By Jonathan Bilski
Wait, where am I? I have some sort of brain virus and if I don't play some spooky horror games I'll die!?! Better open one of these locked VHS cassette cases. Who makes, locked VHS cases, probably some Etsy shop. Hmm, this one with a sexy Cthulu looks good. Who doesn't want to suck face with the ender of all things in an anime style dating game? Ugh, now I have to figure out puzzles in this haunted house. And I need to do so to get more keys to play more video games. So, I don't have my brains eaten by the virus? At least that's what the voice keeps telling me.
That's the set-up and strange fun of Dread X Collection 2 out now on Steam for $9.99 or $6.66 upside down. Oh, and all the games in the anthology were made in 10 days. Not the over-world, but everything you'll be playing.
I like the over-world, which has you wandering around a "Haunted House" messed up house. As I already explained, you figure out puzzles in the house to play more games. It's a fun romp around to see what's in the spooky place and earn the keys to play more games. All of which are a bit different, twelve in all.
Some that I got into were:
Sucker for Love, the before-mentioned dating sim is fun to get sucked into as you're one step from the end of time, on your first date with the one who should never awaken. If you're both into anime and the work of H.P. Lovecraft like I am, this is the perfect amount of ridiculous misuse of his work that would have Lovecraft spinning in his grave.
Solipsis, from Daniel Mullins, whose work from -not what is sounds like- Pony Island, has you walking on the Moon when things don't go right. I love some of the visuals of trying to find a logical conclusion is essentially put the right shape in the right hole.
It's fun to find your way through each game a
nd seeing new horrors each time you put in a new cassette.
There in lies the only problem I encountered with game. Because the games were made by more than one person and finished on the quick. You can't always use your controller. Mouse and keyboard is what the
Overall game and many of the games in the anthology want you to use. Accept, no substitutes.
This is another strange, but fun entry from the Dread X Collection you should pick up while waiting for Halloween.
But wait, there's more! Another collection was just announced for October! Dread X Collection 3 is heading to Steam, no date, just yet. But there's plenty of details. The third entry will be Spoopy, a word as a horror fan even I didn't know. It's spooky and cute. So, essentially more like Sucker for Love I'm guessing.
More detail here.
I'll give you a heads up when there's a launch date for it next month. I'm gonna guess you'll want to get it if you got the first two games in the series.