PS1 I.Q.: Intelligent Qube

[Ikagura]

Aka Kurushi in Europe (for some reasons Japan has an english name while Europe got a Japanese one) which is a game that impressed me because of the empty darkness (and silence in the demo) which stayed in my mind for decades before I've finally rediscovered it.

Why a rather simple puzzle game managed to have a great ambience?

 

[Sumea]

The Demo of this game is absolutely haunting. Because it lacks any music from the full CD of the game, the atmosphere of the game transforms into absolutely captivating yet haunting. Meant to play the game or it's special edition few times but the full version does not match my memories with the demo. While I am not saying the demo is better, it's what made me remember this game for decades.

 

[Ikagura]

The Demo of this game is absolutely haunting. Because it lacks any music from the full CD of the game, the atmosphere of the game transforms into absolutely captivating yet haunting. Meant to play the game or it's special edition few times but the full version does not match my memories with the demo. While I am not saying the demo is better, it's what made me remember this game for decades.

I think this is why I love the saying "Less is more".

I still love the soundtrack of the final game (which is too epic for what it was)

That was also why Portal 1 is still my favourite of the two.

 

[Sumea]

I think this is why I love the saying "Less is more".

I still love the soundtrack of the final game (which is too epic for what it was)

That was also why Portal 1 is still my favourite of the two.

Yeah. The few times I given the full version a spin it does not quite stick when my memories of the game are based off this;

Not only is the music missing but it feels like every sound effect they gave for the game, with the empty dark world of only few cubes, and the existential horror potential of falling to nothingness for forever just because you failed a supernatural deadly puzzle. Adding music and changing the sound effects in later version helps to turn this feeling away but I personally feel like I.Q./Kurushi would have stronger identity if it embraced the demo's feel fully.

 

[Ikagura]

Yeah. The few times I given the full version a spin it does not quite stick when my memories of the game are based off this;

Not only is the music missing but it feels like every sound effect they gave for the game, with the empty dark world of only few cubes, and the existential horror potential of falling to nothingness for forever just because you failed a supernatural deadly puzzle. Adding music and changing the sound effects in later version helps to turn this feeling away but I personally feel like I.Q./Kurushi would have stronger identity if it embraced the demo's feel fully.

I think it's concomitant with the uncanny feeling of the fifth console gen (especially with the low poly, simple textures and emphasis on sfx having reverb among other effects).

A remake with HD graphics and a background would've been less effective sadly.

 

[Sumea]

I think it's concomitant with the uncanny feeling of the fifth console gen (especially with the low poly, simple textures and emphasis on sfx having reverb among other effects).

A remake with HD graphics and a background would've been less effective sadly.

Yeah, there is also some new horror games that use the PS1 look for the horror, Silent Hill being aptly the inspiration. "Lost in Vivo" is a indie game that uses PS1 look and adds the shaky polygon effect as a horror intensifying effect. Very creative. Of course at this point in time "yet another new indie game with PS1 graphics" but still one of the good ones in my books.

 

[Ikagura]

Yeah, there is also some new horror games that use the PS1 look for the horror, Silent Hill being aptly the inspiration. "Lost in Vivo" is a indie game that uses PS1 look and adds the shaky polygon effect as a horror intensifying effect. Very creative. Of course at this point in time "yet another new indie game with PS1 graphics" but still one of the good ones in my books.

I liked Fatum Betula and Blood Sanctum too.

 

[IDMTINP]

I'm taken aback by how others seem to have had an identical experience to mine. I remember that demo disc and how the game felt, especially as Eliott (the first starter character name) falls into an endless abyss when you fail. I absolutely vibe with the ambience.

Outside of the creepiness, the game has a lot to remember. The ending is so bizarre and leaves you wondering what the game was ever about. The game makes me think about the future of humanity in general and how our intellect will inevitably become more and more industrialized as capitalism continues.

The creator of the game, Masahiko Sato, is exactly the type of person you'd imagine would come up with this game. He's an author and professor and clearly's got a brain and half. This is a great interview that reveals his game design philosophies. He apparently imagined the game's atmosphere from conception, rather dark and simple.

 

[Ikagura]

The creator of the game, Masahiko Sato, is exactly the type of person you'd imagine would come up with this game. He's an author and professor and clearly's got a brain and half. This is a great interview that reveals his game design philosophies. He apparently imagined the game's atmosphere from conception, rather dark and simple.

Thanks for the Shmuplation link!

I think there was a generation of japanese game maker that truly made something unique. I fondly remember Tetsuya Mizuguchi's synaesthetic work.