Simulacrum - Chapter One (Silent Hill: The Indie Game basically) out now, free or pay-what-you-want

[Dusk Golem]

Can download the game for free or pass them some money for future chapters over at GameJolt: https://gamejolt.com/games/simulacrum_chapter_one/233384

Chapter 1 is about 1-2 hours long, and it is rather shameless in what it's inspired by, but it's actually a pretty fantastic little take for an indie developer to try and recreate a Silent Hill-like experience. a few elements show the small team size, and not all may like the stylized human choice they made for the title, but I thought this little indie horror game deserved a bit more attention with its first chapter releasing earlier this week.

 

[Booya_base]

Excellent, will definitely play this

 

[Dascu]

Does it have any combat or enemies?

 

[Dusk Golem]

Does it have any combat or enemies?

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Yes, but it's not the focus.

 

[Zutrax]

Awesome! I'm definitely going to check this out. This and Glass Staircase are giving me hope that Silent Hill will at least live on in spirit through indie devs.

Though I was confused at first because I thought this thread was initially about the other indie horror game similarly titled Simulacra that has you going through a missing persons phone (which is also a really enjoyable game).

 

[Dusk Golem]

Awesome! I'm definitely going to check this out. This and Glass Staircase are giving me hope that Silent Hill will at least live on in spirit through indie devs.

Though I was confused at first because I thought this thread was initially about the other indie horror game similarly titled Simulacra that has you going through a missing persons phone (which is also a really enjoyable game).

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Awesome! I'm definitely going to check this out. This and Glass Staircase are giving me hope that Silent Hill will at least live on in spirit through indie devs.

Though I was confused at first because I thought this thread was initially about the other indie horror game similarly titled Simulacra that has you going through a missing persons phone (which is also a really enjoyable game).

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I had been following Simulacra for a few years (this one), so when the phone game hit I was confused by it too. XD;

I think there's some notable indie devs and teams taking to the plate and some devs starting to get more of a reputation and following, it'll be interesting to see how the scene changes since the scene itself is in the process of changing right now too I'm noticing.

 

[Dascu]

Yes, but it's not the focus.

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I wish it was. I really wish we'd have more (indie) horror games with substantial combat, inventory management, all of that.

 

[Dusk Golem]

I wish it was. I really wish we'd have more (indie) horror games with substantial combat, inventory management, all of that.

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This one has some inventory management, part of my impression is as this game is working with no budget at this point (and even this game is free), they're guaging interest and if they can get a budget. The two areas that'll always be trickier for indie games to get right more than most things when they don't have money or large teams will be animations and deeper combat (the two do go hand-in-hand a bit).

But I still definitely recommend checking this out, you can tell the devs are really passionate about Silent Hill and there's a lot of small details that make it feel more authentic.

 

[Dyna]

Looks really similar to Silent Hill. Still interesting though.

I wish it was. I really wish we'd have more (indie) horror games with substantial combat, inventory management, all of that.

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Have you played Darkwood? It's got all of that and it's a fantastic survival horror game.

 

[Lynchian Anomaly]

Inspired is doing a lot of leg work there. Looks like straight up cease and desist levels of inspired by. Still, it looks good I'll need to check it out.

 

[Dascu]

Have you played Darkwood? It's got all of that and it's a fantastic survival horror game.

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I need to try it out. I think I have it on my Switch wishlist.

 

[Dusk Golem]

Inspired is doing a lot of leg work there. Looks like straight up cease and desist levels of inspired by. Still, it looks good I'll need to check it out.

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It is being shameless a bit, but it is using all original stuff even though it's obvious what it's aping. Given the series for now is inactive and I enjoy seeing what indies do with the scene, and hoping this particular project does get future chapters.

 

[CenturionNami]

Oh looks fun. With stuff like Detention, Lost in Vivo, and now this, the Indie Silent Hill scene is getting pretty cool.

 

[CenturionNami]

Okay played about an hour. My impressions. I'll try to be spoiler free.

-Game has really solid voice acting. It's nothing amazing, but for an Indie game with a low budget, i'm pretty shocked how good Abigal's voice actress is. It reminds me of Silent Hill's cheesy, but very...earnest line work.
-Abigal...is basically Gender-Bent James Sutherland. She even looks similar to him. Interesting character so far.
>There's alot of themes of sexual repression (especially with the cult of the game, and their demand for sexual freedom) I'm starting to think she's a in the closest lesbian, especially with the letter from her beloved "Jennifer". Which is great, cause I always thought a gay character would have insane potential in a Silent Hill game.
>Silent Hill. Silent Hill. Silent Hill. To be honest...it's indie Silent Hill. There's a heavy psychological horror, the aesthetics of the game are extremely similar, overt religious symbolism, cults, sexually repressed characters, it contols like a Silent Hill game. If stuff like Visage and Devotion are spiritual successors of P.T, this is one for the early games.
>Puzzle solving is fun. Once again, it reminds me of a PS1, early PS2 game in that regard.
>Graphics are very nice. Nostalgic. About on par with a PS2 game.
>I'm a little iffy on the soundtrack. There's some good ambiance, but nothing truly standout. Which is a huge shame.

But all things considered...I did not expect this game to be so good. It came out of nowhere. So yeah, if your a Silent Hill fan, or a fan of classic horror games, you really need to try it.

 

[CenturionNami]

Just finished it...really impressed. If you want to play a PS1/PS2 horror game with a moody atmosphere, challenging puzzles and stellar art design, play this right now. (Especially if you like Stalker enemies)

Even has tank controls.

 

[Dusk Golem]

Just finished it...really impressed. If you want to play a PS1/PS2 horror game with a moody atmosphere, challenging puzzles and stellar art design, play this right now. (Especially if you like Stalker enemies)

Even has tank controls.

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Enjoyed reading your impressions. Your opinion seems pretty similar to how I concluded, there is room for a few things to improve (and I know with Chapter 2 they want to put more of an emphasis on enemies and combat), but here's hoping that gets around to being made.

I do have a few critiques, but I think this is an extremely good effort from a small indie team to try and recreate SH.

 

[Deleted member 2620]

Might try this.

Organ Quarter was another real good shoestring-budget Silent Hill style game that got pretty overlooked IMO (though for obvious reasons, being VR and all)

 

[P-Bo]

Looking good, but as an aside, whatever happened to that other Silent Hill indie game--Forgotten Memories?

 

[Dusk Golem]

Might try this.

Organ Quarter was another real good shoestring-budget Silent Hill style game that got pretty overlooked IMO (though for obvious reasons, being VR and all)

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There's a short list I have of indie games inspired by Silent Hill I'd recommend, and Organ Quarter is indeed on that list.

Looking good, but as an aside, whatever happened to that other Silent Hill indie game--Forgotten Memories?

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Still being worked on as of last February. They have decided to cancel the port and do a full remake, but they posted some experimental Nintendo Switch tests last February:

 

[P-Bo]

There's a short list I have of indie games inspired by Silent Hill I'd recommend, and Organ Quarter is indeed on that list.



Still being worked on as of last February. They have decided to cancel the port and do a full remake, but they posted some experimental Nintendo Switch tests last February:

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Awesome! I was hoping it wasn't cancelled after that cliffhanger--but I couldn't find info on what was up. Thanks!

 

[SofNascimento]

Decided to give this a try. It's quite different from the kind of game I'm used to, but I found quite a few things to like. The atmosphere and camera work for one, I don't know why there are more games like this (or "pure" fixed camera). A game like this shows what can be accomplished with this framework, even by a small team. My favorite moment (so far) was the one with the paint and the levers, although I wish the character spoke more, reacting to what is happening.

As far as the puzzles go, I'm trying it on normal. I got to the clocks and am not sure what I'm supposed to do. I...

Spoiler: ...

began by trying the I - King (Lion) - Sun configuration and it worked, so my theory behind what all meant was sound. But then I went for the second (II - Twins - Moon) and nothing happened. I tried changing the second clock (with the zodiac) but got no feedback. I don't want to do 10 more runs just to realize I got something wrong, there should be some feedback for each one. So, what should I do?

The valve puzzles was my favorite.

 

[Joeku]

Played a bunch of this with a friend last night. We love the PS2 Silent Hill games so it was right up our alley. The throwback graphics add so much to the atmosphere.

Got stuck at 2/4 keys and on this crazy zodiac sign clock puzzle. They really nailed it, which is good, since it's so on the nose. The scribbles on the map are so specific.

 

[SofNascimento]

Played a bunch of this with a friend last night. We love the PS2 Silent Hill games so it was right up our alley. The throwback graphics add so much to the atmosphere.

Got stuck at 2/4 keys and on this crazy zodiac sign clock puzzle. They really nailed it, which is good, since it's so on the nose. The scribbles on the map are so specific.

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I meant to mention this, the map in very cool and informative. I would have missed the sink in a certain room if it wasn't marked on the map, for example. And might have wandered aimless for a while, which is not a good thing. There is a difference between not knowing how to solve a puzzle and not knowing what you're supposed to do, and I find that the latter tends to be a shortcoming on the game's side rather than the player's.

Anyway, I finished the chapter. The ending is pretty cool and I love the design of the monster. I did have to see a walkthrough to solve the clock puzzle though and it still unknown to me how was I supposed to reach that solution.

I'm thinking of replaying it again on easy to see how the puzzles change.

 

[CenturionNami]

Kinda bumping this, but apparently work on Chapter 2 is well underway, it's actually going to have combat mechanics now!

 

[CenturionNami]

First showing of enemy and combat!