VideoGame Why are we trying so hard to save this ungrateful little brat?
After Sally spends the entire game busting her ass trying to save this horrible little brat, all Emily does is bitch endlessly and make everything ten times harder for us! Oh no, the school kids were mean to me! Let me just repeatedly run away and almost get murdered by monsters! That'll show them! Great fucking plan there, Emily! How about you shut the fuck up and stop bitching until after we escape from the goddamn Silent Hill?!
The old guy is even worse. Oh, this teenage girl was slightly mean to her cousin and hadn't noticed that she was being bullied (because Emily didn't actually tell her anything, and Sally isn't her goddamn mother, she's not obligated to hold her hand 24/7)? Let's send her to a Dark World full of monsters and then guilt-trip her into sacrificing her life! "Give your ticket to Emily." How about fuck you?! The bullies got off completely scot-free, and so did Emily's teachers and parents who also didn't do anything to help her, but Sally is the one who has to sacrifice herself "to make things right" as if she hasn't suffered enough already? Double Standard much?!
And yes, I know it's possible to get a second ticket. No, I'm not actually gonna do that. I'm sick of that ungrateful brat constantly running away from me. If she wants to stay in the Dark World so much, she can! After everything the game has put Sally through, having her say that Emily's disappearance wasn't her fault and leave both the whiny brat and the creepy old bastard behind was incredibly catarthic.
Hey, writers? Hot tip: if you want to create a sympathetic character, don't make them a Lethally Stupid Wangsty Millstone, because it will only piss off your audience! By making Emily a brainless moron, who does nothing but complain and blame Sally (and only Sally, instead of the actual bullies, or even their parents or teachers who also should've noticed that there was a bullying problem) for everything after this teenage girl repeatedly risked her life to save her ungrateful little bitch of a cousin, the game ensured I would lose any shred of sympathy for her.
VideoGame A refreshing PG-ish take on psychological horror, with a lot of personality
I have my share of favorite horror games, like the Silent Hill series, and Tormented Souls. Silent Hill 3 was the first one I'd ever played, and it introduced me to what a great horror game can be - terrifying, atmospheric, and story-driven through a combination of cutscenes, internal monologue when examining parts of the environment, and environmental storytelling that isn't always remarked on by the character but instead requires observation by the player.
Since then, I've wanted a game that can recreate that feel. Tormented Souls came somewhat close, providing a huge amount of lore in the form of implausibly well-written diaries that help piece together the story, combined with numerous environmental hints directly connecting to what's spoken about in the diaries, and a lore that directly connects to gameplay, with nearly every single thing mentioned in the diaries being something the player can either encounter, visit, or see evidence of. But it lacked that key personality that Silent Hill 3 had.
Gylt might not be as horrifying as something like Silent Hill 3, but it's honestly the closest I've seen to a game that recreates what I liked about it. And it has its own distinct identity as well.
Sally from Gylt may not have Heather's (from Silent Hill 3) sheer amount of backstory and understandable angst to use as a fount of anecdotes and sarcasm, but she still remarks on things that she sees, from posters about her town ("Why do we still have to learn about these things in school?") to her school mascot being a canary. There's a definite continuing storyline, with the frequent appearances of Emily, who is continually being menaced by the monsters, and the various things that occur along Sally's journey. Journals that materialize out of people's thoughts provide a fair amount of backstory both regarding Emily and the people in town, helping to shine light on the whys and hows of the town's supernatural nature. Atmospheric hints provide some more layers to the story, such as the cookies and juice boxes found in various safe areas, strongly implying that Emily was hiding out from the monsters and eating for sustenance.
The game has both an intimidating, scary atmosphere and a handful of scripted moments and jump scares. Like the Silent Hill games, enemies are symbolic, but there's now a reason given in the journal entries for just why the town seems have it out for people. Just wait until you discover the town's "heart!"
What's more, the game is very clean. Some profanity in the journals, but with slightly Pixar-esque cartoon graphics, and substituting death for fates worse than death, the game is one that parents might feel comfortable sharing with kids as an introducing to psychological, symbolic horror. And it has a very important message front and center in its story. Yes, it's not subtle. It's not loaded with subtle layers of things to decode like the Silent Hill franchise. But it doesn't need to be. Gylt provides a horror atmosphere, a protagonist with personality, some scripted scares, and a story told with multiple (easier to figure out than the obtuse Silent Hill) layers, with smooth controls and game mechanics that work well enough for the experience, and for that, I feel like it's up there very close to Silent Hill 3 as one of my favorite horror games.