REVIEW: Claire: Extended Cut

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There is a thin line between scary and silly. So many horror movies and novels end up becoming campy jokes as the zombie hordes create scenarios that are laughable. In video games, the problem of trying to increase the tension of horror games has led to the eventual downfall of most of the historic franchises. I watched Resident Evil, Silent Hill and Dead Space all become action games with improved shooter mechanics over the course of their storied runs. It has been left up to the indie scene to create a worthwhile horror experience.

Indie developers have brought us games like Slenderman, Outlast and Emily Wants to Play. These games have succeeded in scaring our pants off. The sense of impending terror encouraged the player to keep going and hide under the covers, at the same time. Hailstorm Games, developer of Claire: Extended Cut, is attempting to induce cardiac arrest with this 2D, pixel art game on the Xbox One.

I am a big baby when it comes to horror games. I do not like the feeling of being scared. Mostly because when I am scared, I subconsciously attempt to fix the scenario by running or fighting. I cannot as the problematic symptom is not in the physical world. So, as a coping mechanism, my mind decides to translate the fear reaction into an emotion I can consciously understand– anger. And no one likes to be angry. Didn’t a giant green guy say something about no one likes angry people?

With that being said, it is incredibly easy to find out if I find something genuinely scary. If I get frustrated, upset, or downright livid, then I am scared. If I laugh it off, then the scares were easily predictable and less likely to be truly scary. So where does Claire fit in?

Claire is terrifying. I booted up Claire, and the opening scene is a young girl having a discussion with her teddy bears. These bears then start to argue and ruin her make-believe game. When I gained control of my character, the darkness had arrived and I had the choice to tell it to leave, hide under the covers, or yell for my mom. I did the only sane thing, I hid under the covers.

I am going to try and paint the scene for you. The room was painted a light pink. To the left of the room was a small night light, and it was on. To the right of the night light was a bed and this was also where Claire sat, a bit of her silhouette visible. She’s a tiny child, no older than 7 years. At the halfway mark of the screen, the window was left open and the moon was illuminate the room. Soon, black smoke begins to flow in from the window and the closet, darkening the room. I had to get Claire out from under the covers, and race into the darkness.

That all happens in the first 3 minutes of the game. I didn’t want to do any of it. I wanted to stay under the covers and wait for mom to come and get me. Instead I had to be a brave little girl and run through the blackness. My heart was pounding and I knew right away that Claire knew how to create tension. It is a mixture of visuals, lighting effects, sound, and gameplay that create the truly terrifying experience that is Claire.

The visuals and art style play a huge roll in why Claire is so good at scaring. The pixelated textures make doors, enemies, and blockages hard to see. If this was a platformer, I would consider that a huge fail. But because these stylistic choices caused me to lean into the screen, only to be greeted by a flash of light that pierced my soul or a door crashing open followed by the in pouring of ghostly apparitions, I consider this a fantastic design decision.

Some levels required me to go in and out through doors I could not see. They were covered in blood, or goo, or who knows what. The tension always build while I was stuck in a hallway trying to find an exit, while the music continued to build and the screen grew darker.

There are two sources of light that I was able to use throughout the game. A lighter that only granted a small amount of visibility, and a flashlight that allowed me to see a lot, but ate through batteries that I had to find in the environment. When the flashlight was on, the game was manageable, but when the lighter was in use I could not see anything. I understand that the developer probably wanted to encourage the player to play Claire in the dark for a fuller experience. But not every player has the chance to play with all the lights off all the time. Any glare on the screen made the entire game so dark I could not see anything. A Day One patch listed lighting of environments in the patch notes, but I still think it was much too dark for my taste.

The biggest impact on fear came from the sound. I turned off the sound completely, and ran around the game in complete silence. While there was still some tension, it was clear that most of the building sense of dread came from the sound design. Every time the background music would get just a little louder, or I would hear the telltale sign of the monsters moving only a room away, I would start to squirm and rethink what I was doing and where I was going. The sound really drew me and created a complete package.

Claire is a very short experience. I was able to complete the game in only a few hours, but there is some replayablility. First, there are three difficulties, including a nightmare mode which is a permadeath mode. Second, there are collectibles throughout the game that lead to further development of the story. And finally, there are people that are trapped in the locations I was able to help depending on the dialogue choices I made. Helping certain people leads to various game endings.

Summary

Claire does exactly what it set out to do. It tells a complex but intelligent story. It utilizes art design to enhance the gameplay. It uses sound design to terrify the player. And it delivers it all in an easily digestible package with replay value. I would consider Claire an excellent entry into the horror game genre.

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