Most survival horror games are not all that scary. Shooting zombies and
monsters can certainly be fun, but quite often it’s no scarier than blasting
aliens or enemy soldiers. The Suffering on the other hand is one creepy game.
It’s a violent, bloody, and profane game as well, but if you’re looking for some
chills in your survival horror gameplay it really delivers. Playing The
Suffering at night with the lights out will keep you on the edge of your seat
and may inspire a few nightmares of your own. After playing the game late one
night I had a dream in which I was in a morgue and a creepy guy in a lab coat
wanted me to open the drawers in the body freezer, and I never really have game
inspired dreams. If that’s not a testament to the game’s power to create one
scary atmosphere, I don’t know what is. If you’re a kid, squeamish, or
faint-hearted, then The Suffering is definitely not for you. The rest of you
brave souls read on…
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Just another day in the office |
First of all I should set the stage by giving you a look at the story in The
Suffering. You play as Torque, a recent addition to Abbott Penitentiary’s death
row. You’ve been convicted for the murder of your wife and kids, although you
have always proclaimed your innocence. Jails are full of innocent men but you
are the one who really is innocent. Right? Maybe… You’re tormented by flashbacks
and memories of your family, but they seem to focus on moments in time before or
after the crimes. Is it because you weren’t there when the crime occurred or
because your mind won’t let you remember the horror? You and Torque will have to
figure that out for yourselves as the game progresses.
After arriving at death row and meeting your new and friendly neighbors,
things quickly take a turn towards the bizarre and deadly. First the prison is
rocked by a large earthquake. Then before you can get your senses about you
guards and prisoners alike are slain where they stand by some horrors out of the
shadows. In the ensuing pandemonium you’re able to get out of your cell, but
getting out of the prison is another matter entirely…
The atmosphere in The Suffering is fantastic. The earthquake has knocked out
many of the lights, broken water mains, and caused entire hallways to collapse,
and you get the idea that Abbott Penitentiary didn’t look all that much better
before the earthquake. The prison apparently used every known form of capital
punishment in dispatching its death row denizens and when you pass the gas
chamber or electric chair you’ll see horrific visions of these tools of justice
doing their dirty work. You’ll also be haunted by visions of your family that
come from nowhere and quickly fade. Ghostly apparitions will appear and torment
your mind as they try to push you over the edge into insanity, and you’ll
quickly get the idea that they know a lot more about you than you do yourself.
And you’ll hear voices in your head…
Whispered threats of doom will come from nowhere and put your hair on edge,
and in a very cool touch you’ll hear your own conscience speak to you when faced
with some decisions. From the left speakers your good side will offer advice in
a calm female voice while your dark side will tempt you from the right speakers
in a male voice well-suited for a career in a goth or dark metal band.
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