I remember the first time I cried because of the events of a video game.
Final Fantasy 7. Aerith’s death scene.
Up to that point, you’re given several romance options between her and Tifa and I basically friend-zoned Tifa and was pursuing Aerith. So when Sephiroth murders her out of nowhere, it was like he really murdered my girlfriend. FWIW, the game came out when I was 12 and I was probably 13 or 14 when I actually got to own a copy and play through the whole thing.
The most latest game, tho, that hits hard is Cyberpunk 2077. The overall main plot is just a mashup of cyberpunk films like Johnny Mnemonic, Strange Days, 6th Day, 5th Element, Dredd, etc; but the side stories with the main characters are where the real beauty lies. Shit had me choked up like every time there was a lengthy bit of dialogue. The reason your character is dying might be goofy, but the way they portray someone who knows they are going to die is pretty fucking good. And the unique thing is that it’s you. Your own character, not some other character you’re just meant to empathize with.
Inventory management wasn’t really much of a concern for me in the ones where the key items/puzzle solution items aren’t held in the same container. I could have sworn 4 had that tho. Maybe it’s just the remake that changed it? 🤔 I’m currently playing the remake and it’s been putting key items in their own inventory space.
If they had stronger psyches, they would ignore me and just run to the safe room. 😌 They stopped to demand a 1v1 while a hunter pounced them and ripped their guts out.
The only game where I’ve ever actually seen psychological warfare tactics work is L4D’s vs Mode. As a zombie, waiting to spawn, talking shit to the survivors to make them stop moving and type responses to slow them down. 😈
It’s so crazy how much I loved Onimusha, but among all the survival horror games that get talked about from that time period, it always seems to be forgotten. Even I forget it, and I still have the stupid katana controller! lol