Sunday, May 26, 2019

Like A Book Made To Play: The Immersive Experience Of “Here They Lie”

Here They Lie is a Playstation 4 game signed by Tangentlemen and Santa Monica Studio. The game transports you to a terrifying parallel world from which you cannot escape. Inside this bizarre place, it's necessary to explore a nightmarish city inhabited by malevolent creatures. In this experience, the point of view is first-person and you can only use an old flashlight as a weapon.



In the whole gaming narrative you must wrestle with life or death moral choices to uncover the mystery of the woman in yellow (a kind of Ariadne that guides you through the city maze and corridors inside buildings). There are two ways to play Here They Lie: classic version or using VR glasses (which enhances the immersion in the story). Check the mysterious trailer below:



Despite the beautiful graphics and soundtrack, Here They Lie caught my attention through the perfect balance between narrative and gameplay. You only run from the monsters; inside this dark dimension, you are only a voyeur, observing a scenario of pain and blasphemous acts. The only thing you really do is walking around the huge city capturing hints to discover what is happening. Where's the fun in it? I think Here They Lie is the kind of experience that brings literature features to play.

For me, having played Here They Lie from the beginning to the end was like reading a book written with a Kafkanian and Lovecraftian touch. The situation is too absurd but, with the suspension of disbelief, you can accept that this strange world makes sense. The story grabs your attention and curiosity leads you to find the answer for some questions like: How did I get here? Who is the woman in the golden dress? What are the creatures with animal heads? Why did it happen to me?



Games like this one lead us to the multiple possibilities that we can experience today in the gaming market. We still have "triple A" first-person shooters with zombies but on the other hand, a huge universe to explore fantasy in a different way. We are leaving a privileged ambient of ludic possibilities. To play different games like this one is to create a richer repertoire for classes, gaming projects or gaming discussions.

Let's play!

#GoGamers

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