This year we’re putting together a list of 31 Retro Horror games. Games that have come from dead console generations, back to haunt us. Sadly, not all of these games will be available for you to play due to the complicated nature of video game preservation. However, we’re going to note if it’s possible to play them on modern hardware. We’ll be covering games from the Seventh Generation (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii) and earlier. So basically anything before 2006.
Day 31
Clock Tower
Before there was Pyramid Head, before there was Mr. X in Resident Evil 2, there was Scissorman. This infamous killer wields giant scissors and stalks the protagonist throughout the game. You can’t fight back, and instead have to use stealth and the environment to get away safely. Yep, this game employed that mechanic over a decade before it was popularized by Amnesia: The Dark Descent.
Except, Clock Tower is a point and click game. And it has a bit of a confusing release.
You can’t really call Clock Tower a point and click “adventure” game. It uses point and click mechanics to move the character around, but it is more of a hybrid between what we would consider survival horror and point and click adventure. You can die, and you most likely will. You don’t die a gruesome death, but it’s still stressful to be chased down by Scissorman into a corner and meet your untimely demise.
Clock Tower is a visually stunning game. Unlike other games of its time, it didn’t use 3D graphics, but instead relied on extremely detailed 2D graphics. The results are still impressive today. The game creates an outstanding sense of atmosphere and dread, even using pixelated sprites.
I’ve always been surprised that Clock Tower hasn’t gotten more attention from modern audiences.
Thankfully, Clock Tower does exist in a playable modern form with the recently released Clock Tower: Rewind. This is an official, definitive version of the game that features behind the scenes looks, and a new animated intro. Maybe we’ll get a Clock Tower remake in the vein of the Resident Evil games. Someday.
Unfortunately, its sequels Clock Tower (1996) and Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within are much harder to find. Ditching the detailed sprites, these games instead use 3D graphics. If you want to play these games you’ll have to find original hardware and shell out some major dough.
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