Chapter 298: Response
After a few days since the release of the video game "Religion of Nightmares," most gamers' responses have been quite positive so far.
The video game is genuinely scary, with the introductory story revolving around an in-game character who, as a journalist, investigates a cult for his next topic. However, he is kidnapped by the cult shortly thereafter.
Locked in the basement and tied to a chair, the journalist manages to find sharp objects, cuts the ropes, and the gameplay begins. The in-game character embarks on a quest to discover hints for escaping the basement.
After exploring for a while and visiting a specific area, a pre-rendered scene depicts a ghoul devouring a person. The in-game character can choose to ignore it or use the initially found sharp objects to kill the ghoul.
Upon escaping the basement, gamers notice that the in-game character is now in a dark and spooky forest, marking the beginning of the real game.
Various types of ghouls will attempt to eliminate the in-game character, and gradually, he will uncover clues about his location and the true nature of the cult he was entangled with. As the video game progresses, it becomes apparent that the cult is, in fact, the media company he works for.
"Religion of Nightmares" garnered positive responses from many gamers and professionals, as well as video game reviewers. However, some critics noted its brevity, with the ability to finish the game in around 3 hours.
On the downside, the game faced criticism for challenging bosses, repetitive monsters in certain areas, and a soundtrack that received only average reviews.
Despite these drawbacks, gamers appreciated the fresh ideas inspired by KiShin's "Resident Evil" in the horror genre.
Suzuki's data scientists demonstrated successful analysis of player preferences within the gaming industry, unlike Tora, whose latest game, "Gloomy: Land of Happiness," received little acclaim. Tora's attempt to make an antagonist the protagonist in their ambitious video game didn't resonate well with players.
While the idea behind Tora's concept was refreshingly innovative, even surprising Shin a bit, the execution of the video game fell short.
Magazines, including KiShin Power, responded positively to Suzuki's video game, much to the surprise of gamers. Questions arose among casual gamers about how KiShin could endorse a competitor's game.
What these casual gamers didn't realize was that KiShin didn't mind, as the success of Tora and Suzuki's games would contribute to KiShin's earnings through royalty fees. This income comes from the video game companies utilizing KiShin's beneficial software, VG Engine.
While "Religion of Nightmares" garnered a positive response from many gamers, another horror video game has outshone it in terms of received acclaim and gradual popularity over these recent days.
This standout game is another creation by KiShin, titled "Silent Hill," surpassing both Suzuki's "Religion of Nightmares" and KiShin's own "Resident Evil."
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Inside the Imperial Hotel in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in the most luxurious room, Kazue wore a frown as she scrutinized the video game CD cover of "Silent Hill."
A few days ago, Kazue played "Religion of Nightmares" for about half an hour and was quite satisfied with the outcome. She anticipated the game becoming a hit in the horror genre, given the positive feedback from gamers.
However, after a few days, while "Religion of Nightmares" did receive a good response, it didn't surpass other horror video games. In the "TopVideoGames" magazine, which compiles top 10 lists for each genre and an overall top 100 called 'AllTimeLists,' KiShin's video games dominated the highly rated games, ironically.
This season, the magazine presented its top 10 in the horror genre, featuring horror video games released thus far. In reality, horror genre video games were scarce, with only a handful released for both the 16-bit and 32-bit consoles.
Following KiShin's "Resident Evil," many entertainment companies ventured into creating horror video games. Come November, a few horror games debuted, but it was Suzuki's "Religion of Nightmares" and KiShin's "Silent Hill" that garnered the most attention.
At this point, Kazue anticipated that Suzuki's horror video game, "Religion of Nightmares," would secure the top spot in the autumn season's horror video game rankings. However, to her surprise, their game only claimed the second position.
KiShin's "Silent Hill" outperformed Suzuki's "Religion of Nightmares," receiving a higher rating in the rankings.
Kazue suspected that the magazine's top lists were manipulated, thinking that "TopVideoGames" might have been paid by KiShin for favorable reviews of their video games. Frustrated, Kazue sought opinions from other video game magazines on Suzuki and KiShin's horror games released in November, only to find that they echoed "TopVideoGame" magazine's publisher.
In response, Kazue decided to purchase and play "Silent Hill" herself, skeptical that the game would genuinely affect her.
"Hmph, let's see how scary this game is..." Kazue snorted as she inserted the "Silent Hill" CD into the KS1.
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