@@Woter_X idk I come to this channel to enjoy fresh new indie games to see what they have to offer and I go to markiplier to see him play games that I already know about so I can see his reactions to the game or to watch him play stuff like this (like in the "3 scary games" series) but moreso to see how he reacts rather than fully get the mood of the game
I definitely want a game that's 95% just paranoia. Maybe there's a build up of creepy thing but then it's dead silent for a bit. You're on edge when finally something happens. A noise, it'll probably freak you out or you'll expect it. But there's nothing there, and there never was.
@@grantm.9109 Thank you. Truly. Immediately I watched a no commentary of the game and... there's a lot of emotions right now. There's no dread, no fear, it was nothing like I intended in my comment but...thank you. Really.
@@potatohead5986 Yes, Layers of Fear is one of my most favorite games yet. First found it on Xbox one and ended up having a really good time, I have the DOC and everything but I'm just waiting to get Layers of Fear 2
I’ve been saying for years that I want a horror movie that’s just complete dread and nothing happens. No jump scares, no false alarms, nothing. Just 120 minutes of uncomfortable tension.
In fairness, he could’ve stopped it by removing the vhs tape from the player, but it woulda been replaced with the program talking about why sex is bad or whatever the hell
This makes me very uncomfortable and Uneasy in multiple ways. Especially the part where you pick up a dagger and still have the kitchen Knife. It kinda paints a picture of "If im getting a better weapon, why havent i used my previous one?"
daggers are ceremonial, reason being that whatever is done with the dagger is more ceremonial than what the protag does with the dull kitchen knife. there is a meaning behind having a dagger, it implies that the violence was something that the protag felt compeled to do in a ceremonial way, not just randomly but this was premeditated and probably done numerous times (the dagger shines and is sharp as if it is well taken care of and polished). also the dagger is hidden from you at the start agin, because of its importance to the user. my 2 cents
This game is a true masterpiece, it really nails "psychological horror" down. I don't know about others, but I get very uncomfortable when sex is mentioned, and I believe sex and horror combined is true fear of what's gonna happen next. "There is pain in all pleasure" is a wonderful way to put it, because as much as the public glorifies sex, there's horrible crimes involved with it as well that we try to hide. I love your channel dude, no commentary makes these games absolutely unique in their own way, KEEP IT UP!
I'd be lying if I said this game wasn't effective in what it was trying to do, that being freak me out. Is it made by Puppet Combo? This just screams Puppet Combo, old PS1-looking games like this is usually their signature.
Yeah it's a very freaky game! No it's not Puppet Combo. It does have a similar vibe, but the Puppet Combo games generally have more of a VHS video nasty style. :)
@@aszher that's not what I meant. This game has a resolve of some kind at the end of it, unlike most Puppet Combo games, which either just stop abruptly (Nun Massacre "Nun Killing" ending) or have endings that make no sense whatsoever (Power Drill Massacre, Feed Me Billy).
i have ptsd related to the themes of this game and watching this LP (hey i could have stopped any time, not blaming anyone but myself) gave me a migraine and nausea. now that's compelling art. five stars, incredibly effective piece of game design!!!
I honestly feel like the character in this could either be the victim of rape being haunted by what happened or the rapist being haunted by their actions. Because of the tapes being shown of different parts of the house where obscure things have happened and there being two endings. Its obvious its all about sex and the violence with it. Since its two endings one being about the man and the other about the woman. Quite an interesting take on this topic.
It's extremely heart of darkness like in my opinion. The TV is playing a program on deviancy and everything gets darker. There's also the dark mirror you in the window in the other building. This is the confrontation with the shadow.
I don't know about the rest, but the obvious implications of rape-murder, serial assassination, and "voyeurism" is sick, in an interesting kind of way, the first half, I thought that the MC was a rape-murderer who was now in the hell of lust, which is why he was surrounded by so many sexual themes, vagina doors, and phallic symbols, and during the second half, it was like a serial killer (who might have been a doctor or have a fascination with medicine) was starting to have a mental breakdown or something due to a neighbor observed who apparently watches and records its neighbors and discovered about the killer and now was fucking with his mind... the whole thing was a shit show that played with dark aspects like insinuating paraphilias, a possible psychopath, multiple murders and kidnapping, and mental disorders, not to mention how hellish and torturous it all seems, as some kind of hell... I loved it.
Basically a critic of America's relation with sex. A the beginning you have an emission talking about how bad porn and masturbation are, but at the same time show us pornography uninterruptedly, as if it was encouraging and even taunting the viewer to watch and maybe even "savor" the show. This represent the duality of a America's (or even any society that condemn sex and onanism) attitude toward sexuality. It condemns it and try to shame people for having one (despite the fact that EVERYONE have a sexuality), but is at the same time obsessed with it, creating a paradox in the mind of the populace. This is exemplified by the main character. The conflict of the game is an inside one, it is inside the mind of the MC. It oppose the Superego, the part of the self that tells us what is wrong and what is right (in this case, sex is bad), and the Id, the animalistic and impulsive part of the self (and thus, represent sexuality). The hero himself could represent the Ego, the heart of the self, the part that have to choose between the Superego and the Id. The problem reside in the fact that both the Superego and Id have been set on the loose, and are both trying to take control of the MC (the ego). On one part you have the Superego, who've been fed with anti-sex propaganda since probably forever, who thinks that any kind of sexuality is bad, and thus want to get rid of it entirely, and on another the Id, who have been repressed by the Superego and Ego, and now "empowered" by the excitation procured by the program on the TV, and now try to force the MC into indulging into his pulsion. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.
Has a bit of a Videodrome vibe. I like the edited cuts of audio from sensationalist films and propaganda, I think I recognized some bits from Reefer Madness.
I think he is sexual predator trying to get a new start so to speak. But when the urges are still there, he can take two paths. One is to take out his frustrations. Literally. Anesthetizing and removing the offending body part. The other is giving into the violence and sexual hatred by attacking others.
I really appreciate the due diligence in ruling out all the "incorrect" or "unavailable" Use interactions one by one in the least obviously correct order first to make sure you get to try everything in as few runs as possible! I'd do the same thing!
Review: I give this an A- With that said, I did not enjoy this experience. I felt dirty, cheap, taken advantage of, and just wrong. But that's the point: this game wants you to feel this way. It wants you feel like there is a pervert watching you, undressing you with their eyes. It wants you to feel guilt and shame. The dated graphics are intentional--it adds to that whole disgusting atmosphere. If this game were polished, it wouldn't have the same affect. I can easily see the inspiration of David Lynch's Lost Highway in this (a stranger leaving a video tape of a recording inside the house, leaving yourself a message, the psychosexualness of it all). What I find interesting about this game is its ability to make the viewer want to be dirty. Of course *most* of us would never sexually get off to this (I can see the FAP comments now) and we know what's morally right and wrong (most of us...), but deep down it speaks to all of our subconscious sexualities, our Hedonistic primalness, or at least makes us reflect on our own sexualities. Why do we feel shame? Why does sex/playing with ourselves hold such power over us? But the biggest question \SPEK. TALK\ asks, though, is this: are *we* the pervert? The sexual imagery is there, yes, but we never see the actual act of sex performed -- just still images. This leaves our minds to connect the dots of the possible sexual encounters going on and tells us to visualize in our head what has happened (that is, if anything actually *did* happen). Which brings me to my final point: this game is successful at leaving things to the imagination. There's a difference between abstract/surrealism and just not explaining things because of lazy writing. \SPEK. TALK\ utilizes the former so the viewer can draw their own interpretation. The same way the Closer video by Nine Inch Nails disturbed me upon first viewing is what this game has done to me. In fact, it's probably more twisted than that. I want to see more from this company.
This appears to be a Lynchian, surreal horror story about someone who is one of the following: 1) A sexual deviant of some sort with very dark, possibly unspeakably awful fetishes. 2) A sexually motivated serial killer or someone who killed a sexual partner and is trying to forget. 3) A person who suffered or caused someone else sexual trauma. 4) Someone who is gay/lesbian trying to become straight and failing. 5) Someone with gender dysphoria who is trying to convince themselves they are their birth (physical) gender, not their actual (mental) gender and failing. 6) A traumatic abortion.
@Justin batchelar you are spitting facts, used to have gender disphoria myself haha. I am very thankful to be out of it and back in my at least mostly right mind
@Justin batchelar ye bro I did get the help I needed haha thank you :). And yeah sadly a lot of people are pushed into this belief that it's normal or okay, and then regret it later on if they were to get surgery, not to mention how taking hormone supplements messes with your body in bad ways.
Its amazing how you need only mention disphoria in passing and the transphobes and terfs get on their shit right away like they are on the fucking lookout
Okay so, this for sure has something to do with sex, based from the VHS tapes, maybe a stalker, and the meat images, maybe it was something like, rape, maybe our protagonist raped someone, and that someone, wanting revenge, decides to move close to him and start stalking our prota, the part where we play with the stalker could represent the kind of hell they have to suffer everyday from what we have done, and the needle and camera could mean they have evidence and they will use it.
Watching this at 1030 at night, i thought wow a horror game with wolfenstein graphics yeah that could be creepy...i think they have potential to make something better.
I think in the first ending you succumb to the propaganda that sexual things are bad. Whilst in the second one you realize its not all that bad and try to get others to learn. honestly i have no clue but looks good
After finding out the lubricant at the bathroom, and the tv making it worse, Alpha, good luck to u and ur video. Very appreciated the demonization of YT 😅😅
Interesting as a horror title and art as commentary. As the video implies, sex is something that is feared in many cultures around the world, in this case in 20th century America. Sexual themed horror games, like this and Silent Hill 2, have turned our passed down, now inherent fear of sexuality into viable and potent dread. STDs, hairy palms, and threats of eternal agony in Hell (kind of like the first ending) have left us afraid to explore ourselves sexually, and this game is commentary of that, even if the developer had no intentions of creating commentary. Great job devs, and thanks for showcasing this, Alpha Beta Gamer.
The atmosphere of the second ending is kinda ruined by that tape blasting noise every 5 seconds. Why didn't you take out the tape after you watched it? You knew it would keep playing over and over from the first playthrough.
