One of the most interesting trends in recent internet horror circles is the idea of the haunted video game that doesn’t actually exist. These are games that are presented in different media formats, such as Youtube videos, usually showing something like a Let’s Play or similar but the games being presented are not actually real and playable. Most of these exist purely for the video itself and some spin off to become huge ARG experiences that invite watchers to observe, investigate and find out more about this mysterious game.
The most famous of these is of course Petscop, a PS1-style game with a huge amount of lore behind it but you have plenty more of them too such as Catastrophe Crow and Sad Satan. These always fascinated me as they present one of the biggest draws to the art form of video games that movies and books don’t tend to replicate, interactivity. Whilst yes it is being presented in a non-interactive form the method of integrating ARG elements and sometimes commentary from the person playing the ‘game’ makes for a strange variance of disconnect that can lead to a very compelling narrative. And of course, many people end up making fangame variants of these games anyway, bringing the fake games into reality! It’s an interesting topic, and one that I hope gets expanded upon in the future, maybe even being explored as part of an actual theatrical release. The curse of Polybius! Actually that sounds like a very silly idea…
That’s all for now, and as always. It’s not just a game, It’s a Life.