As I said in the first post for it, I'm not going to let my Impossible Hero Challenge series get in the way of doing other videos. For one, I've still got a very long way to go with it, and the pace of completing maps is starting to slow considerably as I get into the harder maps. To that end today we take a break with a different game.
I know it may seem like my blog and YouTube channel have become exclusively Kingdom Rush focused, but that hasn't been intentional. It all started when I noticed they added a veteran mode to the original game, which prompted me to go back and do a new series covering it. From there I just got really invested in the series and have stuck with it (to the detriment of my poor Baldur's Gate series). I do plan to continue it - first finishing my Impossible Hero Challenge, then moving to Kingdom Rush Vengeance now that it is out on Steam - but in the meantime I'd like to return to my original intention - doing much older, classic games.
As I mentioned in my Castlevania post, I'm a big fan of horror, so of course I love Halloween. So a few weeks ago I felt the desire to go back and play my favorite horror game of all time: Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession.
Now this game is not exactly a legend of the DOS era like the Ultima or Might and Magic series, but it is one of my personal favorite RPGs. Its greatness doesn't come from its story or its gameplay, which are actually just average. Its greatness lies in something you don’t often notice or think about in a game - its atmosphere.
The game takes place in Ravenloft, which is a gothic horror setting for AD&D. Vampires, ghosts, and other things that go bump in the night take the stage here. The game designers took this setting to heart and set out to create the appropriate atmosphere for it - and boy did they ever succeed. Few games have ever actually made me scared, but this is one of them.
There are three main keys to the game’s excellent atmosphere - its soundtrack, its sound effects, and its visual effects. The soundtrack is perhaps the best I’ve ever heard in a game. I have the soundtrack (in MIDI format, which was par for games of that era) and still listen to it on a regular basis. I’ve never heard music more perfectly suited to a gloomy, horror atmosphere, and I’m quite the connoisseur of horror.
Complementing the soundtrack are the excellent sound effects. For example, whenever you’re in the general vicinity of a monster, even if you can’t see them yet, you’ll hear them give off a distinctive “roar”. This is nothing new in gaming, but the designers took the time to create some very memorable and very scary roars. The first time I heard a bone golem I practically wet my pants. In addition to the monster sounds, the game is littered with random sound effects appropriate to the area you’re in. When you first explore Castle Ravenloft, you’ll occasionally hear a sound effect of someone running up stairs and then slamming a door. It sounds fairly innocuous, but it made my heart skip a beat the first time I heard it. When you first enter the castle you’re not entirely sure what you’re there for or what you’ll find - is there going to be a confrontation with Strahd? When I first heard it I wasn’t sure if it was just an atmospheric sound effect or if it was triggered by an actual nearby monster.
The final element of the atmosphere is the visual effects. Now the graphics themselves were only so-so for their time. However, when exploring areas you are treated to little effects that add that certain special feel. Bats may randomly appear and fly over your head. When opening a new door in a dungeon rats may scurry underfoot. All these things conspire to create the unforgettable atmosphere I’ve been raving about.
Sadly the graphics and sound are so dated now that the effect is largely lost, but I can't overstate the impact it had on me way back in the day. It's one of those games that has largely disappeared into the mists of history, so I'm proud to present it to you now, just in time for Halloween, along with my Gameplay Guide:
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