The Therapist Gamer

When was the last time you crapped your pants? After playing "P.T.," your answer might be "I just did."

Hideo Kojima (creator of the Metal Gear Solid series) came on stage at PlayStations's Gamescom press conference in 2014 and said the he and Guillermo del Toro (maker of films such as Pacific Rim) were making a game together. He provided no further information, other than we could all get a taste by downloading something called "P.T." from the PS4 store for free. Oh Hideo - so mysterious!

So I downloaded P.T. and it turns out that it is a game/demo/teaser. I actually don't generally like scary/horror films or games, but this is just too good to not experience. I will not give much away, but the entire experience lasts about an hour and takes place entirely in 2 hallways and a bathroom. 

I think that creating fear in a game is difficult, if not impossible. How can you feel genuine fear when, deep down, you know that you are in your living room playing a game? Also, video games just let you come back to life if something bad were to happen. So how do you make a scary game? Well, I think Kojima and del Toro have proved that they know how to do it. One game critic described P.T. as using "nightmare logic," and I would have to agree. I think I didn't feel fear as I played, but rather felt unsettled and apprehensive. Each couple of minutes I felt both curious and anxious.

So turn off the lights, crank up the surround sound, and make sure you haven't had a big meal recently. "Depends" aren't going to be enough - you'll probably need "Oops I Crapped My Pants."