Survival Horror Moments Contest: Lisa still freaks me out

Although I’m not sure if this qualifies as ‘survival horror’, I wanted to mention the astonishing effect that playing a certain recent game had in my head. In fact, it’s not even a game, but more of a prototype created by a rockstar team that never came to materialize in full: P.T.

Imagined by the twisted mind of Hideo Kojima with the help of Guillermo Del Toro’s cinematic genius and The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus acting chops, P.T. (which was in fact a playable teaser for the canceled Silent Hills game) was a simple concept amped to a degree like I’ve never seen or felt before.

Very few games were able to instill this pervading sense of dread, this feeling that I should take a break because it’s really late at night and I wouldn’t mind having a good night’s sleep. It managed to evoke the same feelings that both Silent Hill 2 and Fatal Frame 2 did but was able to do so in less than one hour. It tapped into my primal fears of the dark and the unseen, and I’m pretty sure that many players felt the same. One name was responsible for most of this: Lisa.

Lisa is the main antagonist, if I can use that word, and will be haunting you from time to time in the endless corridors and rooms that small house. Her mere glimpse should be enough to scare the pants off of you, especially the first few moments after a strong and effective build-up. Peeking into that small opening of the bathroom probably made you back away from the screen.

The design in P.T. is so simple that almost seems offensive or drafted by someone who wanted to create a game for those exciting 48 hours contests (no sarcasm here, cool games come out of these contests). You walk down a corridor and explore the house, with every loop usually adding something to your run – and you can expect it to be something somber, creepy and unsettling – or sometimes nothing that important. It plays with your mind, making you freak out by expecting a jumpscare or a spooky set piece, but then… nothing. Maybe some scribbling on the wall or red lighting, but no matter how subtle or apparently inoffensive, your pacing is always constricted, you keep your guard up because something may indeed jump in your face.

There is no way to exit the house without facing Lisa; you can’t battle her, and the only way to escape her clutches is by solving some incredibly obscure puzzle that only Kojima could design. It’s not a matter of logic or thinking, but mostly of trial and error, paying attention to what triggered this laughter, to the time on the digital clock, to every detail. The ending of the game is one of unrivalled tension, with nerves shattered and a brooding sense of doom. Lisa’s laughter is a thing of nightmares.

“Why am I still playing this?”, I thought to myself a couple of times when my heart was racing to the latest scare. Peeking around the corner was a jumpscare in itself.

I’m aware that P.T. wasn’t going to be a part of Silent Hills and that it was designed mostly as an interest-gaging demo, but its effect was beyond belief. For its short duration and straightforward design, it still managed to become one of my most memorable horror experiences ever and I’m glad that I was able to go in blind, knowing next to nothing about its design.

As a huge fan of Silent Hill 2 – the greatest horror game of all time, in my humble opinion –, I was hoping that Silent Hills would represent the turnaround that the series desperately needs. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be, and P.T. will go down as one of the scariest, most chilling horror titles that I have ever tried, rating slightly above other dread-inducing games such as Fatal Frame 2 and F.E.A.R. (Alma was creepy as hell).

Play it if you haven’t already, while you still can. It may be somewhat difficult as Konami took down the game, but you may eventually find some fan-project on PC or the like. Believe me, it is worth it for any self-respecting horror buff.

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