hot take on supermassive games
on terms of enjoyment, the big five games ranked: (some spoilers)
5) Little Hope - I hated the 'big twist' it felt lazy. the characters were meh, their dynamics were annoying, and I never really connected with the story. The environment was almost too detached.
4) Man of Medan - I was so excited when we saw the prologue, I loved Joe's character and I felt sympathetic towards him in our limited time with him. the rest of the game fell kind of flat for me. the plot progression was clunky and again 3rd act twist didn't do it for me.
3) The Quarry - I see the attempt, but I feel like the supernatural 'surprise' was wayyy too obvious like with Until Dawn you didn't even know what the FUCK a wendigo was (I liked the fact it was more obscure and not an overplayed creature). I never felt ANY tension or horror in this game unless it was like cheap scares. I hated the 'don't breath' sections I wish they kept the stay still or heartbeat portions: those induced so much more stress than that stupid mechanic. The dialogue felt off and it was so awkward for the most part, the acting was iffy from time to time. The game was just so blah.
2) Until Dawn - I loved this game. It had me SO emotionally involved: I felt the stress, the panic, the relief, the horror, the grief, the joy. The characters had depth and were constantly change my opinion of them, which is what I love- characters that evoke emotion. The storyline was hidden but just hard enough to the point where you could pick it apart but stay interested. The graphics were wonderful and the environment was immersive. beautiful game and iconic.
1) House of Ashes - Obsessed with the game. There's so much action which is what differentiates it from its competition. Other games shy away from combat and try to leave it to be the climax of the plot, but HOA is constantly fighting. It's also super refreshing for the characters in a Horror game to be trained for life-threatening situations, like they aren't making stupid decisions or being helpless when the enemy appears. The dialogue felt meaningful and beautifully moved the plot along. The characters are ALL appealing like not a single character is a throw-away antagonist. There's comedy, conflict, intimacy, and vulnerability. The characters are realistic and all charming in their unique ways. The dynamics present between the main cast make you route for them. Bonus: The graphics in this game were by far the best in my opinion and personally, I think this cast has been supermassive's hottest actors and models.