No horror option

[hwmt69420360]

This game is too creepy sometimes. And this was not advertised on the store at all. Considering I am quite anxiety / fear prone (and so are plenty of other people!), I really hate horror games. I love this game so far, but it's sometimes just too creepy and it really sucks. It turned this game into love-hate rather than just love. And I am not even at some really horrific enemies like the leyak that I read about.

So... idea: make an option to turn off creepy npcs like the coworker, the leyak, and the giants. This could be a server setting or a player tag (so that they don't target the player). And a separate option to turn off waves.

And just for anyone disliking this: keep the option off and it won't affect you. Sympathise with others and let them have a good time too!

It would be awesome if something can be done to fix this issue!

[Telly Gomi]

The game has SCP-inspired lore so the creepy monsters make sense but I agree on one thing.

The Leyak needs work. An early-warning system or means to know it's nearby than just hearing it's gasping and trying to figure out where it is. Or even a more semi-permanent solution to keeping it contained.

[maeharaprojekt]

If the devs see this, please make the Coworker's movements more insectile and add some mantis-like twitching. Maybe even have him/it scuttle up walls and ceilings.

I would love to see the Leyak gain a few more intestinal features and a pulsating heart or a lung. Not both lungs... just one.

Would a slow and viscous slime coming out of a random faucet, switching to different lavatories and kitchens, be possible?

What about a Pest hiding in a toilet bowl? Place Carbuncles over a few toilets and configure it not to attack until the player goes to relieve themselves.

[SevTheNPC]

Publicado originalmente por Monokuma:

Publicado originalmente por SevTheNPC:

This is not a horror game. You said it yourself, you are anxiety/fear prone. Just because you are scared does not make it horror. I agree that this game would benefit from accessibility features that tone those elements that are scary to you down, but this is not horror and you are doing yourself a disservice by claiming it is horror. You stated that even the coworker who just crawls around is scary to you. That isn't a horror element at all. There are a lot of things that are surprising in the game for sure, and could be scary.. but far from deserving of the "Horror" tag.

This absolutely qualifies as a horror game. The absence of deliberate jumpscares or slasher-film tropes or whatever other qualifications you may come up with are not necessary for that tag. Just because you're desensitized doesn't mean it's not meant to be scary in some capacity. Horror is very subjective and what may be scary to one person may not be scary to someone else. Flathills alone puts this game in horror because it being an unsettling low-visibility mess of trying not to get spotted ARE horror trends.

Having some horror elements does not make a game horror. This is a survival crafting game with light horror elements. This is not a horror game with survival crafting elements. If you want to say it is a horror game because it was dark and you saw a weird dude crawling around on the ground... then go for it, but this is not a horror game.

[Simply Jake]

Publicado originalmente por SevTheNPC:

Publicado originalmente por Monokuma:

This absolutely qualifies as a horror game. The absence of deliberate jumpscares or slasher-film tropes or whatever other qualifications you may come up with are not necessary for that tag. Just because you're desensitized doesn't mean it's not meant to be scary in some capacity. Horror is very subjective and what may be scary to one person may not be scary to someone else. Flathills alone puts this game in horror because it being an unsettling low-visibility mess of trying not to get spotted ARE horror trends.

Having some horror elements does not make a game horror. This is a survival crafting game with light horror elements. This is not a horror game with survival crafting elements. If you want to say it is a horror game because it was dark and you saw a weird dude crawling around on the ground... then go for it, but this is not a horror game.

If I could add my two cents here, I think you could make an argument for aspects of psychological horror, But it's a hard maybe. It's definitely not outright "Horror" horror, but stuff like the Leyak really kept me on edge for the first few hours of it being active. Further on, I feel the Composers aren't that scary on their own, But the general idea of them is pretty spooky, and anywhere silent hills-esque, that being just a foggy town that's abandoned, Can tug at certain folk in a way it can't for others.

So I don't think it's so much that the game is scary on it's own, I think it's moreso the fact that there are elements that can pick at your brain as you play. For me it was the furniture store, the idea of a building slowly being overrun by unflinching entities always gets to me alot. For others it may be anteverse 3, Or the train. There's something otherworldly about most of the game that'll eventually make most people scared, While also maintaining a pretty clear non-Horror theme. Idk tho, That's just my opinion.

[ULTRA]

Publicado originalmente por Telly Gomi #FixTF2:

The game has SCP-inspired lore so the creepy monsters make sense but I agree on one thing.

The Leyak needs work. An early-warning system or means to know it's nearby than just hearing it's gasping and trying to figure out where it is. Or even a more semi-permanent solution to keeping it contained.

I think it should just be louder. Your scientist knows when portal storms are going to happen, you should have a Nethack-esque clue of when the Leyak invades. I haven't been surprised once by it myself but the lack of feedback about its presence could cause UX problems.

[Kleo ツ]

Publicado originalmente por Telly Gomi #FixTF2:

The game has SCP-inspired lore so the creepy monsters make sense but I agree on one thing.

The Leyak needs work. An early-warning system or means to know it's nearby than just hearing it's gasping and trying to figure out where it is. Or even a more semi-permanent solution to keeping it contained.

The early warning system is the noises it makes, the thing moves at a snails pace and I really have no clue how people are having so many issues with it. I had one close encounter with it in the midst of combat where I was about to turn and walk into it without realizing it'd been creeping up on me and honestly...that's awesome! Gave me a full on "oh ♥♥♥♥, that was close." moment.

Anything more would just take away from its purpose in terms of the threat it poses which is very meager to begin with.

I suppose reducing the frequency might be alright, it's not frequent enough that it bothered me personally but I can see how it might bother others and if they tuned in to be less frequent by just a bit more that'd be fine because there are already recipes that cause it to spawn much more frequently after you ingest them so there are methods for people trying to farm essence or for those that maybe like being stalked by it in general.

Maybe a potential permanent solution to containing it again comes later, I'm fine with that but dynamic elements such as the Leyak that can throw a spanner in the works are excellent additions. In terms of "containing" it currently, once you get the portable x-ray gun it becomes a complete joke of an enemy, hell nothing really changes I suppose because even then I'd preemptively hunt it to stare at it the second I heard it at any given moment.

All in all I think it's currently at a sweet enough spot. It's dangerous but only to those who aren't paying attention and that is indeed, as they say, a skill issue.

[MechWarden]

Publicado originalmente por Kleo ツ:

...
The early warning system is the noises it makes, the thing moves at a snails pace and I really have no clue how people are having so many issues with [Leyak].
...

I don't have much of an issue either, but I can easily imagine it being a pain for people using speakers, playing with others that are talking a lot, playing in a noisy area while gaming, have some form of hearing impairment... or someone that doesn't bother with game sounds and/or plays music too loud in the background.

Except for the last few examples that are more self inflected, it could see Leyak being an unfair monster to them, since the audio cue is easier to miss. With no sound warning, it drastically increases the chances of blindly running face first into it, or just sneaking up and clawing them to death.

[Kleo ツ]

Publicado originalmente por MechWarden:

I don't have much of an issue either, but I can easily imagine it being a pain for people using speakers, playing with others that are talking a lot, playing in a noisy area while gaming, have some form of hearing impairment... or someone that doesn't bother with game sounds and/or plays music too loud in the background.

Except for the last few examples that are more self inflected, it could see Leyak being an unfair monster to them, since the audio cue is easier to miss. With no sound warning, it drastically increases the chances of blindly running face first into it, or just sneaking up and clawing them to death.

I actually think the idea of talking among friends only to start hearing someone making such awkward and borderline sexual ASMR likely confusing the individual hearing the noises into inquiring as to who the hell is making those sounds before the realization dawns upon them is fantastic personally. That said, the novelty would be shot dead after the first time so not much longevity there.

Regardless, I'm still of the mind it's perfect where it's at in that it's subtle but in my opinion easily discernible due to how...odd the noises are; they just don't belong which makes them stand out more to me and the best part about it being as subtle as it is that, as much of a joke of an enemy that it is, any time you're not hearing it, it makes you somewhat schizo so not only is it dangerous if it gets close, it also imposes a level of psychological warfare on players as well by its mere nature and I think that's just as fantastic.

For hearing impaired though, absolutely needs some form of accessibility option if there isn't already. I didn't glance too closely at those options outside of turning the crouch and sprint toggle options on.

[MechWarden]

One of my main complaints is that it sounds way too human. If it was related to a human ghost, sure, I'd buy that... but that's no human.

Granted, it does offer a way for friends to troll each other to do soft and timid moans, utterances, and sighs to freak out others.

Besides that, I wasn't expecting the stifled breathing sounds akin to a stressed out introvert at a party to be tied to a shy, but murderous, transdimensional floating lung monster from 'The Flesh Dimension' out to rip me apart with clawed tracheal tentacles while I wasn't looking.

[Monokuma]

Publicado originalmente por SevTheNPC:

Publicado originalmente por Monokuma:

This absolutely qualifies as a horror game. The absence of deliberate jumpscares or slasher-film tropes or whatever other qualifications you may come up with are not necessary for that tag. Just because you're desensitized doesn't mean it's not meant to be scary in some capacity. Horror is very subjective and what may be scary to one person may not be scary to someone else. Flathills alone puts this game in horror because it being an unsettling low-visibility mess of trying not to get spotted ARE horror trends.

Having some horror elements does not make a game horror. This is a survival crafting game with light horror elements. This is not a horror game with survival crafting elements. If you want to say it is a horror game because it was dark and you saw a weird dude crawling around on the ground... then go for it, but this is not a horror game.

Hard disagree. Part of the reason the horror genre is so hopelessly stagnant is the constant trope chasing and vehement adherence that horror must be in-your-face about it. The horror genre is absolutely flooded with game-theory bait hidden lore, cheap jumpscares, and frankly just boring-to-awful monster designs. If you want cheap thrills, then sure, this isn't a horror game. But for a lot of people, horror isn't just blood leaking on the walls as some ♥♥♥♥♥♥ ms paint designed mascot chases after you with the loudest ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ sounds imaginable. Horror has a lot of psychological facets. Horror is the unease, the unexplained, the uncomfortable. There's a reason SCP games are all "horror" themed, even though most SCP articles aren't supposed to be scary. It's because it inspires that cerebral horror.

[PurpleXVI]

I feel like Abiotic Factor generally does pretty well for me at being tense without being generic jumpscare horror outside of stuff like the Leyak. Not knowing the exact lay of the land, complicated layouts, enemies moving around, cloaking enemies like the Crystalisks, low-to-the-ground enemies that could be hidden at blind angles, etc. means you're never 100% sure what's around the next corner, even in areas you've already been in before.

Personally I feel stuff like that and STALKER stick with me more as interesting "horror" experiences than "blaaargh the bloodskullman just teleported in front of you!!!"

Tension Horror vs Jumpscare Horror, I guess.

[Nimu]

The problem, that was the original intention of the game, specially if you see the inspirations (Half life, SCP, Cabin in the Woods...).

Although I do agree the game could do with a horror tag just to advise potential buyers. There is no way to tone down the "horror" elements, the whole point of the game is to face your fears and conquer them, many of the "scary things" in the game later become ways to farm rare resources. There are even sectors designed around specific fears like nyctophobia (security sector) and thalassophobia (the dam).

I would advise for anxiety players to play it with friends (if they can of course), since having a buddy with you always helps to ligthen up the mood and relieve some of the tension.

[mr steal ur spell]

OP: have u played dysmantle or I Am Future? those might be cool.

When I first got this game and saw the goofy scientists fleeing from aliens on the store page, I could see the dev's respect for half life. I didn't expect the level of visual storytelling , playing with the lighting and distant sounds, but that stuff comes very early in the game and the introduction sets the tone for the rest of the game. It's clearly cosmic horror, also like half life.

I don't think there's a way to cut any of that and not end up with a completely different game. You are in a facility created to study and (somewhat) contain otherworldly horrors, the game's main themes are centered around unforeseen consequences, hubris and the limits of rationality. There are forces outside the facility meddling with everything that goes on, on top of the politics inside GATE itself. Nobody in the facility fundamentally understands what they are doing, and it shows.

It's a well done throwback to those fps light rpg's like system shock, deus ex , arx fatalis , etc where you find some spooky stuff while exploring, and end up with more than you bargained for. The devs managed to marry all that with crafting, base building, fishing and multiplayer and still have a cohesive experience.