Recent reviews by Standardized Fox

About three years ago, I was a little ♥♥♥♥♥ boy and didn't like to play horror games, hell, I couldn't play FNAF for a few months. Later on, I started playing more of them, and I started to appreciate the genre. Yes, it has been one of those hit or miss kind of genre but the good games stand out, like RE7 and this game, for example. I have noticed that a lot of horror games have some of the same gimicks: jumpscares every time you take a turn, spoopy human-like people, and jumpscares. But Lost In Vivo seemed somehow... different. You ever played Silent Hill, like, the older ones? This game does take quite a heavy inspiration off of them, but isn't copying it directly, making it unique on its own.

The game starts with your service dog being swept away by heavy rain into the sewers, and you, a basic nobody (literally, you don't have hands and can't see yourself in the mirror), decide to look for him. Sounds simple, right? Well, not exactly. As you progress through the game, you start seeing transformation on your surroundings, making everything seem unreal, something that takes your sanity away. Or you can just not witness that by capping your dog's ass after you get your pistol for not staying put, seeing your dog dead, and me having to call PETA on your ass.

Take every horror troupe you know about the horror genre, and throw half of them away. The game does have a lot of dark corridors, and you expect a jumpscare or somesort... but it just doesn't happen. In my opinion, that is even worse because you feel tense for something that won't even happen. You are alone in this game, only have some moments having your dog's barks accompany you on your journey to find him. Call it motivation, but you still wanna beat the game regardless. Like every horror game, you need enemies to make the game have some tension, and this game does it well. Each enemy is made to scare you in different ways. It's subtle, but it does make them unique in their own way... well, the majority. There is like 1 or 2 that isn't so creative but that's beside the point. You might expect the horror to whitle down after you play through the game, and that's expected on every horror game, but this game tries to bring it back up and does it well. The soundtrack ties in well with the atmoshphere and it has almost this piercing sound to it. It's unnerving to listen to, but that's what makes it good. It's also basically there so you won't feel safe and always have a constant anxiety attack. Even the save room music has something unnerving about it. Take example of something I know well on, the Resident Evil franchise, and it's save rooms. It has this calming sound to it, but twists it slightly to make you feel unease, even know you are safe. Funny enough, the soundtrack may be your enemy, as some areas don't have enemies but the music keeps you on your toes, building tension in you.

What's a horror game with enemies without sick-ass combat? Well, crap if you think about it. Horror games are meant to keep you feeling weaker than the force you are up against, hence "survival-horror"; you're meant to survive the horror, not overcome it and shove your victory flag up its ass. The game gives you some weapons to defend yourself with: pistol, shotgun, sledgehammer, knife. The pistol is heavily damaged, sometimes jamming everytime you fire. Your shotgun doesn't shoot shells, but shoots real gamer tear salt from all of those second places in Fortnite. Your melee weapons turns your game into a clicker game; clicking non-stop until you achieve your goal. Hoenstly though, what's America without weapons, it's the second amendment.

Just like Dark Souls, a game that everyone compares other media to, Lost in Vivo has items and surroundings that can be interacted with, giving off that lore. There are even tapes, I think 4 in total, that you can aquire and they take you to a different world, like another nightmare.
Repalying the game does have something to it as well. Replaying a horror game removes fear of where enemies are at, and there is not tension... unless you forgot. Lost in Vivo does add in new placements, making the next playthrough different than the last.
I wish this game has more coverage than it does now, because it really is a good game. It's an indie game and I suppose that could influence it's lack of coverage, but then there is Outlast. It's also made on the Unity Engine, an engine that gets a lot of bad ♥♥♥♥ for ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ out crap games in 2 months, so seeing this made makes it better. If you like horror games, or coming out of your ♥♥♥♥♥ boy phase like I did years ago, consider giving this a try. It may not do anything new, but it gives me hope for other good horror games that come in the future, like the RE2 remake.

Bonus Content:
There is a secret to Lost in Vivo in the main menu. It's only exclusive to when you stay up until midnight, or, if your mom tells you that it's a school night, setting your interal clock to midnight. It becomes a hack-n-slash, another favorite genre of mine, in first person. It's a really neat twist to the horror game.

But again, you should definently consider playing the game, as it is worth the money and time. I could tell that a lot of passion was put into this game and - what? What do you mean I'm copying Pyrocynical's review? Well, I suppose I have to thank him for allowing me to find the game. I guess I can blame myself because I had used his review to get me to play, so his influence was there. In any case, watch his video, as it explains it better than I did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDjZ-tg_24w

Challenging but very fun! You basically fight a series of bosses, and each with their own attack patterns that requires you to learn the motions of each attack. It isn't punishingly difficult, although, playing with the controller, I have difficulties with the "grappled" moments. Other than the fighting, the game is visually appleasing and, back to the fighting bit, there are nicely put cinematics between phases, attacks, and KOs. I would recommend playing this, however, I would be cautious on what kind of a game you are getting into. The first fight may be a tutorial, but that doesn't mean it's handholding. That means every fight is even harder.

Lol, just play it. We all know how much you want to. Can't hide your weeb personalities from us. I did it. It's good.

A quite challenging game, but it is really fun. Don't get upset you died because that becomes a learning mistake.

If you want this (old, but good) game, just buy the second game with digital deluxe. It comes with the first game with extras to the second game and it's $10 cheaper. But hey, it's up to you.

I always played COD zombies when I was the stereotypical age of a COD player. It was fun, you know, running around mindlessly killing zombies. Whenever I saw the first game, my mom told me "no", even though I believed I would have fun. Then the second game came out on early access. They believed I was mature enough to play so they got me the deluxe edition. It was great to get the second game, but the first game for free? Amazing! I played the second game for a while during early access, even though I enjoyed it, I felt like I wasn't enjoying the process a bit. Then I shifted to the first, and realized it all. The wide arrangement of guns, perks, and maps made each playthrough feel unique. Eventually, whenever the second game added in a ton of FREE content (not including microtransactions, which allowed for free content to be released), the game reflected more towards the first game, plus a lot more. It began to become something addictive, and playing it continuosly was fun. Now, I'm sitting in a college dorm, playing this game on my free time, enjoying it since day one. Now for the common "pros and cons":

Pros:
-Variety of perks
-Vast selection of guns
-Unique melee
-Multitude of zeds
-Free content
-Free cosmetics for just playing, instead of buying (although they don't look as good)
-"Zed Time"
-Endless
-Did I mention free content?

Cons:
-VS is basically dead due to how unbalanced it is. Just get some friends and play it.
-Matchmaking is a bit wack, although they are improving it.
-The game is a bit stale playing solo, so get some friends to play it, or stop being shy and play with strangers.

10/10 Would not kill floors again.

Create your own things from imagination, or just duplicate someones idea. Have fun with said creations. If building isn't your type, go onto servers that have different playstyles that will make lots of fun for you and maybe your friends. JUST BUY IT!
PS: type bloxwich for and achievment.