark spirits remain, and they have unfinished business of the vengeance variety, and will not give you a break. You’re going to be hunted through corridors and followed through your own consciousness in an effort to claim your fear.
That’s one of the neater and more innovative sides of Visage: you’re going to die plenty of times in the mansion, but the only way to completely fail is to give into fear. We’re interested to see how this mechanic plays out, or if it’s all smoke and mirrors. Going by the Steam score of 90% (Visage has already launched on Steam), it looks like it’s got some skills.
The trailer also shows another innovative side: reality is going to fracture and warp as you navigate the mansion. Rooms twist into Escher paintings, while others fall apart as you watch them. It looks like this will put you in a state of even less control, which is all you need when you’re being stalked by the girl out of Ringu.
Let’s hope Visage brings something like Silent Hill to the Xbox One. We’re owed a good one.
Features include:
- Environment – The game is set inside a huge house in which terrible things have happened. You’ll wander through the gloomy corridors, explore every dead room, and get lost in endless mazes, your head filling with memories of the dead families that once lived in this very home. This twisted environment, void of any life other than yours, takes you to places you couldn’t even bear imagining.
- Storyline – This house is stained with a terrible past. Families were brutally murdered by their own family members, people went insane, many committed suicide, and other grisly events occurred. Each and every room has its story painted on an invisible canvas. As a player, you will relive parts of this dark past, and each of its fragments will leave you restless and terrified. You’ll soon wish you could join the dead’s ranks in their abyss, but death won’t help you leave this place. Will you run from it, or will you try to uncover the truth behind the shadows?
- Dark entities – The families that died in the house will haunt you and leave you restless. They’ll follow your every move, watch you from every corner, play tricks with your mind, and try to attack you. Why do they haunt you? What have you done? This you have to find out on your own.
- Gameplay – In Visage, you are defenseless; no weapons could save you from the dreadful entities stalking you from the next corner, the next door, or underneath your feet. You’ll be able to pick up key elements, interact with the environment, and search for things that may help you escape this nightmare or pull you deeper into it. Dying is part of the game. You need to avoid terror at all costs, as dark entities are attracted to it. Maintaining your mind as sane as possible will keep you from joining the ranks of the dead. Doing so will not be easy, and you’ll have to figure out ways, like staying in the light, to avoid going insane.
Visage is out now on Xbox One and will cost you £29.24. It’s also out on PS4, while it came out a few months ago on PC via Steam. We’re going to play this one with a light on and a comfort blanket, before delivering you a review. Keep an eye out for it.Â
Edit: Our review of Visage on Xbox One is live.
Game Description:
IMPORTANT NOTE: The game focuses on exploration and builds tension slowly to create a deeper and more meaningful experience. Its story is unveiled through surreal imaging and subtle environment details. Be mindful that it is a difficult game in unconventional ways. Visage is a first-person psychological horror game. Explore a mysterious ever-changing house in a slow-paced, atmospheric world that combines both uncannily comforting and horrifyingly realistic environments, and enjoy a genuinely terrifying experience.
