Quick Look: Betrayer

@corruptedevil:

Really? Cool. I live in Kingston. Maybe I'll check this out.

I was wondering how to spell that sound.

A flute!?

This game looks cool, it reminds me of Miasmata I'll definitely play this.

WHAT? That discovery at the end is great!

This game looks pretty neat. I might have to check it out when I'm done w/ Dark Souls.

Hmm...that color slider does make things weird. On the one hand, I'm actually quite bored of the "everything is black and white except red for emphasis" that was increasingly overdone after Schindler's List. On the other, it's an inherent design dilemma to have something that undermines a definitive commitment to the art style. That and the color seems to have the potential to take away somewhat from the tone and atmosphere they're going for.

Although personally I would actually try and play this section of the game in color to see if it works just as well or not.

This is a pretty great fucking quick look.

I like how drew wasn't officially in the quicklook but he seemed to be the only one paying attention to the prompts and mechanics lol.

"Ok guys, I need you all to color this game!"

"Yes boss!"

*2 years later*

"Ok, now I need you all to make this game into black and white!"

"*BOINK*"

@arjann: I bet that's exactly why they added it. A few months back there was an interview, I think on Polygon, where the developers were talking about artistic choice and how, while it appears to be a technical conceit, they wanted this striking visual style as they felt it added something to the experience. In that article they seemed kind of adamant about that being the way they wanted people to play it. All the comments on the article were making fun of the developers for trying to use an artistic style as a cog in defining their narrative. The general consensus seemed to be that the art style was bad. I thought it looked cool, and I was willing to see how it played into their concept.

I guess I'm glad that the color stuff is an option hidden in the menu. And for the sake of colorblind people, I suppose it is good that it's there. But, I can't help but feel like a segment of the audience is going to opt for the color mode just to abide by what they're used to, then miss something that the creators are trying to say. I can't blame this on the audience, they're only using what's there, and I guess there's no way to lock it out for lazy people and keep it in for those who need it to play. Hm.

You should look at Quick Looks less like a demonstration of game mechanics and more as a form of entertainment where the personalities of this site hammer away, recklessly, at various games. It gets frustrating when they miss obvious stuff in a game you know, believe me, I understand. But if you try not to think about it in terms of them selling the game to a wider audience, and just look at it for the comedic effect, it's a lot more enjoyable.

WHAT!?

WHAT, WHAT?!?

That's pretty much how it was when it first showed up on Steam Early Access, for every thread praising their visual style there were two or three more basically saying "NO COLOR = NO SALE." It's unfortunate, they wanted to stick to their guns but I can easily understand that compromise being made after receiving what appeared to be overwhelming feedback, especially when it's the first game from your newly formed studio.

WHAT!!??

Hmmm, it looks like an interesting game and the B&W with the bright red is interesting and makes the game unique but it honestly did start to bother me after a while. Although the great surprise was that you could turn it to color which was easier on my eyes, it actually made the game look more generic. So I agree that it should have been locked, at least for a certain amount of time

@white_lando: That bums me out. I wish the economy supported more risks in this industry. Creators have to serve to the largest common denominator, just to make it by. The problem with that is, people just want what they know they like. The masses aren't really rallying behind something that is new or fresh - which makes sense. Same reason we see so many shooters. The creatives see that shooters are the way to make money (i.e.: keep their studio open, feed their families), so they figure out a way to express themselves in the ways they're allowed.

The smaller studios are the ones who can fight that mentality. Cheaper games means less loss when people are afraid to try something new. Of course, the way indie developers are being courted by publishers and console holders these days, risk isn't as enticing as it once was for them either, I assume.

I've been thinking a lot about how the film industry got its start, and how long it took them to get to a point where we started seeing classic films and not just showpieces. And I think we're about getting to that point with games. Something, something inflection point of technology. But, I digress. At least this is just an option, and it's not like they overhauled their vision to appeal to the masses.

New Assassin's Creed 3 DLC looks so weird.

@len1444: I came here to say that exact thing.

Anyone else turning the Saturation up just by one notch? I totally respect the very specific use of colour, but I like the little hints of blue and green you get from the environment when you turn it up just a tad.

Also yeah, don't take this Quick Look as a proper way to judge the merits of the game; most of the game is very quiet and subtle, based around slowly unnerving you and forcing you to be cautious all the time. Brad and Vinny acting like chuckleheads while barely paying attention, though fun, is hardly a fair reference point.

@corruptedevil: Except isn't that fort henry on the water? And a nineteenth century construction? Might just be a generic BNA fort name.

Sold. This game looks amazing. Assassin's Creed 3/Far Cry 3 plus horror elements, basically.

Not sure how I'd play it contrast-wise, though. The B&W hurts my eyes after a while, and the color makes it really pretty, but the unnerving tone of the B&W is super cool.

It seemed interesting at first but not after a while. Also I don't think I could play this game for very long during a session, I feel like its art style/strong contrast would strain my eyes right away.

There are a few color screenshots on the game's Steam page, although they have the color saturation down low. I think it looks really cool that way.

Looking at this game is giving me a headache. I seriously can't take that contrast.

CLONG!!

@amyggen: Yes, The Village isn't the first movie to use a reduced with colour film treatment, but the setting of that film and Betrayer in my opinion, have more in common than say Schindler's List. The setting for one, a wooded landscape, a feeling of isolation and psychological terror, preference of ambient sound and silence over a musical score and the use of the colour red as a signal for dread and danger.

I got this on early access a while back. It's a very good game if you like older, hardcore PC style stealth games and exploration. Very good sound design and writing as well.

I did have to turn on some color, the high contrast black and white hurt my eyes.

Interesting game, wonder how far it goes into the creepy supernatural stuff.

Bink, Bink, BOOOOONG.

Color provided by technicolor! And with that bombshell we end the quick look, see you on the next quick look.

I don't know how multiple game industry veterans could be overseeing this project, and at no point did any of them say "This lady's character design is fucking dumb and it makes us look like children."

It's not even so much that it's sexist, it's just bad design and drags you out of the world they're trying to put you in.

Has Brad always been this frustrating, holy balls. First enemy encounter: dies. Did he actually read the note?

This was a tough QL to watch; not because the game looks bad but, just...Brad we gotta talk man. I know he's doing a video and it may be hard to focus between the two while still being invested in both, but everything he was curious about, the game told him like two minutes prior and he acted like it was a mystery. Thank god Drew and Vinny were there.

I'll not mention it again after this comment, but man did it make it hard to watch this thing. Is he intentionally trying to make the game harder or something?

My head hurts, I'm gonna go lay down...

@saturdaynightspecials: I like the design.

Anyone who's ever played a game that a Quick Look covers, we all make the same kind of comments about being a bit miffed with their missing of certain things :P If Drew wasn't there, woo boy. Like they admit, they ain't got time for reading!

True. Guess it's all new to me since I never used to be too active on the site (Sorry - I was young and foolish!) and just missed it on the few times I watched a QL back then.

As for the game though - it certainly has my attention, getting hit with a frying pan sound or not. Come to think of it, I assume that is the sound it makes when one of the arrows break. It looked like he couldn't retrieve it whenever it made that noise.

@maxopower: That is the radio track in portal 1.

I can't tell if you're serious or this is just a joke about the oversensitivity of some people.

NOLF is one of my favorite series (get outta here, Contract JACK) and I dig this Begotten + Sin City style. Game looks really bad, though, unfortunately.

Was i hearing the portal theme tward the end of the quicklook, at about 57 min?

You are not a big fan of having options? What's so bad about them, does anybody force you to use alternative options? Or do you really think they "compromised on their artistic vision" by adding them?

Tbh i'm glad they have that option in there, because that color palette is not really uncontroversial.

Sure it helps hiding some of the visual flaws the game has, it's not Crysis and the grey-tones make the foliage look way better, it also adds a very oppressive feeling that matches the games mechanics.

But it's not an elegant solution in regards to the "ghost world" mechanic, (not enough contrast on switching worlds), it also feels kinda cheap because it's been done so often before, and most importantly: It can be really tiring on the eyes, making it exhausting to play or just watch the game, see this guy for example:

@murdoc_ said:

People are different like that, that's why it's important to consider that with the visual design of a game. You don't want your game to induce headaches or make people sick, just because of some visual gimmick you had to add so badly, so giving the player an option is the smartest thing to do.

@assinass said:

Headphones are highly recommended. The soundscape is spine-chilling as fuck. Having to hear out the enemies and loot is pretty cool. I have used the wind to straight up run up behind dudes. I have not figured out the use for the Listen mechanic. And I'm not really using the weapons, just employing a standard "whack-to-the-back" approach like most stealth games.

Right now, I feel like a paranormal detective, figuring out the deaths and how to investigate :D

The wind is calming against the creepy and mysterious atmosphere.

Interesting that you say the wind is calming. Growing up in the midwest, the wind and exaggerated movement of the foliage gave me the feeling of extreme dread. The same feeling I get when a massive summer storm (potentially tornadic) rolls into the plains. All the animals go quiet, all you can hear is the low rumble of thunder over the windy white noise and you instinctually feel like you must take cover.

That was a really long winded way of saying they nailed the atmosphere.

I'm serious.

I wish more people were "oversensitive" to lame character designs, then maybe we wouldn't see so many of them.

@saturdaynightspecials: So is it lame or is it childish or is it sexist? What is it now? What would you have her rather wear? Or should she be rather a dwarf with a beard and a red cape? Or just like this?

The dress matches the place and time period, it's simply torn up because something happened to her, she doesn't remember what happened. And just fyi: The game even gives the player a choice to hit on her, her reaction to that is quite.. disillusioning.h

Life must be really horrible when every little detail is such a pain in the ass...

@nethlem said:

Yeah, knowing how to read can be a real burden sometimes.

"It's not even so much that it's sexist..."

SaturdayNightSpecials in a comment that was really not worth it

This reminds me of Undying. It's kinda sad that the black and white isn't of any greater importance though...