Interactive Noise 001

Affected v1 Found Footage by Docent Dev - https://docent-dev.itch.io/affected

Unlike my earlier blogging, this Substack will entirely focus on titles where various forms of noise, not only acoustic, are central to the experience. Unfortunately, this will mean most traditional and horror games will be left aside. But I keep a little space in my heart for found footage games when they are well executed. This is the case of Affected, toying with the materiality of analog devices and brutal spatial transferring, leaving the player lost in a garden of static malaise.

Slot Waste by pickpanpuck – https://pickpanpuck.itch.io/slotwaste

This is a slow and abstract biohorror mix of Sesame Street's Pinball and Funky Forest (2005), a perpetual motion machine of grotesqueries requiring the players to enable more and more absurd mutations. Delightful.

Carne Vescens by Out of the Ordinary World – https://out-of-the-ordinary-world.itch.io/carne-vescens

The claustrophobia of domesticity and the fleshy religious implications of motherhood coalesce in a rollercoaster of liminal spaces and philosophical questioning of agency. I salute the brilliant use of FMV and the lack of attempts to rationalize the world the game is building.

Home by grubwal - https://grubwall.itch.io/home

This is a different take on domesticity, this time through a singular use of the haunted house trope. It plays like an inversion of Kitty Horrorshow's Anatomy, its spectral doppelganger. The corrupted visual input thoroughly enhances the melancholic feeling of impending doom, adding a solid incentive to revisit this residence.

Walls by Redact Games - https://redactgames.itch.io/walls

The final "domestic horror" title of this first issue of Interactive Noise, Walls is a literal negative affect dumping of the oppression of depression, of the world imploding around you. The first-person description of the apartment that slowly degenerates into walls of non-sensible text amplifies the panic-inducing experience. A VR version would be criminal.

With Shining Eyes by Lucas Fisher - https://lucasfisher.itch.io/with-shining-eyes

This issue's most colorful and shiny title, With Shining Eyes, offers a casual stroll (punctuated by light puzzles) through a surreal academia with rubbery and artificial textures. The art design and architecture steal the show. While not fully noisy, it manages to be soothing and overwhelming simultaneously, providing little sense while staying logical in its structure.

Deteriation by Stenblood - https://stenblood.itch.io/deteriation-game

It is the absolute opposite of With Shining Eyes. Stenblood is one creator I will need to explore further. While Deteriation has been in Beta since 2022, I don't see what could be fixed. It is a sequence of spatial aberrations breaking on itself, populated by grotesque bulbous entities, a neon intestinal tract, and overbearing darkness. I highly recommend revisiting it a few times in debug mode.

An Ordinary Fishing Trip by SwiftMakesGames - https://swiftmakesgames.itch.io/an-ordinary-fishing-trip

It is bad luck, not to mention at least one fishing game since Cruelty Squad's famous update. So, here's one in the stream of horror games hiding behind a fishing mechanic. This one, though, has a specific gameplay loop that cracked me up. I won't spoil it, but it's worth it.

The Pyramid is waiting for you by Forbidden Saucery - https://forbiddensaucery.itch.io/pyramid-game

In its more extensive definition, noise can be considered as the horizon of the unintelligible, something Lovecraftian horror or weird, and its recent creepypasta mutant, SCP, fully exploits. This game mixes a bit of Control with The Stanley Parable, pushing the liminality of office spaces through dimensional alteration. It's a well-crafted architectural horror rollercoaster that doesn't shy away from humor. There's a promise at the end of further development, which I anxiously expect.

Fucker Gamer Scum Get Stabbed by e-zchips - https://e-zchips.itch.io/gamer-fucker-scum-get-stabbed

I discovered this title while reading Jarret Kobek's essay on Soft & Cuddly (published by Boss Fight Books). If, like me, you are obsessed with obscure ZX Spectrum games but lack the skills to progress, this homage to one of the most punk games ever created will fill that void. The screenshot needs no further explanation.

Lamina Bruise by Nicola Acler - https://turbida.itch.io/laminabruise

For me, the most effective ecological games inject a heavy dose of solastalgia in the player without trying to explain everything. This one is opaque, with this feeling of malaise for a world that is irreversibly broken, where technological interfaces are alien and cut from any teleological continuity. It's a game that takes its time and insists on its cryptic presentation, two qualities I salute.

Pinko Linko’s School by mo-dev - https://mo-dev.itch.io/pinko-linkos-school

I have a soft spot for any horrifying highjacking of educational games, especially when it meddles in haunted media. mo-dev uses clever tricks, encouraging exploration and finding gaps in its design (something I also enjoyed from their previous game Insanis Echoes. My only complaint is that it's too short, leaving lots of potential to enter Petscop territory.