The Safe Room

This episode, we cover the 8-bit inspired horror hit FAITH: The Unholy Trinity. We talk about the game’s undeniable style, its many unique frights, and the ways in which it improves throughout the course of its three chapters. We also discuss the game’s relationship to religion, especially in comparison to other exorcism tales.

Rose and Grace explore a secret island base in pursuit of Code Veronica! They discuss its melodrama, nineties-style transphobia, and its multitude of annoyances.

We visit the infamous Heavenly Lost Elementary School as we explore Corpse Party and many of its different versions. We talk about the ways in which it (mis)handles sensitive topics, the overbearing edginess of its horrors, and its large-but-mostly-bland ensemble cast of characters. In our Q&A segment, we muse over the process of games criticism, talk about various media that has repelled us in different ways, and rip into that god awful Gameboy Advance sound chip.

In the midst of a fierce winter storm, we hop on the first available flight to Lospass Island and explore Suda51’s infamous surrealist adventure game “Flower, Sun, and Rain”. We talk about the game’s uniquely mundane structure, examine the ways it borrows from Twin Peaks and David Lynch, and recollect the game’s funniest and most memorable moments.

Grace and Rose have returned to Silent Hill, this time summoned by Christophe Gans’ adaptation of Silent Hill 2. What awaits them on the other side of the fog?

Grace and Rose dig into Slay the Princess and discuss its many routes, surprises, and ruminations on narrative storytelling. We also talk about the game’s tone and often grating dialogue between personalities. Lastly, we contemplate perhaps the most important question of all: Why doesn’t anyone talk about how horny this game is?

On this episode of The Safe Room, we tackle the new indie horror action game Silly Polly Beast. We praise the game’s art style and presentation, analyze its kinetic and tense combat, and discuss what constitutes a “Story-driven” video game. Lastly, we react to the Return to Silent Hill trailer and contemplate the death of art.

Rose and Grace discuss the first (good) Silent Hill game since SH4! We talk over its deeply felt depiction of growing up, its introduction of real ensemble dynamics to the franchise, and its exhausting, repetitive, and thrilling combat.

We are back with Dead Space 2! Grace and Rose talk the 2011 sequel’s action focus, its silly attempts at exploring survivors guilt, and edgy marking campaigns.

Rose and Grace enter the very heart of survival horror in Sweet Home. We talk over the genre's (now mostly-absent) RPG roots, the game's campy and self-aware charm, and its systemic adaptation of the source material.

We are joined by Dovewhether cohost AP to talk the sci-fi thriller Parasite Eve! We talk over the thrills and foibles of its retro vibes, how protagonist Arya Brea fits into 90s “strong female protagonists” and its weirdo action RPG combat.

Listen to dovewhether: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dovewhether/id1716976125

Follow Dovewhether on bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/dovewhether.bsky.social

Listen to Grace on Dovewhether talking about Hunter x Hunter https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/serving-hunter-x-hunter-feat-grace-benfell/id1716976125?i=1000685179969

cw: suicide, self-harm, drug use

Rose and Grace are joined by Cameron Kunzelman of Ranged Touch to talk over the Sega Saturn game D and its Dreamcast pseudo-sequel D2. We discuss how D2 at once presages the modern "cinematic" game and is something totally different, its wide swings at serious profundity, and how damn long everything takes in both of these video games. Tune in next time for Parasite Eve with another special guest!

Sorry, We're Closed is a lush and vivid look at relationships, love, and break-ups with shades of Buffy, Silent Hill 3, and Killer 7. Grace and Rose discuss its eroticism, grounded writing, and combat contrivances.

Alisa is both thematically light and aesthetically ornate, a loving, smart throwback that is super annoying. In this episode, Grace and Rose work through how exactly it curates such a clockwork feast and how it manages to grate and delight in equal measure.

Next time: Sorry, We’re Closed

We return to the Fatal Frame franchise with its Nintendo debut, this time with a new co-developer Grasshopper Manufacture. Join us as we discuss the game’s various Wii-era “innovations,” the many facets of its bloated story, and whether this moonlit adventure shines as bright as previous entries in the series.

The Safe Room takes a detour into the surreal and absurd with 2024’s Indika. We discuss the game’s commentary on religion, the unique and entertaining formal choices the game makes, and the second hand pain of playing a video game that features a bunch of straight people. Also, this was nominated for The Game Award’s Games for Change?

cw: suicide, death, the plague

Grace and Rose enter the plagued town and explore its thematic shades of death and life, roles and personhood, ease and difficulty that permiate its walls and earth. Find some bread and meat and sit down with us!

I wanted to get a Handheld Talk episode out for the holiday but unfortunately, due to my own carelessness, my files for that have been lost. Instead, enjoy this little playlist I threw together featuring songs from games we played this year. Hope you enjoy! See you soon for our Pathologic 2 episode. —Rose

Playlist:

"Two of Everything" by Tori Beaumont from "Immortality"
"Kusabi Love or Die Remix" by Masafumi Takada from "The Silver Case"
"Clair de Lune" by Claude Debussy, arranged by Masafumi Takada from "The Evil Within 2"
"Fear II" by Yutaka Mi...

cw: suicide, bullying, animal/pet cruelty, animal/pet death

In this episode of The Safe Room, Grace and Rose discuss the cult classic 2006 survival horror game Rule of Rose. We talk about the game’s non-linear narrative, how it handles themes of bullying and abuse, and the legacy it leaves behind as a Silent Hill-inspired work. We also take listener questions and once again rank the games we have covered throughout the past few years!

cw: suicide, sexual assault, domestic abuse, alcoholism

It’s time. We delve into the Silent Hill 2 Remake and discuss its handling of the originial game’s themes, the new (and pretty good) combat system, and how it handles (and mishandles) key scenes from the original game. We top it all off with a flurry of listener questions, where we talk game preservation, that damn pizza, and more.

We talk the toy-like and immaculate Crow Country. We discuss the game's elegant take on survival horror, its consideration of childhood, nostalgia, and its characterful writing. After some listener questions, we get into a sprawling convo about Souls games, the Internet Archive, and our individual plans for October aka the season of Rose!

Content warning: general gore and violence, body horror and limb dismemberment, ableism, misogyny.

In this episode, we strategically dismember both versions of 2008 classic Dead Space. We talk about differences, downgrades, and improvements across versions, decide just how good the guns feel to fire, and work through the politics, and psychology, of having a dead wife™.

Edwin Evans-Thirlwell’s essay on Dead Space

Grace’s original review of Dead Space Remake

Content Warnings: general violence, suicide, discussion of abuse and child sexual assault from 59:00 to 1:06:00

Grace and Rose explore the at-once simplified and maximalist survival horror action of Killer7! We talk about the thematic power of its ~vibes~, its surprisingly sharp sense of humor, and how wonderful it feels to shoot an enemy in their weak spot. It’s good to be back.

We talk about the classic detective visual novel The Silver Case! We discuss police procedurals, visual novel aesthetics, mysticism vs. science fiction, and why games should be like television.

We talk about the “compilation” game Fatal Frame III: The Tormented which attempts to wrap its two prior games into an overarching narrative, with poignant and evocative results. We discuss its many annoyances, its ambitious structure, terrifying ghosts, and all-timer final cutscene.

Post mentioned: “Fatal Frame III: The Tormented Reemerges Today on PSN”

Grace’s “Killing Our Gods” Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ginalouisefowler/killing-our-gods

Next time: The Silver Case

Content Warnings: sexual assault, death by fire, suicide, self-harm

We discuss modern FMV games Her Story and Immortality. We discuss these cinematic narrative games, their sometimes dazzling, sometimes uneven structures, and have big thoughts about writing narratives games so concentrated on women on camera.

We talk about the unsurprisingly competent and surprisingly comprehensible The Evil Within 2. We discuss the game’s new “open level” structure, even while it imports most of what made The Evil Within so good, how (and whether) the conventional story landed for us, and our favorite bosses and characters.

Grace and Rose close out the year with the classic Resident Evil 2002 remake. We discuss the beauty of its fixed camera angles and pre-rendered backgrounds, the weirdly arbitary difference in difficulty between the two protagonists, and about how tank controls are good, actually. Towards the end of the episode, we rank all of the games we covered this year.

Next time: The Evil Within 2

Content Warnings: Suicide, domestic violence, general horror gore

In this ocean-sized episode we tackle the FMV-soaked marvel that is Alan Wake II. We talk about how this feels both like a culmination and maturation of Remedy’s work over the past 20 years and how this is still kinda the same as Max Payne 2. We discuss the game’s delicious ambiguities and contradictions, which sometimes feel hamstrung by broader “lore” concerns. We marvel at how thick and thorny this is, and gristle at the game’s broader reception. At the end, we answer a bevy of listener questions and make a...

Content Warnings: Self-Harm, Suicide, Freud (Oedipal Complex)

Through the electric wires, a strange image appears on your TV… it’s Serial Experiments Lain the video game! We talk about the visual novel inflected adaptation? Retelling? of the classic anime. Discussion includes multimedia storytelling formats, Lain’s place in “franchise” narrative, what exact mental illnesses Lain has, and whether this is the spookiest game we’ve played yet.

In this episode of The Safe Room, we discuss the awe-inspiring craft of The Evil Within, its disappointing final third, and its campy, haunted-house-style level design. This is prossibly the most fun we've had with a game so far. We match that energy in a goofy and freeform ep.

The Safe Room returns with our episode on the 2010 cult hit Alan Wake! We discuss the game’s abundance of Stephen King and Twin Peaks references, its middiling combat system, and its relationship to other Remedy games. In our questions segement, we talk about games that are elevated by their memorable soundtracks.

Next time: Fatal Frame III

You can email us at questions@spookygame.club

Grace is on twitter @grace_machine

Rose is on twitter  @bluestrose430

Hot off the heels of Fatal Frame, we jump straight into the game’s beloved sequel. We talk about the game’s mechanical improvements, its overall scarier tone, and its narrative shortcomings. During our listener questions segment, we talk Fatal Frame compared to Pokemon Snap, and discuss the games that spook us the most.

Next time: Alan Wake

The Safe Room returns to the world of survival horror with Fatal Frame! We talk about looking *as* horror, what makes a jump scare effective, and Fatal Frame’s place within found footage.

Next Time: Fatal Frame II

Dino Crisis goes to space in this mega episode, where we talk about Majora’s Mask, Dishonored, and answer quite a few listener questions to celebrate the launch of our new Patreon! And avoid talking about a game that we don’t like very much. Also somehow we talk about Tar again.

Next Time: Fatal Frame

content warnings: depression, suicide, self-harm, ableism, parental abuse

We (slightly) side-step normal coverage to talk about the twin horror visual novels: Milk Inside a Bag of Milk Inside a Bag of Milk and Milk Outside a Bag of Milk Outside a Bag of Milk. We discuss the game’s relationship to other visual novels about mental illness, the balance between spelling things out and leaving implications unsaid, and the games’ well-rendered and unsettling voyeuristic qualities. We also chat a bit about Xbox bullshit since Grace got one.

Next Time: Dino Crisis 3.

We finally did it… we played a bad video game. In this tangent laden episode, we talk about Dino Crisis’s silly action set-pieces, flat adventure design, and nonsensical plot. We also go off about hazy memories of Resident Evil 5, BioShock’s absurdity, and transferring survival horror ideas into an action game.

Next Time: Milk Inside a Bag of Milk Inside a Bag of Milk

Milk Outside a Bag of Milk Outside a Bag of Milk

Grace and Rose play the yuri-tinged, sci-fi horror hit and try to identify how the game manages to forge its own path despite its constant barrage of influences. We talk about its tricky and well-telegraphed puzzles, its lack of fixed camera angles, how much of the game is about maps, and what the meat is (don’t worry about it).

Next Time: Dino Crisis 2

Content warning: dinosaurs

In our first podcast of 2023, our hosts talk about the Capcom survival horror classic Dino Crisis! We discuss the game’s similarities and differences to Resident Evil, the usuage of survival horror mechanics to create tension for the player, and it’s various homages to 80s sci-fi horror films. Afterwards, we take some of your questions, and Rose learns about Deep Blue Sea.

cw: suicide, self-harm, murder, body horror, strong horror themes

It’s a double feature here in the Safe Room, with Japanese-only cult classic Nanashi no Game (The Nameless Game) from Square Enix and itch horror classic Anatomy by Kittyhorrorshow. We talk about the limits, and power, of formal cleverness, the interplay of text and play, and how much it hurts our hands to hold our DSs sideways. We also bring up Tár, The Haunting of Hill House, and rank all the games we played this year in absurd categories.

Grace is on twitter @grace_mac...