Does the sanity system actually add to the gameplay?

[mildlyreckless]

After co-playing with my brother on his account, I have to ask if there's really a reason to have the sanity system at all.

It's extremely unbalanced when walking around the house (your sanity will rapidly decrease in the garage in the slightest shadow, despite there being blaring lights all around you and no paranormal events taking place), and in chapter 2, we were attacked seemingly at random in the halls by the ghost, even though our sanity wasn't low enough to make the brain in the lower left corner vivid. This makes me think these encounters are randomly scripted and unavoidable, and it leads one to wonder why they're bothering with the pills in the first place.

Because the inventory management system is so cumbersome, attempting to manage sanity is frustrating rather than scary, so it ends up discouraging players from exploring the dark corners of the house.

On top of this, when entering other-worldly levels, the sanity system suddenly disappears entirely. It actually serves to make these portions more engaging and atmospheric, because the player is able to focus on their surroundings rather than fumbling with pills and candles.

Perhaps this is just the bias of an old-school Silent Hill fan, but I really don't see what a sanity system does to contribute to this particular title when there's so much else going for it. I understand that since this is a walking simulator, you need to add some sort of threat to the player that doesn't involve combat, but I'd like to point out the fact that this game's primary inspiration (P.T.) was very successful without this.

Since I doubt the sanity system is going anywhere, I'll simply cross my fingers that the balance will be better polished in future updates. The brain indicator as it is simply isn't clear enough that your sanity IS low enough to be concerned with. Survival horror vets tend to cling to supplies until the last second, so adding a more tangible meter like the one in Amnesia may help make it easier to judge. Maybe have the brain take a red tint when you're in the danger zone. Judging between kinda faded and kinda vivid is one more thing for the player to agonize over while trying desperately not to drop their lighter for the fifteenth time.

I'm all for difficult games, but these issues are more in the realm of design flaws than interesting challenges. I would look to the way Amnesia and SOMA balance the challenge of puzzles and sanity management with simple inventory tools and clear communication to the player that they are in danger and they can learn to avoid it. Frustrating your player takes them out of the experience, and this game has a lot of great experiences that deserve the players' full engagement.

Anyway. I'll shut up and return to the darkness now.

[FoxGod]

I was just telling myself yesterday while playing chapter 2 that I don't see any need for the sanity system. I'd rather them just have us manage lighter fluid or batteries for a flashlight instead. Maybe include hiding places for when enemies are about to show up. let us duck under a bed or hide in a closet.

[areyoutheregoditsmephil?]

Originally posted by FoxGod:

I was just telling myself yesterday while playing chapter 2 that I don't see any need for the sanity system. I'd rather them just have us manage lighter fluid or batteries for a flashlight instead. Maybe include hiding places for when enemies are about to show up. let us duck under a bed or hide in a closet.

Absolutely not. This isn't Outlast. That game is trash. You want to manage a camera and want hiding places go play that.

[FoxGod]

here comes the opinion police...

[areyoutheregoditsmephil?]

Originally posted by FoxGod:

here comes the opinion police...

So wait, it's ok for you to make your opinion about you wanting there to be hiding spots and fuel for out lighters, but it's not ok for me to say no. Ok Pot.

[FoxGod]

you didn't add an opinion you just denounced an existing one.

[Grohlvana]

I also think it's largely unnecessary.

[arewar]

I was talking about this yesterday too. The sanity system adds no value to the game at all in the current state. It's (arguably) interesting and scary the first couple of times... and then it's not anymore. It's an annoyance, a barrier to progress, and a time sink.

I don't have a problem with the concept of a sanity system generally, but this one is poorly implemented. Going insane should be a long, slow process, and dying from failing to manage it should be a very rare event.

Watching any youtube video of people playing the game, it's quite clear that there is a problem. The random popups of death remove the player entirely from the tension and story of the game, leave the player saying 'wtf just happened', and annoyed or confused.

For the sake of argument though, PT did have a (sort of) failure condition (iirc). The ghost would possess you under certain circumstances, which would then require you to reset the loop to progress. Of course, these were a) more uncommon b) easier to avoid and c) a reset was quick and easy, never really resulting in any lost progress, and never encountering a loading screen.

[Hitosura]

I would simply suggest they make the sanity system something akin to Eternal Darkness -- the lower your sanity, the more spooky random events you start to see. If your sanity meter is totally empty, perhaps the ghosts can help you with that?

[the2ndSign]

Originally posted by AreYouThereGodItsMePhil:

Originally posted by FoxGod:

here comes the opinion police...

So wait, it's ok for you to make your opinion about you wanting there to be hiding spots and fuel for out lighters, but it's not ok for me to say no. Ok Pot.

it's not okay to be a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ♥♥♥♥ about it tho

[Hitosura]

I'm hoping the Sanity system becomes some kind of Eternal Darkness-type sanity system: When your sanity hits low, the real haunting begins -- things moving around, more ghosts appearing, more jump scares, blood dripping to the ceiling, rooms being replaced, etc.

[trash compactor]

The levels changing their layout and design on low sanity would be awesome and a lot better system indeed. Possibly a performance sink though.
Does anyone know whether the pills respawn? It seems to me I am just out and I am stuck, cant find any anywhere without Dolores stabbing me through the wall.

...or just randomly teleporting behind me without a chase.

[Alex Darkly]

Agree to lots of these points. Right now, the sanity meter seems inconsequential. The spots that lower my sanity don't seem to have anything to do with anything.

Right now there are 2 different random event occurrences. Using Dolores as an example, sometimes she peeks at you from around a corner which is a great moment that I love and always gets me because it's innocent. Like my kid waking up at night and startling me while I watch a scary movie. She's just watching you not doing anything aggressive, and you get creeped out cuz THAT'S JUST A CREEPY THING. Then there's the sanity random events, like lights turning off or the TV turning on, which distract you from whatever task you were on for any given chapter. It doesn't seem relevant and like an idea that was implemented but isn't being used.

My suggestions-

- If you are going to keep the sanity, first of all the HUD for sanity is confusing. Scribbles then a brain? The healthy pink brain seems like I should be ok but it's when I've lost the most sanity? Wouldn't more scribbles mean more crazy because your brain is having a harder time concentrating?

- Combine the 2 events. Make the relevant chapter's ghost the star of the sanity events. When I see Dolores where she shouldn't be should be a sanity event. Honestly, the sanity events are pretty easy to avoid if you flip the lights back on or turn the TV off real quick. I spent a majority of Chapter 2 avoiding sanity loss by just turning around for a second and fixing whatever sanity event just changed something.

- No more pills. Please. If I'm right about the narrative of the overarching story, then pills and sanity don't even make sense in the first place.

- Make loss of sanity useful. If it's going to stick around, make it part of the narrative in this narrative-based game. Maybe you can only open a certain door to an area if you have completely lost your mind.

- Or.... Get rid of it. Nix the entire sanity system. The entire house and the antagonists of each chapter are a threat on their own. Why do we have sanity?

It feels so much like an idea someone had at the beginning that nobody worked on or developed into a better-functioning idea with the growth of the game. It's just... there. A leftover mechanic that just kinda gets in your way of enjoying the immersion of the chapter you are playing. I want to explore the shadows of every room but, my sanity goes down and suddenly there's just lots of noise and the house gets mat at me? That seems aggressive. What's wrong with the constant tension of not knowing if a room is safe or if there's something creepy waiting for you? The fear of not knowing is way more intense than the fear of "oh ♥♥♥♥ ghosts flipped off the lights i better pop pills and light a candle"...also, just a show of hands, who even uses the candles or replaces the lights? I only ever replaced one light to see around a corner better, and lit a few candles *because they were there and I just wanted to use the item*

Anyway, after my playthrough today, the sanity was one of my main issues because it seems incredibly irrelevant to the rest of the game. It can be fixed, but I don't see why you need it. This game is really well done and I have enjoyed my time playing (mostly), the scares are fun and the stories are.. well Lucy's story was really interesting. I hope you guys have a good plan. I look forward to the next chapters. :)

[dingoes8myammo]

I *think* I figured out the sanity system. If your sanity gets too low all the in-game "rules" become null and void. For example, if you hear a ghost coming from your left you go right to avoid being murdered. If your sanity is low, you can't rely on those cues anymore. You'll see a ghost in a doorway, also hear them behind you, turn left to avoid them and get attacked. I think the sanity function keeps your senses reliable and therefore allows you to better navigate past the ghosts.

[AlmostDeveloper]

i dont know why you guys keep criticizing sanity system. imho i enjoyed it

[Lord Tony]

when I had maxed out insanity she appeared out of a closet.