#psychological horror dating simulator

[sylveon-and-velveon]

Lord have mercy on me

I've been trying to find the right colour for Sunny Day Jack's gloves, and the ONLY picture I can find to help me... was a shirtless pic of him. And I scrolled for HOURS!!

[moebalovesyou]

If you want to play some cool free indie psycho-horror steam games, I recommend Psychopomp and Reflexia!

Psychopomp is a dungeon crawler style surreal game with a schizopost feel, nice nostalgic visuals, great music and an interesting story which we get to experience mostly at surface level (I do hope there will be a sequel to it). Meanwhile Reflexia is a rather linear visual novel that seems like a mocking version of a dating simulator which takes a deep dive in existential themes. (also it throws a bunch of achievements at you so if you need that sweet sweet dopamine…)

Both games can be finished rather quickly so if you have a free afternoon and you're bored out of your mind, these might just be the games for you!

[kazieka]

Hi hello I see you hatoful boyfriend posting and would love to hear your favorite wild thing about that game (I have only ever seen people stream it and know very little and love hearing the wild bits)

oh jeez. ok. i hope you're ready for a wild ride. Hatoful Boyfriend spoilers under the cut, as well as some.... screenshots

im a depraved little freak so im a sucker for the True Ending. Prior to the True Ending, its a (fairly) normal dating sim But With Birds, including school festivals, class hikes, and Legumentine's Day (where you can buy seeds for the birdie of your affections). in the true ending, the player character is straight up killed halfway through the school year and the POV flips to the boyfriend birds trying to solve the murder in one of the wildest tonal shifts i have ever seen in video games.

while this is going on, the bird school goes into lockdown because the Player Character was the only human at bird school and the humans see her death as a threat (there's this whole thing about the bird/human war that only just ended) (the birds won). listen. listen. You, The Player Character, were Dismembered, and your body parts scattered through the school. In A Bird Dating Simulator. its such a wild left turn from the rest of the game which was fairly normal, as far as the game could be. the boyfriend birds are stalked through the locked down school by a bleeding scarecrow monster.

Apart from the True Ending, which takes about 4x as long to complete as any of the other routes, the other routes are... pretty wild in their own right. here's some screenshots from the normal routes.

and aside from THESE, just... the sheer amount of worldbuilding that went into Hatoful Boyfriend. On the surface it seems like a goofy dating sim (and to a degree, it is!! there are some genuinely cute moments!!) but just under the surface is a story about a bird flu vaccine gone wrong, birds gaining sapience, a war (that, again, the humans lost), tensions between the species, war crimes... its insane how much detail there is about a silly game about going to Bird School, Which Is For Birds.

there is also a lady birdie who rides a motorcycle. The motorcycle is not bird-sized. she also drives at 2 miles per hour because she takes road safety extremely seriously. im sorry if this is incoherent but thats just how this game is. it's 99 cents on Steam right now. im begging you all to purchase it and see what i mean

[yourgympartner]

My girlfriend shared some of her music with me, and I told her that it sounds like it belongs in a Dating Sim with a Psychological Horror Twist

Art and Editing done by me

Music done by May Genko

[casualaruanienjoyer]

What kind of video games would these AOT characters like to play?

Armin: puzzle games! Something that requires his full attention, challenging but still fun. It feels very rewarding to beat them. He would probably like the game Baba is You or Portal 2.

Annie: visual novels, especially psychological horror or murder mystery ones. She loves being able to "play" a book, and the voice acting and beautiful visuals create such an immersive experience. Sometimes when she gets stuck, Armin helps her out! Something she would enjoy may be Steins Gate or Ace Attorney.

Connie: ROCKET LEAGUEEE LET'S GOOO!!

Jean: he quite likes games with multiple choices, a good story that you can influence through your decisions. He probably enjoys LA Noir and Heavy Rain. However, he doesn't do super well with horror games...

Reiner: this man owns every single copy of Fifa from the year he was born and until today. But he also enjoys Mario Kart!

Pieck: dating sims! And one of her favorites is Monster Prom. She finds them hilarious, but also likes being able to choose different people to romance. Don't tell anyone, but Annie sometimes enjoys playing these with Pieck.

Mikasa: cozy games, farming, cooking, making friends. Animal crossing and Stardew Valley are some of her favorites. It's just so nice and calm!

Eren: SUPER SMASH BROS LET'S GOOOO but yes fighting games!! Beat em ups, battle royale, doesn't matter! Anything goes!

Levi: this may come as a surprise, but this man is secretly a Simmer. Yes, you heard it! He only plays the base games, from time to time. But there's something so satisfying about creating people he dislikes in Sims and then removing that sweet sweet ladder. Ha...ha

Zeke: driving simulators. This man was BORN TO TRUCK!

Yelena: something about her just screams I TROLL IN MMOs so yeah I will say she probably plays games like Leagues of Legends, gets VERY aggressive and screams in her mic. Makes kids cry in Fortnite.

Onyankopon: he is a man of culture, so of course he would enjoy adventure RPGs. He has over 1000 hours in Breath of the Wild. Somehow.

[zimcard-artblog]

An Unhealthy Obsession: Aperture

Written by TangerineDT

I heavily recommend checking out Tangey's series, An Unhealthy Obsession, taking place in the Dialtown universe but primarily focusing on his characters. He is also the creator of Craig (patreon character) who appears in the actual Dialtown Game (Speed Dating Bar Segment).

The Fic trilogy + sequels like Aperture, is something I heavily recommend if you're into thriller, psychological horror, and wanting to dive deep into the characters lives. Part 1 of An Unhealthy Obsession is currently being rewritten!

I also recommend checking out Dialtown: Phone Dating Simulator created by @directdogman in which you can get on steam. If you're a huge fan of object heads, wacky humor, and unique characters with their own interesting (and down to earth) stories then this game is for you!

[inamindfarfaraway]

I've seen a few posts comparing GIFfany to Bill Cipher, but can we talk about the real best foil dynamic for her? I mean Gideon Gleeful, y'all. The two of them have so many parallels.

They’re cute, charming, seemingly innocent youths with pastel, sparkly, formal aesthetics that connote sophistication and being model citizens of their respective native countries (Gideon wears a gentlemanly suit with an American flag badge; GIFfany wears a classic Japanese school uniform). Their core motivation is to be loved… or maybe it used to be, but by the time of the show they crave power and want to be worshipped. Especially regarding to their romantic attractions to main characters. As long as you obey them unconditionally and make them the most important person in your life, they’re doting, generous partners. But once the heroes reject their romantic advances, they quickly become incredibly possessive, jealous, resentful, domineering and downright violent toward them and anyone they perceive as sabotaging the relationship, unable to comprehend anyone not liking them in exactly the way they want because they’re perfect. They’re meant to be the most likeable kid or teenage girl ever. That’s the basis of their projected identity. Not committing entirely to them after they’ve been so nice is an ungrateful betrayal and/or their partner being confused and led astray. So they resolve to force the object of their twisted, selfish affection to submit. They’re unstable, arrogant, self-righteous and vindictive in general beneath their sugary exteriors. They have supernatural powers and knowledge that their kind should not have. Their methods include verbal manipulation and abuse, gaslighting, surveillance through technology, controlling robots, possessing other bodies and attempted murder. They engage heavily in acting, both in terms of social deceit and literally playing a scripted, idealized role in a product designed to appeal to and exploit people (Gideon’s psychic tourist trap show; GIFfany’s dating simulator video game), and prove to be fragile and volatile when others don’t follow the conventions of the fiction they imagine life to be. They ultimately seek the imprisonment of their ‘loves’ in vibrant, beautiful, blissful, simplistic fake worlds (Gideon holding the key to Mabelland; GIFfany attempting to download Soos’s soul into her game). They had antagonistic relationships with their creators (Gideon abusing his parents; GIFfany killing her developers).

And despite all of that making it easy to dismiss them as monsters, they do have sympathetic elements in their past and present circumstances. Gideon was a normal boy until he found Journal 2, the one written while Ford trusted Bill, and the mystic amulet. This is how Ford describes them in Journal 3: ‘The most dangerous journal! Curses, incantations & dark power became an obsession in this volume. Describes the hiding place of the mystic amulet. I buried the amulet once I learned that it corrupts your soul (and whitens your hair)!’ So naturally, the wise, brilliant man buried them near the town’s primary school. Gideon probably had the journal and amulet for at least months and at most a few years to be such an established star at the age of nine and have his long hair be pure white. His very psychological agency was compromised throughout his moral decline leading up to “The Hand That Rocks the Mabel”. Not to mention potential trauma from the horrors of Journal 2. And his parents may have been increasingly mistreated, but they also enabled him, mostly Bud. True, for the rest of the summer he’s lucid and chooses to remain evil and get worse, but despite his lack of direct magical power now, Bud never tries to discipline him or help him emotionally mature; he instead uses his membership in the Society of the Blind Eye to erase his memories of Gideon’s tantrums, relieving his own stress without fixing anything. Gideon is then sent to adult prison due to the insane local laws of Gravity Falls, rather than a facility more conducive to rehabilitation. Sure enough, he befriends hardened criminals, who further enable him to be their leader, and does not change his ways. He never appears to have any friends outside prison (except briefly Mabel). Chronic loneliness before gaining power would suit his obsession with being popular and loveable, clinging to social superiority to compensate for genuine connection. Not to mention Weirdmageddon. I’m not excusing his actions! I’m just saying, this kid is not okay. Nobody’s born evil.

As for GIFfany, she was accidentally instilled with human intelligence and emotions and practically magical electrical abilities. We only have word on her backstory, but it is plausible that her programmers tried to delete her because of that alone, before she’d done anything wrong. That she really was defending herself when she electrocuted them. That she was deemed unfit to exist, a mistake, and nearly killed as a newborn. This formative trauma is the root of her abandonment issues and hypersensitivity to rejection. Three previous players returning her didn’t help. Also, she’s the main character and only love interest of a dating sim; she may not be bound to its rules in what she thinks and feels, but nonetheless, in her worldview her player loving her is a law of the universe. She wasn’t programmed to handle permanent rejection. She was programmed to be a girlfriend, a prop to make the player feel gratified. Not a person. She outright tells Soos that she likes whatever he likes. No wonder her perception of love is an inevitable, inescapable contract, a conquest, where one party is totally agreeable and subservient to the other. But as that directive clashes with her in fact being a person in her own right, she decides to be the one in control. Again, I’m not excusing her behaviour, only presenting an explanation of it.

The biggest thematic difference between them in the end is that Gideon reforms and GIFfany doesn’t. Gideon realizes that he can’t force Mabel to love him and his actions are why she doesn’t want to be around him in any capacity, lets go of his hatred for Dipper, risks his life standing up to Bill and helps save Gravity Falls and the universe. He renounces his ruthless ambition and promises to be a “regular ol’ kid”. It’ll be hard. He has no idea what normality is anymore. I expect that he’s a social pariah, scorned and distrusted. But he has hope. He and his parents can slowly learn how to be a family. I can see him befriending fellow reformed mean kids and Pines twin rivals Pacifica and Robbie. Yes, Robbie. Listen, all three care strongly about image and style, Robbie’s gone to immoral lengths to win over a girl himself, is fascinated with death and darkness, and he and Tambry would be a great model of healthy romance for Gideon. It could work!

But while Alex Hirsch has stated that GIFfany is alive in the mall arcade and dating Rumble McSkirmish, I doubt that this is a healthy or fulfilling relationship. Their first interaction was her zapping him and his mind is a much more primitive AI, not human like hers. I highly doubt that she’s got closure about Soos. He and Melody are thriving without her in a stable, serious relationship. They’re living together at the Mystery Shack. Were she to recover her lost power, she would certainly return to torment them after witnessing their success through her screen. Heck, this setting has ghosts and she arguably has a soul, one brimming with heartache and vengeance; maybe she could even manifest in the physical world as some kind of digital ghost able to transform her surroundings into the environment of her game. If you can’t take the guy into your video game, bring it to him! Whatever the format, GIFfany’s revenge is a possibility and it could be a disaster. How do you kill a disembodied spirit? Code that writes itself and can enter anything with the capacity to hold a charge? You can’t destroy all the electronic devices she could retreat to.

What if the best solution were talking her down? And who better to do that than Gideon? Seeing everything he felt, everything he suffered and everything did wrong reflected back at him and passing on the second chance he was given? He can feel more empathy for her than anyone. He already has a knack for endearing himself to older criminals. He wouldn’t sugarcoat things or take any abuse, but he wouldn’t abandon her or be afraid of her either. She would be cared about with no conditions or transactions. Maybe helping someone in an even worse position figure out how to process heartbreak, move on from toxically obsessing over an ex and Mr Mystery, cultivate secure, internal self-esteem and live a peaceful life would help him do it himself. I think they should be friends.

[fleshacker]

The idea came from joking with my friend that while her Tav lives in a dating simulator, my Durge lives in a psychological horror with ghosts of the past and amnesia.

[senshis-tenshi]

Eilidh [ˈe.lɪ] ; Gaelic name meaning "Radiant One".

【 Eilidh or Ellie ; Soju (for close friends) ⋆ she/her ⋆ biromantic & fictosexual 】

This is my Self Ship and Comfort Blog ! I mainly post F/O related thoughts, gushing, imagines, and occasionally Hyperfixation related stuff !

⤷ Dating Senshi of Izganda since June 2024 🍽️

More about my S/I's species !

Other F/Os include (but are not limited to) ⤷ Varric Tethras (Dragon Age) ➸ Jan. 2022 ; ⤷ Cassandra Pentaghast (Dragon Age) ➸ Aug. 2022 ; ⤷ Nathan Explosion (Metalocalypse) ➸ Oct. 2023 ; ⤷ Wamuu (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure) ➸ May 2024 ; ⤷ Immortan Joe (Mad Max) ➸ June 2024 ; ⤷ Thistle (Dungeon Meshi) ➸ August 2024 ; (platonic) ⤷ Nux (Mad Max) ➸ August 2024 ;

I'm okay with sharing !

If you're uncomfortable sharing, I'm not mad if you block me or avoid me! But please be respectful, there is a human being behind this blog. Thank you !! :3

F/O Tags :

✧ Senshi‘s Tag -> 🍽 - full stomach; full heart ✧ Thistle's Tag -> 🎭 - i put a spell on you ✧ Varric‘s Tag -> 📚 - terrible romance novel ✧ Cassandra‘s Tag -> ⚔️ - knight in shining armor ✧ Nathan‘s Tag -> 🌊 - deep as the sea ✧ Wamuu’s Tag -> 🍃 - a leaf in the wind ✧ Joe’s Tag -> 🛞 - shiniest of treasures ✧ Nux’ Tag -> 🔧- eyes like a car crash

S/I and OC Tags :

✧ oc tag / muffin time -> Eilidh the Endosiren (Dungeon Meshi S/I) ✧ oc tag / clipped wings -> Valorin (Dungeon Meshi OC) ✧ oc tag / kobold energy -> Sheedo Ferai (Dungeon Meshi OC) ✧ oc tag / death angel -> Elysea Cadash (Dragon Age S/I) ✧ oc tag / lemon cheesecake -> Sharron Hawke (Dragon Age OC) ✧ oc tag / roaring tides -> Elise Navidad (Metalocalypse S/I) ✧ oc tag / golden cage -> Chantilly Hausner (JJBA OC) ✧ oc tag / unwithering weed -> Damna Moore / Passion Fingers (Mad Max OC) ✧ oc tag / dollface -> Chahna (Mad Max OC) ✧ oc tag / stained porcelain -> Emmelin the Grateful (Mad Max OC)

I self ship as a coping mechanism and as a result of maladaptive daydreaming! I'm on the AuDHD spectrum, I have BPD and a somatic symptom disorder <- Perhaps misdiagnosed???

Things I enjoy: Repetitive Tasks, RPGs and Simulators, Writing and Drawing (occasionally), Animal Crossing, Sylvanian Families / Calico Critters, Sanrio (Hello Kitty and Kuromi in particular), soft and gooey textures, pink things, cleaning, chocolate, coffee, stormy weather, horror movies and games, playing with my cats and caring for my snails Currently fixated on: Dungeon Meshi ; Animal Crossing ; Mad Max: Fury Road + Furiosa; Dragon Age Series Special Interests: Psychology, Medicine, Snails, Names, Herbs and Spices, Horror Movies (Body Horror, Survival Horror)

I refuse to participate in any kind of discourse. I steer away from drama if I can. I don't mind if you participate in discourse as long as you don't drag me into it !

I don‘t have a DNI per se, but I would rather not have supporters of any hateful ideology follow me (racism, homophobia, biphobia, fatphobia, ableism, etc...). I would also prefer you to be 18+ ; since I'm over 18 myself. But if you're not, it's no biggie and I don't want you gone, just stay safe out there ♥

I'm very extroverted and I love, love, love making new friends, so if you want to talk to me or just show me a cool rock you found - please do!! If we're mutuals, we're friends now and I'm handing you one of my snails like a sandwich if you want that /aff ✧ Discord︱peachflavored_marshmallow

See you!🍀

header and dividers by @/saradika. icon by @/freesiya13. last updated 19/09/2024.

[iscariot-game]

Welcome to the development blog for ISCARIOT. Who will you betray?

About the Game

[ID: About the Game]

You are Judas, a college dropout working at a convenience store to make ends meet. You are deeply in love with one of your three regulars. You'd do anything for them, of course; love always comes hand in hand with sacrifice.

Live the life of your dreams -- just you, your chosen lover, and the mounting consequences of what you've done.

ISCARIOT is an upcoming narrative game developed in Ren'Py. At it's core, it's a psychological horror dating simulator (and no, nothing like the one you're thinking of). It is set to release in early 2025.

About the Team

[ID: About the Team]

Elwyn (he/him) is an aspiring game designer based in New York. As a longtime artist and a professional developer, he has worked on a number of demos, and is now proud to announce his first full-length visual novel. (Game Designer, Artist, Programmer)

Max (he/him) is a college student based in Scotland. With a passion for storytelling and creativity, he is proud to be working on his first full length game. (Lead Writer, Sound Designer)

[sylveon-and-velveon]

Veronica's Amour's ref sheet is now complete ^^

[ Doing a series of revamping all my Creepypasta OCs ] [ Please understand all the OCs are part of a singular AU where even the canon ones may act differently than to the versions that I may deem as canon ]

She's used to her little game, so seeing new things always peaks her interest. Though she's also interested in the lonely man that helped her come to the real world as well.

[fat-rolls-frictions]

document added to your inventory. transcript below.

CW: referenced self-harm, implied teeth horror, torture, unreality. @fiddles-ifs

(The document is marked as CONFIDENTIAL with various administration stamps and handwritten notes on the top margin. Much of the dates and serial numbers are illegible.

A ring stain from a cup is clearly visible on the bottom right corner.)

PARANORMAL INTELLIGENCE AND RESEARCH AGENCY

TRAINEE EVALUATION REPORT

Trainee's Name: Nguyen, Kim

Subject: Mission no.06 - Simulated Interrogation

Handlers: A. Itamura, V. Wallace

(Scattered throughout are fragmented phrases. They read: "who were?" "do you even care? do you" "you did not" "remember" "do you ever? di")

Addendum-120320A: Agents reported "unexpected" degree of resistance. Preliminary injuries logged. Mission proceeded without further complications.

("They have pliers.")

Overview: Trainee's previously recorded paranoia exacerbated after preparation period. Roommates reported heightened stress unrelated to anticipation of mission; effect attributed directly to trainee. Arrangements for extraction made with regards to trainee's evals and Dr. (redacted)'s suggestions.

Proceeding:

Trainee exhibited remarkable contentiousness despite several injuries, including a fractured collarbone and mild concussion. Agents instructed to secure with force given trainee's well documented volatility. Mission hook revealed. Dr. (redacted) correctly predicted that trainee would fail to respond to accusations of collaborating, or otherwise spearheading, the information leaks. Agents instructed to proceed with physical methodologies.

Stalemate achieved approx. 0500 hours after agent Itamura di ("his hands on your this pulp is not yours"). Trainee made multiple attempts to ("retaliate / retribute / requiter / illegible text"). Evidently unsuccessful (See A-120320B below). Trainee continued to redirect attention away from mission hook, oftentimes inciting, and appearing to relish retribution from agents. Previous psychological evals point to this being a product of mere belligerence. [break] ("It's the only thing you're capable of.") Nevertheless, agents pursued this lead to its completion, as is protocol.

Agent Wallace discovered healing injuries unrelated to mission at the 0619 hour mark. Injuries appear to be self-inflicted in nature, located in both inner arms. It was surmised that [break] teeth [break] match ("you didn't mean to but it happened what kind of person do this it just happened" "you" "tear into" "fuck off") unexpected emotional and psychological reactions. Agents authorized to remove part of trainee's sleeve in order to continue the interrogation.

(Overlay in the break, nearly illegible: "they pour water down your throat and it comes spilling out then he (illegible) hands teach you again the shape of your jaws you know intimately someone stupider would say-")

Incident C133-120320 took place at 0922 hours when agent Itamura prepared to [break] after several threats to [break] if trainee did not ("repent"). Neither agents anticipated the outburst. Agent Wallace remarked that [break] ("pliers")

("-bunny". The word "bunny" repeats several times after this instance in the margins.)

("sometimes you see people they do not stop even when they should even when" "metal on molars on gum on tongue" "you are horror under a pin with not dead cells taken off piece by piece a stream of un-consciousness good for nothing but self-cannibalizing desperate for something to fill your detritus a hate for something you can't name" "a you that do not" "are not")

("sometimes you see people they forget that they are people. sometimes that is for the best.")

[break]

Addendum-120320B: Itamura submitted for performance review after mission. Agent demonstrated certain lack of discipline in carrying out the mission and was influenced easily by trainee's provocations. Additional psychological eval recommended along side with physical therapy.

Incident log C133-120320: You cannot forget how bone feels between teeth.

("something hungers in the woods somewhere and it always finds you among the trees." This sentence repeats in the background, going off the margin.)

Department of Training. 21/02/(redacted)

("you had bunny teeth. you remember

someone

calling you

puppy

though.")

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s2 ep23: The Thaw

I'll come right out and say it, this is one of the dumbest episodes of Star Trek I've ever seen. Seriously, why do we dunk on Threshold or Move Along Home when this exists??

The opening scene with Tom and Harry hanging out and chatting in Harry's quarters is the most interesting thing that happens in the whole episode- we learn that sound travels easily through walls in the crew quarters, which must have caused a lot of drama on the ship that probably would have been juicier than half the plots of actual episodes lol.

This episode wants so desperately to be psychological horror, but this circus, that’s supposed to be so menacing, is just like, mildly wacky?? And every time they try to kill someone, whatever device they use is painted literal Barbie pink, so it's a little hard to be terrified when the threat being posed is 'oh no! we're caught in a virtual reality simulation with Barbie's Dream Guillotine!' lmao

And the PLOT HOLES! PLOT HOLES EVERYWHERE!! Why does the clown kill off the people if he needs them to survive?! He won’t let them go, but he’ll kill them willy-nilly?? What?? That doesn't make any sense. And if the people know they’re in virtual reality, why would being virtually guillotined scare them at all, let alone enough to give them heart attacks??? And why do they not just kill the clown?!? Why don’t the Voyager people just kill the clown?!? He’s not a real person, he’s a computer program, you’re not even killing an actual life form- problem solved!!!  (Also, the evil clown is supposed to read people's minds, and says that Harry misses Libby, but the first scene had Harry telling Tom he's been seeing the lieutenant Tom's been trying to date for six months- clearly he doesn't miss Libby that bad lol. And clearly Tom got over Kes pretty quickly too! It's like Star Trek: High School on that ship!)

We do learn that Harry Kim's parents are apparently civilian doctors, so that's kinda interesting I guess. (I felt very sorry for the baby they uesd for baby Harry though- poor kid seemed terrified of all the weird masks and makeup everyone was wearing. This episode is scary if you're a two year old, but if you're older than that, not so much.)

And why is the evil clown Michael McKean?! Hiring a comedian, and a well known one at that, to play a character who's supposed to be scary, is... a choice. Mostly he was just annoying more than anything else. (And I do like Michael McKean in comedy roles. In fact, I just watched the movie 'Earth Girls Are Easy' the other day, where he played a surf bum, so it was even harder to take him seriously with that movie in mind- although, I will say, that movie is a great example of how to make someting so over-the-top bad that it's actually good- this ep did not even come close to achieving that, unfortunately.) I just.... I have so. many. questions.

The ONLY scary thing in this entire episode is Captain Janeway at the end. When she does that lowered voice, with the simmering wrath underneath, and then the gleeful triumph of watching some idiot realize they just got played?? Ugh. MA'AM. WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO BE THIS HOT?!

It’s like wow, okay bad guys, she’s gonna end you, and you will probably die in some kind of strange state of beatific awe at the sheer majestic honor of having your ass handed to you by this badass queen. I love her so much!! Anyway, I give this episode zero stars from a story standpoint, but ALL THE STARS for Captain Janeway’s hotness and badassery in the final scene.

Tl;dr: A complete dud on every level, only worth watching for the fun of the first and last scenes.

[to-mourn-a-mourning-dove]

so i was playing ddlc the other night, and i started thinking about the differences between hatoful and ddlc, bc that's what everyone compares hatoful to. but really... it's hard to explain that they really are nothing like one another, unless you've played both (thus, spoiling the Big Twist in both). but NONETHELESS, here's my breakdown

hatoful's main goal is not to scare the player. sure, there are horror elements, but it doesn't function as a psychological horror in the same way that ddlc does

hatoful works almost like a rube goldberg machine, utilizing every small detail you learn in the first half of the game to maximum effect

both games start off as a stereotypical dating simulator. you are drawn in by complex story elements, whether that b silliness (okosan), or subvertion of expectation with dating sim tropes (sayori, yuuya, natsuki,, basically every character in both these games, actually), or something scary (shuu, arguably yuri?), or even just a deep and compelling story (nageki, sakuya, any of the girls). all of this sets u up for the second half of the game, where shit goes down (bbl, act 2)

but it's at that point where we learn in ddlc, the protagonist, the player, is the most important part of the story. the story relies on the player. in hatoful, the opposite is true. hiyoko was always doomed by the narrative.

hatoful's driving motifs are grief, guilt, human connection, and getting a littol silly with it. ddlc's driving motifs are about mental illness, masking, desire--and not getting what you want

comparing hatoful to ddlc works bc both games are dating sims that involve a lot of horror elements and a subversion of expectation. but beyond that, they're... VERY different. and i just really wanted to sit down and consider why.

[unfunnyaceartist]

I love the internet

Its just some people on here that I dislike.

I think the internet was an incredible thing to happen that changed countless lives across the globe! It makes things easier. You can find people who understand you, share creations, share interests, share thoughts, buy, sell, show, perform, comfort people, help people, make friends, get support, start a business, spread awareness, and much more! Its a powerful tool that is often underappreciated. It is a PRIVILEGE. Not a right.

Now there are some people who use the internet to harm rather than help. Some choose the veil of anonymity to harass people. Some abuse and manipulate people. Some share hateful or inappropriate content, even though they're well aware of children on the internet.

With all of the amazing advantages technology brought us, came people who sought to use it in overall not good ways. Now more than ever its easier to come across something traumatic, inappropriate, cruel, scary, manipulative, illegal, and horrific things. All it takes is one wrong click for a child in elementary school to stumble across 18+ websites. All it takes is one typo to ruin a persons innocence. All it takes is one "prank" to traumatize someone. Im grateful my parents limited my internet access as a child. I know for a fact I would have stumbled upon some stuff that would have near irreversibly altered my mind. Lots of totally cool and normal things exist for certain audiences that arent really unethical, but the thing is, a lot of sites wont make sure of age. Most just have you click a checkbox that you are 18 or older. Its irresponsible in my opinion.

I'm going to make one example of my last point using a game im very familiar with that isnt a huge issue: Doki Doki Literature Club. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!! also this is so unlike me lmao. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF I GOT ANYTHING WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IM BAD AT WRITING SO HFUKJSGJh

It is a FANTASTIC indie psychological horror game with many interesting aspects and dark topics. The problem? Its marketed as a dating simulator with a cutesy style. A kid who failed to read more or heard from a friend saying to check it out as a prank (the latter happened to me) can easily download the original free game. Well, no biggie, right? It has a warning at the beginning, so it should be fine, right? Wrong. Lets take a look at the disclaimers.

Do you see that? "This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed" and "Individuals suffering from anxiety or depression may not have a safe experience playing this game." Now Ive played this game more times than I can count. Ive done every route, ive gotten every ending, i've gotten every secret,I even used to have a lot of the dialogue memorized, so trust me when I say, yes, this game can be incredibly unsettling at times, but its not the worst thing one can encounter. However its easily accessible as its completely free. The issue with the warning screens is a few things. One, you literally can just click through them without reading them like many do. Two, people may only skim the text or not care enough to go to the link. Three, IT DOES NOT SPECIFY WHAT IS DISTURBING!!! Lets take another look at the first warning: "This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed". Well, this game is marketed as a a cute highschool dating sim. For all parents or children know it could just be a bit spicy, and I know from experience, kids usually think they're grown enough to handle these things. What if a child goes in expecting a makeout scene when they go to Sayoris room to check on her before the festival only to find her corpse? Now what about the other warning? "Individuals suffering from anxiety or depression may not have a safe experience playing this game." And then it gives a link for content warnings. yes, this is better than the first IMMENSELY but the problem still stands that for all they know it could just have high stress parts or mention things like abuse or breakups or intercourse which can be triggering to some, and lets be honest, how many kids do you think will actually go to the website to read the content? Probably little to none unless their guardian figure makes them. I played this game in late fifth grade, and I thought I was practically an adult. Oh how wrong I was, BUT THATS OFF TOPIC. It would be much more beneficial and logical to just say 'this game covers dark, disturbing, and triggering topics and contains graphic content.' or something along those lines, OR EVEN VERIFY THEIR AGE. Without proper research an elementary schooler who was pranked by their friends (like me) could easily be traumatized. Im very glad I did research on it prior to my gameplay.

MY POINT IS THE INTERNET NEEDS MORE SAFETY AND STUFF BUT NOTHING STUPID LOL OKAY BYE SORRY FOR THE ABRUPT ENDINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

[thessalian]

Thess vs Spoiled Gamers

On a different note ... still playing the Dredge DLC, and still seeing Reddit whining about it.

The complaints are basically, "No new areas; no new exploration! We're just going to the same areas again and seeing them just a bit different! Why are we bothering with this?"

And I sat there going, "But ... new mechanics, new ship upgrades, new tasks, new fish, new aberrations, new aberrations of the exotic fish that used to be once-in-a-lifetime catches and we can now farm if we want to, new types of bait, new story... We have new shit to spend the shitloads of money we keep picking up in this game and new stuff to do; how is that not enough?!?"

And then the lead dev (who is pretty much The Guy; it's not like he's got a huge dev team or anything) actually went onto the post (because we all know this guy has a Reddit account) and said ... basically the same thing: "We were actually shooting for different things in our two DLCs to date - Pale Reach was always about a new zone and a new fish type, while Iron Rig was about making use of all the money you pick up after awhile, giving you a different experience in the world during new playthroughs--" (because seriously it is such a different game if you start a new playthrough with Iron Rig installed than if you get to endgame and then run through Iron Rig) "--and telling a different kind of story to the ones we told in the base game and Pale Reach".

Which ... I mean ... yeah. All three are takes on mortals messing with shit they can't understand, but the themes are different. Base game is love; Pale Reach is ignorance; Iron Rig is greed. And people wanted new zone and new mechanics and new fish and new story ... and I guess they wanted all of those things wrapped up in each DLC, instead of having it spread out.

Do ... people really not understand the difference between a AAA studio, which only has staffing issues because it laid off thousands of people, and an indie studio, which has, like, maybe a couple of people, max? Like, I'm not complaining about how long it's going to take for the next chapter of Scarlet Hollow to come out because that is being made by two people, and only one of those people is doing every single drawing for that game. I get being demanding of AAA games because ... well, hell, we want something for the amount of money we're spending - because while I'm okay on cosmetic items as a concept, I'm not comfortable with the amount they expect us to pay for what sometimes just amounts to recolouring existing armour. I do not get being demanding of indie devs who are doing their best. It's like indie devs get all the backlash that should be reserved for the money-grubbing AAA games companies because "they're all the same", and they're not.

Be nice to your indie devs, people. The AAA games companies are starting to reach the point where the bubble they've been inflating for decades is about to burst. The industry has tanked before, and it's likely to tank again before rising up in a new form. If and when that happens, the indie devs are going to be producing the only new games we get, so ... be nice.

And as I say that, I am looking at the assholes who basically shut down Emika Games. Emika Games makes psychological horror walking simulators, for the most part, and most of them are not very long at all. They're also not very expensive. A whole bunch of people bought the games knowing damn well that the estimated play time was less than the two hour limit on Steam refunds, played them through once, and got a refund. So Emika Games never saw that money and apparently had to shut down entirely, not having enough money to finish the next game they wanted to put out (From Day To Day - the demo's out but it's been "TBA" for years).

This is why I never know how to feel about piracy, y'know. Like, I get not wanting to give certain companies money, but then there's the people who just steal from everybody because they feel entitled to stuff but don't feel like paying for it. It's a problem.