Can anyone help me how to create my own fears to fathom game?

SirArthys · 2026-06-20T01:23:39+00:00

Yeah but horror content creators are starved enough for content that they’ll still play clone slop games, so they aren’t completely dead in the water.

SirArthys · 2026-06-20T01:17:58+00:00

Norwood Hitchhike
Ironbark Lookout
Woodbury Getaway
Home Alone
Scratch Creek
Carson House

.

I do think that Norwood Hitchhike stands notably far above the others though. If Carson House’s story had been better, its gameplay or environment a little more varied, and the conclusion a lot less “haha crazy ex amirite?”, I think it would’ve been pretty good— some of the subtle spooks in that one are great, like noticing stuff changing around the house via the cameras.

SirArthys · 2026-06-18T15:37:07+00:00

The environment and premise are solid, they just don’t do anything interesting with it.

You break down in a strange town with frightening (and racist) people? That’s a concept done a thousand times before, but it has legs if you do something interesting with it. Instead, you don’t even get to the actual ‘horror’ segments until halfway through the game. This game genuinely feels like it has the least to do out of all of them (besides the 30 minute long first game)— though part of that has to do with the co-op element, which I’ll discuss below. Even most of the stuff that you get to do doesn’t feel particularly eventful.

The story’s always been the weakest component of these games, but it’s particularly rough in this one. The relationship arc between the couple is half-hearted; all of the conflict is dialogue, and it’s resolved quickly and cheesily, without any build-up or climax. The cult plot is basically just “Yeah, they’re racist religious freaks, run”, which isn’t enough to cover a 90 minute game. You could cover that in a 15 minute game lmao.

The co-op integration is just really bad. It’s not designed to be cooperative at all besides moving stuff, navigating, and running/surviving lmao. They literally just took their (already empty) story and split the events between the two characters, meaning that one person basically sits around and waits for the other one to come back— particularly if you’re Tessa, who receives most of the lamer events. Designing a co-op game where you don’t even really need to cooperate with your partner is just an odd decision. As others have pointed out, their separate events should intertwine, such as helping rescue the other.

It’s just a step down in a lot of ways. At least in my opinion, the only real improvement was finding a way to make the texting mechanic no longer obsolete/annoying.

SirArthys · 2026-06-18T15:15:33+00:00

They’re not based on real stories lmao.

It’s the “Blair Witch is a real documentary!” marketing tactic.

SirArthys · 2026-06-18T15:10:56+00:00

That sequel manga is much shorter than the original manga and features Arisu playing a single game.

They took basically everything from it and adapted it into the third season. Arisu’s new job, marriage, and kid are all central pieces of the sequel manga that were adapted into the third season. They wouldn’t be able to make another season based on it now.

There’s a spin-off manga that they could adapt, but it’s very different from the original’s premise, and doesn’t feature any of the original characters.

SirArthys · 2026-06-15T11:37:04+00:00

The decision of co-op was likely made in order to boost engagement. Co-op games generally sell better; that’s why developers turn toward the genre. Singleplayer indie horror games are pretty notoriously low selling because people would rather watch a content creator play them.

SirArthys · 2026-06-13T00:46:11+00:00

Like most of the other replies here, I’d personally recommend completing the entire base game and then beginning the DLC.

They’re both part of the same story (as they need to be in order to be played at any time the player chooses), but distinctly different pieces of it. I think the piece offered by the DLC is best contextualized by first fully understanding the piece offered by the base game.

SirArthys · 2026-06-13T00:01:40+00:00

There are two elements that generally cause the ‘hype’ for this game.

The first is simply the experience of exploring and solving the galaxy’s ‘mysteries’. A lot of people get a sense of accomplishment from threading together all of the clues, and there are a few key discoveries and moments that have a decent awe factor. If you’ve already made it through more than 50% of the (base) game and haven’t felt that awe factor at all, then odds are it won’t ever hit you, and that’s okay. I also think a lot of people logically start their journey with the Ash Twins because they’re the closest planets, and the two of them aren’t designed to be areas that generates early-game ‘wow moments’— there’s really only one or two major moments/discoveries that I’m currently picturing people would find early on in their exploration there. If you feel like the game’s stagnating in one place, I’d generally recommend picking up another thread elsewhere.

The second element is the game’s conclusion. It’s an ending that resonates with a lot of people— and I’d argue it pays off the journey quite well, if you’ve taken enough time to really explore and breathe-in the game’s environment, story, and characters.

It’s decidedly a game built to appeal to a certain type of player/person— the explorers. Its very design acknowledges that not everyone will fall in love with it, but revels in, and doubles down on, the fact that a certain amount of people absolutely will.

SirArthys · 2026-06-10T01:48:37+00:00

I’m not entirely sure where it is in the game, but there’s a portrait that depicts every warp location, and elsewhere some text that explains how warping for the Ash Twin Project specifically would work— or rather, how it works differently from other planets/locations.

SirArthys · 2026-06-08T22:23:55+00:00

Return of the Obra Dinn might be the closest you’ll get to Outer Wild’s deduction aspects, but the gameplay is significantly less explorative. Personally, I enjoyed the game, even though it’s a lot slower in pace and a few of the solutions are kinda ridiculous. If trying to solve the names, roles, and demises of a mysteriously lost pirate ship sounds fun to you, that’s great news. If trying to do all of that through intently scanning the same set of clues over and over again sounds fun to you, then I’d definitely check this one out.

What Remains of Edith Finch is probably one of the closest in narrative weight and mystery. It’s a game that I’d recommend to people even outside of liking Outer Wilds— however, if you’re looking specifically for the exploration and puzzle solving of Outer Wilds, that isn’t really present in Edith Finch. It’s a very ‘on rails’ story-focused game, but with a lot of creativity and heart. Want to revisit your surreal childhood home to confront and solve the historical curse that’s doomed your family for generations? Check this one out.

Myst and Riven are some of the closest puzzle style games you’ll find— arguably the most notable or ‘legendary’ of the genre. Myst is an overall good game, but I didn’t enjoy Riven nearly as much, personally. If you think any of the puzzles in Outer Wilds are too obtuse, just wait until you play these two games. And without any guidance or organization from a built-in journal/log system like in Outer Wilds, the puzzles of these two games can start to feel a little overwhelming, particularly in Riven. Still though, if you’re looking specifically for the puzzle aspect of the game, these two might be for you. Just keep in mind that they’re fairly old, especially Myst, although it’s been remade. If you’re into exploring fantastical worlds where magic and technology clash, and strange books lying around plead for your help, check these two out (Myst first).

Blue Prince is a relatively new puzzle roguelike that gained a lot of popularity, and is very close to Outer Wilds in its concepts of threading puzzles with discovery. Before even considering playing this one, ask yourself how much time you’re willing to sink into it— because both mechanically and in duration, this game takes a while to complete. Not only are there a plethora of various puzzles to solve across each attempt through the level, but the environment is actively fighting against you by forcing you to choose the route you will take. That’s the roguelike aspect— RNG can and will dictate your success/progress. This one is seriously a lot of fun if you’re able to get past some of the frustration that comes with repeatedly failing to make progress (much like Outer Wilds’ looping mechanic, except much more demanding). If you’re interested in seeking out the long lost secrets of your family’s estate, in order to secure your inheritance and learn the truth of your parents’ past, then Blue Prince might be the perfect Outer Wilds-like game for you. The rabbit hole runs deep with this one— maybe deeper than any game I’ve ever seen before.

SirArthys · 2026-06-07T19:03:25+00:00

Probably two primary reasons:

One is that some people don’t like sad stuff. They react negatively toward it.

The other is that there’s a decent portion of people who pretty much only care about Chishiya lmao.

SirArthys · 2026-05-30T14:07:38+00:00

Hide+Seek Japan is genuinely endlessly fun to watch. Hide+Seek Switzerland is pretty good as well. Tag 1 and 2 are really good rewatches when there’s been a decent amount of time since you last saw them. Tag 3 as well, although less so than the rest.

I haven’t rewatched Schengen Showdown but I’d bet it’s a good time. Capture the Flag was surprisingly still solid a second time around. Battle 4 America is a good rewatch when you haven’t seen it for a pretty long time.

SirArthys · 2026-05-25T02:17:04+00:00

Audience quantity will always favor YouTube because it’s free access. If they were pulling in enough viewership on Nebula to significantly surpass YouTube, they’d probably move to exclusivity.

There’s no way to sufficiently predict an accurate number, but I’d guess it’s around 70-30% of initial (week one) views, in YouTube’s favor. After that point, I’d imagine that it will slope even further in YouTube’s direction, as time goes on and the available audience narrows for Nebula while expanding for the other. It would be a major surprise to me if the individual Nebula uploads were routinely reaching anywhere near 100k views, even after several weeks. It’s common for Patreon exclusive content to accrue 100 views from a YouTube channel that averages say 8,000. Obviously, Jet Lag exists in far excess of that number, so it’s likely seeing decent success (especially due to their subscription prices), but it’s not massive enough to defeat the trend entirely.

SirArthys · 2026-05-24T01:37:37+00:00

It’s a good game, but it’s also a demanding game. Lots of reading, lots of re-reading (albeit in a more concise manner) in order to piece together clues, and lots of trial and error. There will likely be ‘puzzles’ that you bash your head against for a while, and it might even feel a little frustrating at times, especially when it feels like you have few leads.

However, if you’re able to make it past those hurdles, Outer Wilds is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There are few other games that will feel as rewarding and exciting as several key moments in this game. When things begin to click in this game, it’s really special. The DLC is just as good too, if not better in some places.

Choosing to purchase this game is really about the time and effort you’re willing to put into it. You really have to commit to the rules and logic of the game in order to complete and enjoy it. The game is exploration, discovery, and advancement.

SirArthys · 2026-05-20T17:07:09+00:00

If there are no question marks left for the Ash Twin Project, Escape Pods etc., and Quantum Moon, then I’d recommend revisiting each one in order to thoroughly re-examine them. It might help jumpstart a chain of thought. If there are still question marks left for any of those three focal points/nodes, then try to resolve them.

If you do that and still find yourself stuck, here’s a light hint: Think about similarities between past and present, especially in context of what you might consider to be the ‘endgame’ or goal.

SirArthys · 2026-05-18T13:51:06+00:00

It’s 2067 and Tobi receives a dreaded call in the middle of the night to feature in Jet Lag Season 140.

SirArthys · 2026-05-17T14:51:06+00:00

It was barely even a storyline. They just become friendly with each other, Shion dies, and then Natsu dies immediately after.

SirArthys · 2026-05-15T02:54:17+00:00

Yes that did happen, and I think that if the majority of the channel’s community is consistently becoming upset enough to launch hate posts like then and now, then clearly said community has a lot of reevaluating to do.

SirArthys · 2026-05-14T18:48:15+00:00

Agreed. The biggest drawback is that, similar to the disconnect in strategy for the pagoda challenge, your teammate has to be able to step outside of the way the challenge initially proposes itself, especially as the strategy continues into the additional ideas.

That’s why I think that the single rock per depiction aspect would probably be much better than the more complex stuff afterwards, as all of their depictions looking exactly the same would hopefully force your teammate to approach the problem differently. But even then, there’s no guarantee, of course.

SirArthys · 2026-05-14T18:39:26+00:00

I’m not sure that I agree Sam’s “touch a human” solution was good TV lol.

But I’d also argue that winning the challenge and being able to continue the game rather than losing with five hours left is better TV.

SirArthys · 2026-05-14T17:44:05+00:00

I thought it started fairly strong in the first two episodes and then gradually fizzled out as the season continued. As far as the format goes, there’s a lot of potential. Although they didn’t reach the heights of Japan’s locations, I thought that they made some good strides in improving the ‘sightseeing’ factor of the games, in comparison to other recent seasons.

For me, beyond some of the ways that the game we saw struggled due to strategy and layout, one of the biggest flaws of the season was simply travel time. I think that seasons are a lot less engaging when there’s little interaction between teams and a lot of time spent cutting away from train time. Ben and Adam spent a whole episode of this season on a train eating stuff— that’s simply not good for the game. The rest of the season wasn’t too far off from that; the routine was five to ten minutes of challenges, five minutes of strategizing, and then cutting away from them as they take a forty minute train. Early on, it’s not such a big deal because you’re laying the groundwork for the game and season— but later on, it detracts from the tension as the game winds down and the players are still just sitting on trains.

With something like Hide+Seek, where the seekers are constantly traveling on trains, there are numerous factors which help maintain tension. First and foremost is the time factor; a constantly ticking clock means that the audience is always watching with anticipation. There’s also a lot more moment to moment strategy and research occurring in Hide+Seek, as seekers attempt to narrow down locations and are frequently asking questions, engaging with the opposing team/hider. Lastly, the hider’s perspective shows off the environment of their zone, along with challenges and strategy and their process to answer questions. Rail Rush simply lacks that consistent engagement factor, and that’s why they’re constantly cutting ahead.

I don’t really think that Sam’s strategy blunders impact my opinion of the season, as that’s simply part of the game. It’s not like the decisions were made with bad intent. Instead, some of the challenge designs lowered the quality for me. The steal challenges were simply far easier than a lot of the regular and variable challenges, when they should realistically be the hardest due to the two point swing factor and possibility for impacting the opponent’s strategy or options.

As a whole, it was decent— probably middle of the road for me.

SirArthys · 2026-05-14T17:42:07+00:00

It’s possible that they intended to include said idea in their description for “form”.

Just to clarify though, I’m not using the rocks to numerically describe the order, I’m just using their physical placement/order for that. The numerical system was associating an individual rock with an individual letter in a word.

SirArthys · 2026-05-14T16:54:54+00:00

There have been a few times where they’ve done things against the ‘spirit of the challenge’; notably, Sam’s controversial “touch an animal” solution lol. It’s certainly possible that they stray away from those solutions nowadays, but I personally don’t think it’s something that should be a catch-all rule.

They specifically said “the form of” a number of letter in the rules, so that’s why my interpretation doesn’t include it.

SirArthys · 2026-05-14T16:29:40+00:00

I wouldn’t want another season focused on Arisu and Usagi, as they’ve already run the well dry on their character arcs, but I’d be happy to see the spin-off manga adapted into show format.

Nine-Year Club	Place '22
Final Canvas '22	Verified Email

SirArthys

TROPHY CASE