Minute North American towns, composed of a closely knitted society, of friends and family, where everybody knows every single citizen, are famous world over. Popularity of TV shows such as Twin Peaks, and Desperate Housewives has only further cemented the status of a small idyllic town with a deep seeded mystery, knitted within the fabric of its society. And it comes to no surprise that this particular subject matter has also been explored by the video game industry, within the last decade.
Alan Wake, and Deadly Premonition, have both explored this particular theme, however, within minutes both titles have also abandoned the idea of a mystery, and jumped straight into the super natural. Despite the build up, and the ever growing promise, developers behind both titles have discarded all alternative forms of storytelling, and referred to the tried and tested PVE combat. And the once intriguing and captivating titles, have become nothing more than simple survival horrors, ultimately stating that we may never get a true Twin Peaks like thriller. Until today that is.
As of today, 22nd of …show more content…
And once both are combined with the exceptional sound design, they collectively create a sense of place like no other. Caves, cafes, and even basements are all convincing despite their low polygon art style, and thorough the entirety of Virginia they allow the player to genuinely experience the feeling of inhabitancy in a place that will be foreign to some. But just like coherence, this also disappears as soon as Virginia enters its final stretch. And unfortunately, Virginia is the only thing which prevents itself from achieving greatness, as it tries to imitate a TV show, while attempting to abandon the fact that it's a video game. And as previously stated, a combination of video game mechanics, with a structure and direction of a TV series, is borderline impossible. And Virginia is a great example of
Alan Wake, and Deadly Premonition, have both explored this particular theme, however, within minutes both titles have also abandoned the idea of a mystery, and jumped straight into the super natural. Despite the build up, and the ever growing promise, developers behind both titles have discarded all alternative forms of storytelling, and referred to the tried and tested PVE combat. And the once intriguing and captivating titles, have become nothing more than simple survival horrors, ultimately stating that we may never get a true Twin Peaks like thriller. Until today that is.
As of today, 22nd of …show more content…
And once both are combined with the exceptional sound design, they collectively create a sense of place like no other. Caves, cafes, and even basements are all convincing despite their low polygon art style, and thorough the entirety of Virginia they allow the player to genuinely experience the feeling of inhabitancy in a place that will be foreign to some. But just like coherence, this also disappears as soon as Virginia enters its final stretch. And unfortunately, Virginia is the only thing which prevents itself from achieving greatness, as it tries to imitate a TV show, while attempting to abandon the fact that it's a video game. And as previously stated, a combination of video game mechanics, with a structure and direction of a TV series, is borderline impossible. And Virginia is a great example of