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indigozealNot much to report. My gameplay roadblock was just due to overlooking a certain pathway, which I located easily enough through being methodical; once back on track, I encountered an Otherworld section, then buzzed through a therapy session and left Harry in front of the high school.
The Otherworld sections do get more challenging, by the way, albeit not in a desirable manner; in the latest one, I had to negotiate more or less back to my starting position, around a circular path and through several different lodges. Unfortunately, with everything dark and iced over, the terrain is indistinguishable, and given that I wasn't running in a more-or-less straight path this time, it was nigh-impossible to get my bearings. Harry can pull up a map on his smartphone, but the controls are fiddly, and you constantly have monsters breathing down your neck. Plus, even if you have your flashlight turned off to minimize monster attention, for some damn reason, Harry will automatically turn it back on once he puts away his cellphone - which, given the multitude of overlapping situational functions mapped to just a couple buttons, got me caught in countless loops of accidentally turning the phone on when I meant to turn the flashlight off again, then accidentally opening up the contact list or camera app in my attempt to turn that off, then getting jumped by monsters in the interim and dying. Between all this and the incessant little-kid monster screams on the soundtrack, the sequence really got on my nerves. It's a change of pace for Otherworld segments, I'll admit that - metaphorical fast zombies in place of slow - but not one that I enjoy.
I gotta also say that the whole Vince McMahon, psychiatrist thing is really starting to undermine the game. He even talks like a sleazy wrestling promoter, even when he's allegedly offering therapeutic treatment to a patient. I mean (spoiler warning for the video description below the play window - I was spoiled on that before I started playing), look at this - the one session right at the timecode I've linked. It makes Tender Loving Care look APA-approved in comparison. The game so far, in fact, is generally stupid in its treatment of allegedly Mature Topics - as per the video, it actually thinks that real-life teenagers fall into the categories of "virgin" and "slut" (with Vince's leering line readings underlining the alleged titillation factor), and there have been three fairly elaborate rape references in as many hours of playtime. At least Tender Loving Care had John Hurt with a weird dye job.
The new piano puzzle, the replacement for the "Birds Without a Voice" gem from SH1, involves Harry plinking away on a toy piano to match a tune played by Cheryl in a phone message. Unfortunately, to mimic the notes, you have to listen to Cheryl's mom verbally abuse her over & over. It was realistically done, for once, but, brother, was it unpleasant, in a visceral real-world way. At least it was a respite from being chased by screaming mannequins for a bit.
My save did actually reload from right where I left off, though, which is a relief. Nausea did kick in, but playing the game just before bed helped. I'll try the same thing again tonight - maybe it'll inspire another Henry Townshend whodunit.
.
The Otherworld sections do get more challenging, by the way, albeit not in a desirable manner; in the latest one, I had to negotiate more or less back to my starting position, around a circular path and through several different lodges. Unfortunately, with everything dark and iced over, the terrain is indistinguishable, and given that I wasn't running in a more-or-less straight path this time, it was nigh-impossible to get my bearings. Harry can pull up a map on his smartphone, but the controls are fiddly, and you constantly have monsters breathing down your neck. Plus, even if you have your flashlight turned off to minimize monster attention, for some damn reason, Harry will automatically turn it back on once he puts away his cellphone - which, given the multitude of overlapping situational functions mapped to just a couple buttons, got me caught in countless loops of accidentally turning the phone on when I meant to turn the flashlight off again, then accidentally opening up the contact list or camera app in my attempt to turn that off, then getting jumped by monsters in the interim and dying. Between all this and the incessant little-kid monster screams on the soundtrack, the sequence really got on my nerves. It's a change of pace for Otherworld segments, I'll admit that - metaphorical fast zombies in place of slow - but not one that I enjoy.
I gotta also say that the whole Vince McMahon, psychiatrist thing is really starting to undermine the game. He even talks like a sleazy wrestling promoter, even when he's allegedly offering therapeutic treatment to a patient. I mean (spoiler warning for the video description below the play window - I was spoiled on that before I started playing), look at this - the one session right at the timecode I've linked. It makes Tender Loving Care look APA-approved in comparison. The game so far, in fact, is generally stupid in its treatment of allegedly Mature Topics - as per the video, it actually thinks that real-life teenagers fall into the categories of "virgin" and "slut" (with Vince's leering line readings underlining the alleged titillation factor), and there have been three fairly elaborate rape references in as many hours of playtime. At least Tender Loving Care had John Hurt with a weird dye job.
The new piano puzzle, the replacement for the "Birds Without a Voice" gem from SH1, involves Harry plinking away on a toy piano to match a tune played by Cheryl in a phone message. Unfortunately, to mimic the notes, you have to listen to Cheryl's mom verbally abuse her over & over. It was realistically done, for once, but, brother, was it unpleasant, in a visceral real-world way. At least it was a respite from being chased by screaming mannequins for a bit.
My save did actually reload from right where I left off, though, which is a relief. Nausea did kick in, but playing the game just before bed helped. I'll try the same thing again tonight - maybe it'll inspire another Henry Townshend whodunit.
.
