During Gamescom 2014, Sony revealed a trailer for a new game that was so scary you might involuntarily evacuate your bowels. Of course I thought “this can’t possibly be true, this is all just a part of the hype machine. Right? Right?!” Wrong. P.T. is possibly one of the scariest console games I’ve ever had the misfortune of playing. And here’s the thing about it, it’s not even a full game. It’s literally just a “Playable Teaser”, hence the name “P.T.”, for a game that is developed by 7780s Studio and may or may not play like the teaser. Of course, if you choose to read on, I will spoil what the game actually is and try to walk you through it. So if you want to play it, you can pick up P.T. for free on the PlayStation Network store.
When you boot up P.T. for the first time, you’re given the standard “adjust your brightness and pick your language” options. But once you get past that, the game starts with a quote telling you that “the gap in the door is a separate reality” and other mind-freakish things. You wake up in an anonymous concrete room with two cockroaches, joined at the butt, crawling just in front of your face, and a normal looking brown door with a light above it that closes seemingly on its own. You stand up wearily, and are then allowed to walk around the room. You’ll notice a table behind you with a wet paper bag on it and little else because it’s pretty dark in there. This leaves you with only one option, walk through the lone door.
On the other side of the door is a very well lit, normal looking hallway. The walls are covered with fairly innocuous pictures and cracks in the pain here and there. The first odd thing you might notice is that there are a lot of empty cans and bottles littering the hallway, which is your first indicator that something is off. Traveling down the hallway, you’ll hear a news broadcast coming from a radio that is detailing a fairly gruesome murder of a family by the patriarch of said family.
You’ll pass a digital clock on your right side, and a very messy hallway dresser with pictures that look like they came from the 1930’s, a phone that’s off of its hook, a half eaten candy bar still in its wrapper, and a lone teddy bear on the ground surrounded by more cans and bottles. At this point you have to make a right turn to continue down the hallway where you’ll see the front door, another hallway dresser with the radio on it, a closed door to your right, and an open door dead ahead. Walking through the open door takes you downstairs to another door, and through that door takes you to… the beginning of the same hallway you started out in.
This is when the mind-freakery begins. The hallway appears to be exactly the same, but there are a few subtle differences here and there, such as a picture frame on the ground that wasn’t previously there, or the radio broadcast talking about a different equally gruesome murder. The same door that was open before, however, is still open, so you can proceed through and enter the the hallway once again. But this time everything seems as it was the first time. You walk down the same familiar hallway, pass the same pictures, and turn to look at the same open door, but now something is banging against the closed door to your right. And now, you can hear a baby crying.
You enter the open door once more, and walk through the hallway. You pass the banging door, except it’s not banging anymore. You proceed to the open door, but it closes in front of you. You check to see if it’ll open, and you hear a door open behind you. You turn to look, the banging door is now slightly ajar. You edge over to it slowly, ever so slowly, ready to back away and go the other direction at the slightest inclination that something will come for you. But nothing does. You peek through the door, it looks like a bathroom inside. You take a closer look and a pale white figure looks at you before shutting the door. The way out unlocks and opens once more.
You enter the hallway again and pass the pictures. You pass the digital clock, the phone, the cans, the bottles, you turn the corner, and your way out is closed. And the bathroom is open. You hesitate for a moment, remembering the pale figure, but you enter the bathroom anyway, despite your fear, despite the wailing of an unseen baby. A light flickers on the ground, you reach down and pick it up. It’s a flashlight, you turn it on and bathe the bathroom wall with light. You’re greeted by dozens of cockroaches crawling up and down the walls and ceilings, and the baby is crying and suddenly, the door shuts behind you. You turn around and stare at the door, the baby is screaming, you look at the bathtub with its dripping faucet and realize the sound isn’t coming from the tub, it’s coming from the sink. You turn to face the dirty mirror, and you see a small red object in the sink. You walk over and take a closer look, it’s a fetus still covered with blood and it’s crying. But before you can fully register what you’re looking at, you here footsteps approaching.
You back away from the sink and the door, and you cower against the wall opposite the door as the footsteps grow louder and louder. And then they stop. Then you hear the door handle rattle, you shine your light at it, and you watch as it begins to turn. Whoever it is, is coming for you, they’ll open the door and get you, the door handle turns and the whole door is banged repeatedly. The door is locked. Whoever or whatever it is can’t get in. It tries the handle again, it bangs on the door again, but the door holds. Eventually, it gives up and walks away. You wait in silence, your flash light trained on the door and its handle. You walk forward, the door swings open, and you’re faced with… nothing. You walk out of the bathroom. You look left at the teddy bear, the bottles, the phone, the pictures. You look right, the way out is open. And then you walk through the door.
At this point, the game continues to build suspense, and things begin to change more dramatically. And I would explain everything that happens, but I think it better you just see it for yourself. But be warned, if you aren’t a fan of scary things, I wouldn’t recommend watching this alone or in the dark or with a headset. But for those of you who want maximum immersion, do those things I just listed.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/awSgOUDZnqY[/youtube]
And then for the ending courtesy of “HookedonApple”
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDfVdafohvg[/youtube]
Before I talk about the ending to P.T. let’s go over the more game-like qualities of it. During this little “game” there is a torn picture by the digital clock. The pieces for said picture are scattered around the house and it’s entirely optional for you to collect them. Each piece of the picture can be found during most parts of the game, but it’s probably best to do so when you’re actively not being killed by whatever is in the house. As you collect pieces, your screen will flash with foreign words (I played in English so no English words popped up). The first two pieces are on the ground to the right of the picture by the potted plant, and to the left of the picture on the ground in front of the digital clock. The next piece is with the teddy bear on the ground by the phone. For another piece, stand in the foyer and face towards to the bathroom. If you look up and to the left, you’ll see the piece stuck near the ceiling of the hallway. From there, walk halfway down the stairs towards the way out and look down to your right. Conversely, you can stand at the bottom of the stairs and look down to your left towards the middle of the staircase. Finally, hit the pause button and hold down “R3” for the last piece. Cycle through the way out and take a look at the now completed picture. Meet Lisa.
Now how about that ending? If you didn’t watch the video, I’m about to tell you what P.T. actually is. If you’re fine with that, then read on. If not, watch the video.
So you beat the “game”, you saw the ending. You are now not surprised by the fact that P.T. is a “playable teaser” for the next Silent Hill game titled, Silent Hills. And the game is being made by none other than Hideo Kojima, creator of the Metal Gear series, and Guillermo Del Toro, the man behind Pan’s Labyrinth and The Orphanage. Not only that, but the game stars Norman Reedus, a.k.a. Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead. A collaboration of this caliber is unprecedented and very exciting. Kojima is known for his ability to create insane storylines that always make sense in the universe he’s working in, whereas Del Toro is known for his ability to create extra creepy atmospheres and creatures. Putting these two together is a match made in heaven for a horror franchise such as Silent Hill.
What do you all think? Did you play P.T.? Are you looking forward to the next Silent Hill game? Let us know in the comments section.