Well P.T. is the craziest thing I've done in a while.

I'm late to the party with this game. Still what better way than to end a bunch of lousy drama than a good kind of emotional ride that plays off one of the most genius acts in recent gaming? That being said its one of the stupidest things I've probably done recently, but its the most genius marketing ploy I think I've seen in gaming. I can't imagine what it would have been like if I hadn't spoiled a chunk of it ahead of time, but as it was it was surprising enough to hit me with a punch. I went in knowing it was a horror game and seeing some snippets, but little else and was still genuinely terrified but impressed. I love the fact that my favorite movie direct/producer is in on it to and I can't wait to see what this looks like in the end. Still I was also reminded why horror games were out of my comfort zone, and as much as I love Guillermo Del Toro's work in the movie industry not even he will probably change my mind on it. I may just wind up sitting out and watching youtube playthrough, but I dunno... maybe I'll cave in when this goes cheap and talk about how much I regret it later.

P.T. (or silent hills teaser) was really well crafted though, and I mean REALLY well crafted. Like possibly one of the best good marketing stunts in gaming. We really needed something like this instead of something like say another Aliens Colonial Marines incident. I can see how Kojima was in on this of all people. This is the same crazy guy that created Psycho Mantis, a boss that attacked you through your television and game console, and the trick to beating him was plugging the controller into another slot. Now suddenly he pulls a marketing stunt that makes some serious noise for a series that hasn't been taken seriously in a while. Secret teaser, a dead genre being brought back and done right with new tech, gameplay with triggers that are complex to understand despite such a small game space, and a puzzle that forces gamers to talk about this game in order to even finish it. Well done guys, well done.

I especially love how the small things even in trigger events kind of add up to a unique experience for most players even in such a small space. The entire game is made up of like an L shaped hallway that just loops, but I managed to go pretty off-track of the common walkthrough. I did things pretty well, passed through most loops, and then got stuck at one of the first real puzzles. I got attacked by a ghost during one point. I was trying to open the door to move on, and figure things out. I knew something had to be up with the 2nd table but whenever I stayed around there I thought I heard whispers that spooked me. I originally was told by a small review that "you don't die" so I braved up and looked around there anyways only to have the whispers come back... and then I took one step and was introduced to the ghost named Lisa with a horrible close-up scare. My legs and arms froze, my hair on my face stood up, and I was in just paralyzed horror one brief second and met with a sort of game over scene. The game reloaded itself and this time the door that I was struggling with was open, so I assumed it was a scripted event that was supposed to happen with that "you can't die" bit. So I considered that bit of unrivaled horror a success in the end as I went through the looped door and got things to change. Later I got stuck on the "Hello" to "hell" puzzle. Oddly enough I nearly got it right on my own but because of confusing sound cues I proceeded too early (off by one L) and messed up my progress with that one. This was before I knew the so called sound cue was actually what people call "The Haunting" where Lisa appears somewhere on the map and threatens you, but I'm getting a bit ahead of myself with that.

this part

So I looked up the walkthrough to figure this out only to find I was doing it well to begin with, but not before being a little thrown off. It talked previously about collecting papers (which I didn't do), hearing radios a bit earlier than I remember, and saying you can get lisa to not attack you by collecting the papers, how a bag could talk to you if you zoomed in on it (I just passed it and missed this whole thing), and then something about audio through a hole right after the marker wall bit. Yeah well, nice but I just had to get the markers and move on, I managed to get past the game without the papers and in an order that felt a bit different. Sadly I skipped the word about audio and got stuck yet again because of it. Instead of finding a whole to listen to the audio, I actually got a bit freaked out in the next loop by all the static and then I noticed the door was open making me think the audio was not necessary to locate. Yeah big mistake because then I was tossed into a totally warped form where you ran, things blurred, and the creepy was amped up without the ghost needing to step in. No single walkthrough I have found mentioned this, and in fact I had to read through forum posts before someone addressed this part of the game in which case there was still a way to catch the audio within the hole, it was just even harder to see because of the blurred running. So I found it, accomplished that, then moved on to the insanity. I recall mostly just moving forward, and the haunting music was something I just got used to and ignored. Eventually I accepted I made it to the end piece even though I wasn't quite done.

I looked back on the walkthrough to collect all the pieces of paper since I found they could be picked up at any time. I did this with the last piece being collected at the very last bit of the hallway. I was now "safe" by the walkthrough's definition of Lisa, though I thought that to be the case anyways because I had already been attacked once in a supposed script. Well as soon as I got that last paper I heard a clear voice call from way back at the other end of the hallway, it sounded like the radio or some dude on the phone but the chatter was too short and muffled to hear out of surprise. So I decided... hey, if its the phone I don't want to miss the call and any lore or proper "end" piece. I walked up to the phone, nothing. I then walk all the way back to the hallway and holy crap my hair stood up. I was met with Lisa blocking right at the freakin' door way, but I was so paralyzed that my brain didn't tell me to stop, so I literally rushed right through her in this surreal moment of horror and made it through the door. Apparently (at least I think this is what happened) the haunting music must have been going on, because as I looked back through the walkthrough desperate to look for this moment in the game that nobody else talked about, and apparently you can find Lisa lurking on the map anytime the creepy music plays. So.... yeah she still goes around the map even with paper in hand, screw your instructions walkthroughs. I then mustered up whatever courage was left in me and decided to follow the walkthrough on triggering the baby laugh ending. I tried it... twice. Each time I waited for the chimes, took my 10 steps, and the only thing that triggered each time was the Haunting music. 3rd time this happened I said "fuck this" and quit. I wasn't going to face Lisa one more time, I just couldn't.

NO MORE!!!!

The events I witnessed though and the way I had trouble piecing certain key events and orders together and have a seperate experience from many other guys leaves me astounded in how well created this small one room free teaser was. I was on the web for hours looking up details and other's experiences when I should have been playing Diablo 3 that I rented. It absorbed that time and I didn't get far, instead P.T. blew my mind and left me with picking up the pieces. To horror fans or those curious everywhere, PLAY THIS GAME. What an awesome move this team made. I hope the game turns out well, though also leaves out the super crazy puzzles. You pulled your PR stunt, now let gamers progress normally whenever the real thing comes out.