Adventure games like Syberia

[Dankk]

Scratches and Outlast are very different games.

Outlast is basically a very pretty, but very shallow "haunted house simulator" with a generic storyline and a bunch of cheap scares.

Scratches is a very tough, but very rich point-and-click adventure game with a much more psychological, "adult" sense of horror that is far more intense and terrifying than Outlast. The storyline is much more interesting and it's much more rewarding to play.

Scratches is obviously a bit older and not as pretty looking as Outlast, but it is definitely one of the scariest games I've ever played. I recommend it to absolutely anyone who is a fan of adventure, horror, or both.

 

[sze5003]

Outlast isn't a fighting horror game its just like mentioned above. Pretty much a haunted house but they do an awesome job of keeping you tense. You can't fight you can only hide. Check out some gameplay videos but you have to play it to get into it.

I've picked up scratches and I'll try it out tonite. I hope the puzzles are not too tough that I need help. I always hate when that happens. Looking at some videos it kind of reminds me of amnesia.

 

[CP5670]

Gray Matter ran fine on my 4ghz i7, but I'm surprised that game needs anything remotely powerful. It's basically a 2D game with 3D characters, like Grim Fandango or Longest Journey, and has no fancy effects of any kind.

Machinarium has a great art style and atmosphere, but the actual game puzzles are often frustrating due to the interface. It was totally unique at its time but inspired some later games like Primordia (which is much better IMO) and Unmechanical.

One other good series is the Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes. The two games are a bit slow paced but have excellent plots that are original but very true to the Conan Doyle books.

I want to play Broken Age, but am holding off on it until the full two epsiodes are released.

 

[werepossum]

Scratches and Outlast are very different games.

Outlast is basically a very pretty, but very shallow "haunted house simulator" with a generic storyline and a bunch of cheap scares.

Scratches is a very tough, but very rich point-and-click adventure game with a much more psychological, "adult" sense of horror that is far more intense and terrifying than Outlast. The storyline is much more interesting and it's much more rewarding to play.

Scratches is obviously a bit older and not as pretty looking as Outlast, but it is definitely one of the scariest games I've ever played. I recommend it to absolutely anyone who is a fan of adventure, horror, or both.

I bought Scratches for my wife, who hated it. Then I gave it a whirl. I personally did not find the near-certain prospect of being bored to death to be all that scary, but evidently YMMV.

 

[sze5003]

I was playing scratches last night and a thunderstorm had started in my area. It did startle me a little bit. It just has a creepy aspect to it. It's kind of like gone home where you are just told a story by examining the environment. You can't get too scared well since nothing pops out at you.

I also tried playing runaway a road adventure demo. I got to say it's alright but the fact that you can't see everything you need to examine is really annoying. They should have done a better job at that even though it has cartoon like graphics.

 

[cubby1223]

I bought Scratches for my wife, who hated it. Then I gave it a whirl. I personally did not find the near-certain prospect of being bored to death to be all that scary, but evidently YMMV.

The whole adventure game genre is boring to most people. It doesn't pray on the addictive centers of the brain like most games out there do.

Watch the movie The Exorcist late at night with all the lights off, and it is one of the scariest movies ever made. Now on a lazy Sunday afternoon with the sun shinning brightly through the windows and simultaneously reading & responding to your facebook & twitter feed on the cell phone, watching this same movie has a completely different feel to it, comes across very lame & boring.

 

[Stringjam]

The whole adventure game genre is boring to most people. It doesn't pray on the addictive centers of the brain like most games out there do.

The older I get, the more I really dig these types of games. I've always been good at dropping myself into character and shutting out the world.

Sometimes it gets the better of me. I literally got sick playing Underhell and Outlast.

I think some people just can't get past the fact that it's nothing more than animated polygons, but I swear there were times in Outlast where I just turned the da*n thing off. Funny thing is, I love to feel that way.

I also like "games" like Gone Home, Dear Esther, etc.....so I'm definitely going to pick up Scratches.

As a side note, I am anxiously awaiting the release of "The Vanishing of Ethan Carter." I think it's going to be right up my alley (and it looks incredible).

 

[cubby1223]

I've always been good at dropping myself into character and shutting out the world.

This is exactly it! Unfortunately for me I have to seriously devote myself to work right now, can't check out the other titles recommended in this thread for some time to come




Back when I played these types of games more frequently, I'd get recommendations from others who liked the genre, would look the title up on a game review site and find they gave the task to a first-person shooter junkie who reviewed it at 30/100! They're certainly not for everyone.

And Scratches is actually a horrible game if it is someone's first game in the genre. You need familiarity with that type of game system, it has so many objects around the house to zoom in on and examine, meaning there are a ton of screens to hunt for hot spots, it's not compartmentalized like other titles for easy searching. And it is definitely one you want to get fully immersed into the character & story to get the most out of it

Then there are other titles like Grim Fandango which a new person can jump into and enjoy, and this game one can even play through it together with another person (I would recommend it). But those old Lucasarts games can be difficult to get a hold of and get running on modern computers.

 

[sze5003]

This is exactly it! Unfortunately for me I have to seriously devote myself to work right now, can't check out the other titles recommended in this thread for some time to come




Back when I played these types of games more frequently, I'd get recommendations from others who liked the genre, would look the title up on a game review site and find they gave the task to a first-person shooter junkie who reviewed it at 30/100! They're certainly not for everyone.

And Scratches is actually a horrible game if it is someone's first game in the genre. You need familiarity with that type of game system, it has so many objects around the house to zoom in on and examine, meaning there are a ton of screens to hunt for hot spots, it's not compartmentalized like other titles for easy searching. And it is definitely one you want to get fully immersed into the character & story to get the most out of it

Then there are other titles like Grim Fandango which a new person can jump into and enjoy, and this game one can even play through it together with another person (I would recommend it). But those old Lucasarts games can be difficult to get a hold of and get running on modern computers.

I enjoyed scratches. But honestly I needed to use a guide at one point. The story was awesome. And it was pretty scary at times too if you put yourself in the story. It kept me wanting to figure out what happened in the end.

I found issues with other adventure titles where I'm so uninterested in the story or it does not grasp me and it doesn't keep me playing. Which is why I liked syberia 1 and 2. It really had an interesting story.

I'm thinking about playing either still life or still life 2 but I'm not sure which one to go with. I hear the second game takes place in only one setting for the whole game. To be honest, I don't really like puzzles that are illogical or really tough. I get stumped and it results to walkthroughs which I hate.

Many times in adventure games you don't really get what you should be doing and can cause you to be stumped. Like when I was playing runaway, I didn't know that you could access another area to the right of my screen because the character would walk there but you didn't get the arrow notifying that's and exploitable area. That game also has a goofy story that didn't grasp me. Maybe the third game will be better ?

 

[Ricochet]

Steam is having a sale: Adventure Bundle Vol. 1 (5 games including Syberia I & II) for $3.