Obscure - The Horror Video Game Hidden Gem | Nostalgia Obscura
32Check out our spooktacular retrospective review of the massively underrated Obscure.
This PS2 title was one of the few games to try to adapt the teen slasher genre into an interactive experience. But after 15 years since it first released, it is worth playing this Halloween season?
Watch on to find out...
#Obscure #PS2 #Halloween #RetroReview
SUBSCRIBE & JOIN THE SHARK TANK! 🦈 - https://bit.ly/2VDaxT2
UDS (Upside Down Shark) is the home of alternative pop culture. Focusing on video games, movies, TV shows and more, expect reviews, features, video essays and more on this channel, hosted by Tom, Craig, Dobbie, Neale and Drew.
Founded in 2017, we champion DIY talent, independent creators and promote the things we're passionate about.
Check out our channel dedicated to music: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr23R3mD0XR-OnzUsLXjMVw
Listen to our weekly entertainment news podcast - UDS Radio: https://upsidedownshark.com/category/podcasts/uds-radio/
Listen to our podcast where we rank every episode of The Simpsons - Simpsons Showdown: https://upsidedownshark.com/category/podcasts/simpsons-showdown/
Email: upsidedownsharkradio@gmail.com
upsidedownshark.com
Transcript
It’s October and you know what that means. The nights are drawing in, the cosy jumpers come out, and we get to celebrate the most magical time of year… Halloween!
And there’s no better way to get into the festive spirit than by playing some scary games. I’ve always found video games are much more effective at sending the chills up your spine compared to the likes of TV and movies. Whereas it can be easy to detach yourself from the turmoil of characters on the silver screen, in games it’s you who has to peek around the corner or venture further into the darkness.
I could quite comfortably watch Alien on my own in a dark room, but I’d struggle to get through 20 minutes of Alien Isolation on a good day!
And I’m not alone in this mindset, and as a result most genres of horror have been tackled in games. You’ve got your classic zombies, psychological, body horror, Luigi, but one genre that’s been painfully overlooked is cheesy teen slashers.
Don’t get me wrong, the likes of Dead By Daylight do go someway, and borrow some of the archetypes and tropes, but they tend to be more homages to the classic terror of Friday the 13th and Halloween. And besides, these types of games very rarely lean into narrative, instead focusing on multiplayer.
But after digging around for underrated spooky games for a special halloween edition of Nostalgia Obscura, one sprung out that not only focused on this horror niche, but did it blooming well. It also happens to be arguably the most appropriately named title for a series called Nostalgia Obscura. Obscure!
But what is this game all about and why aren’t more people talking about it? Watch on to find out…
Developed by Hydravision Entertainment and released all the back in 2004, Obscure is ostensibly a survival horror game. The next section will cover the general plot so I’ll pop the timestamp on screen if you’d prefer to skip past spoilers. Naturally, as with all good teen slashers, it has to take place at a school and Leafmore High provides the perfect setting. You play as a group of kids who start to notice strange goings on, including students inexplicably disappearing and members of the faculty acting awfully suspicious. I once saw a group of lads pick up and carry off a teacher’s car like pallbearers so honestly all that other stuff would fly under my radar.
Anyway, you proceed to explore the school, encountering your mutated classmates and all other manner of obstacles, dangers and booby traps. You’ll eventually discover that like myself during my goth phase, these beasties are sensitive to light, and there’s some pretty inventive ways you can use your flashlight and exploit broken windows to weaken and defeat your foes.
It’s ultimately revealed that the mutant teens are failed experiments conducted by the principal Herbert and school nurse Elisabeth. Not only have they been secretly injecting students with a rare plant spore in the hopes of finding the formula for immortality, they themselves are well over a hundred despite not looking a day over 60.
But just as you come across Herbert, he’s killed by another teacher desperate to find a cure for the infection. Herbert’s twin Leonard (oh yeah, Herbert has a twin) witnesses the death, and in a fit of rage murders the teacher and sets the biggest mutant yet on the teens. But in true popcorn horror style, you defeat the final boss, Leonard succumbs to the sunlight and everything returns to normal. Happy endings all round.
It’s all delightfully campy, littered with cliches and compared to the more thought-provoking horror of recent years is as shallow as a puddle.
Other Videos By UDS Gaming
Other Statistics
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse Statistics For UDS Gaming
UDS Gaming presently has 651 views for Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse across 1 video, and less than an hour worth of Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse videos were uploaded to his channel. This makes up less than 0.26% of the total overall content on UDS Gaming's YouTube channel.