The Visage Experience

Earlier this week, there was a poll on what single player horror game was the scariest. I should’ve picked four games that were probably around the same in terms of genre, but I ended up picking four completely different games. Either way, most of you picked Visage. I think that out of the four…. Visage would’ve been my pick as well.

I played this game for the first time in 2022 and was so excited to be playing something that was considered to be terrifying. It’s been two years at this point and I don’t remember everything, so this post will be my ramblings about what stood out to me the most (and not my full review of the game). I’ll be speaking about the horrors that I had experienced and, but…. that doesn’t mean that I think this game was bad in any way. In fact, Visage was one of my favorite games that year.

Disclaimer: This review will touch on topics of suicide, domestic violence and neglect, mental illness, murder, and addiction. One story is of that of a child as well. I know that some of the reviews or ramblings I’ve done have included this, but I’ve been able to skirt around those details. Visage includes these topics in detail and I’m not sure that I can properly talk about this game without also talking about the topics depicted. If any of them are too much for you, please feel free to skip this week’s post, take care of yourself, and I’ll catch you next week.

Spoiler Free Ramblings

Visage was first released in 2018 and if I’ve played a psychological horror before then, it wasn’t like this. (Or I was too afraid to fully play through the game… **ahem** Amnesia anyone?) Visage follows the perspective of Dwayne Anderson, a man who kills his entire family before committing suicide (this is the opening scene and how the player is introduced to him). He explores the history of past inhabitants as he roams the house that he himself once lived in. Visage is in first person, which was a great option for immersion and offers a very limited inventory, which is used to hang on to replacement light bulbs, lighters, pills, and candles. Throughout the duration of this game, light bulbs will shatter, creating an opportunity for the player to replace them. Lighters also help to light up dark areas when the player has no light bulbs. Candles are another light source that will eventually burn out, but can be set in an area to explore that specific space further. Light bulbs are temporary, so stocking up on light sources is smart.

Pills are used because Anderson’s sanity decreases the longer that he is stuck in the dark. Losing sanity is horrifying because ghosts and other paranormal events take place which can lead to Anderson's death. It’s smart for the player to keep their inventory stocked and to remember where specific items are in order to keep Anderson alive in order to continue on with exploring the house and its history.

Time For Spoilers

Now, onto my experience while playing this game. This section will contain spoilers, so if you haven’t played and want to, stop reading here. It’s a truly horrifying game and I recommend it to those who want something with a compelling story that is truly scary.

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Lucy's Chapter

There are three stories that the player can become immersed in. I started with Lucy’s story, followed by Dolores, and then Rakan. There stories are vastly different, but each had me feeling bad for them even after the torture I was put through. Lucy’s chapter was sad for me because it follows a child that took her own life due to possession. A demon made contact with her using her TV, wanting to be friends, but Lucy wanted no parts of this friendship even throughout the demon’s persistence. This seemingly angered the demon and it possessed her, causing her to kill off her pet bird. This shocked her parents enough for them to want to get her help, but the medications only did more to worsen her health. Lucy locks herself away and she rips off her jaw, resulting excessive blood loss. Her story unfortunately ends here.

I truthfully don’t remember all of the horrors that I had experienced while playing through Lucy’s story, but the one thing I do remember is when I made contact with the demon. The house remains dark throughout much of the game and at some point Anderson gets locked into Lucy’s room. The closet is well lit and there’s a creepy drawing of what Lucy had depicted as the demon:

I remember being notably terrified to knock on the wall because I truthfully didn’t know what to expect. When it knocked back and the door to the room unlocked, I left as quickly as I could.

Another moment throughout Lucy's chapter was when you discover the camera. Horror games that rely on taking photos to see things, shed light on objects, and more are truly terrifying. It's interesting when movies utilize this as well because it's an easy way to affect a player/viewer with a jump scare.

Truthfully, Lucy's story felt like it could be a horror movie set up. I thought immediately of the Omen for some reason even though the demon only had her kill her pet bird before then taking her life. But, children becoming possessed seems like the perfect plot for a movie. I feel like Lucy may have dealt with depression due to feeling alone in her situation. Her parents may not have understood that she was being taken over and may have only assumed that she was going through something that required medication. It would be nice to experience everyone's emotions a little deeper and get this knowledge from an outside perspective (that isn't Anderson's).

Dolores' Chapter

I had to re-read her backstory to shed light on her situation properly. It was more complex than Lucy’s and was terrifying to play through. Her life was a sad one, as she aged her mental health went on the decline. Dolores went through the struggles of dealing with dementia and paranoia while also having to care for a newborn baby. Her husband did everything that he could to help her and the baby, and this wore on him, but it seemed he never stopped showing her he loved her.

Eventually Dolores’ paranoia got to her so badly that she began accusing her husband of trying to poison her with rat poison. She eventually ends up killing him by using multiple knives. The rage within her diminished when she went to go hold her baby, but with her calm came guilt. That guilt caused her to commit suicide by hanging, and the baby also died due to neglect.

Re-reading through her story was tough for me and, while all the stories are sad, I think that this one stuck with me the most. It’s so heartbreaking that the entire family perished and reading her story is enough to pull at the heart strings.

Dolores’ ghost in this game was still quite horrifying as I navigated the house, now set up with mirrors everywhere. The mirrors were meant to help you escape her as she chased you, but they also doubled as a portal to another part of the house. One of the scariest moments (that I could remember) was when I hopped through a mirror and only ran a third of the way through. I let my guard down, thinking that I was safe, but she still managed to catch and kill me.

There's also a scene where I had reached a plethora of mirrors, set up in a circle. I walked around and around them, finally coming upon one of them. When I looked into it, it looked like something was behind me, but when I turned to see what it was, it had vanished. I face the mirror again to see if it was still there, but it ended up shattering (enough to make me jump) and the mirror falls over, allowing me to hop inside of it.

I forgot about how puzzle heavy this game is as well. It is brutal due to the fact that there are no hints. If there are, they are so subtle that it's easy to miss them as well. Dolores' chapter had a puzzle in the attic that required you to find a correct skylight to escape, otherwise you're trapped up there. I don't remember anything happening, like I was safe up there. But the atmosphere of this game had me on edge as I tried to figure out this puzzle.

Rakan's Chapter

Rakan is the third character in this game and he suffers from scopophobia, meaning that he is always anxious that he is being watched. His condition worsens over time, so much so that a neighbor calls the police on him one day when he is screaming and throwing things around his house. Rakan is then admitted into a psychiatric hospital, but it seems his mental health continues to decline.

I think that Rakan’s chapter is the most detailed when exploring his journey. I went through the house for portions of his chapter, but also experienced what he went through by being teleported to the psychiatric hospital. I can’t pinpoint which chapter was the scariest to play through, but I remember being so scared playing through parts of Rakan’s chapter due to him wanting to chase me everywhere.

He was a former Rugby player that suffered a severe injury, which required him to utilize a wheelchair or crutches to get around. He is the only character that doesn’t have the help of his family in regards to his physical and mental health. He lived alone and his paranoia got worse and worse the longer he resided in this house. Both Lucy and Dolores stalked me around that house, but Rakan was a lot more aggressive, yelling at me as he chased me through hallways or through rooms. The sounds of his wheelchair could be heard and evoked genuine feelings of anxiety and panic. Being chased with no way to defend myself is one of my top fears in a game and Rakan was FAST. He also interacts with players through cutscenes, whether you’re getting pushed out of a window or he’s talking over the intercom at you (at Anderson). The fact that he can also react directly with me through touch or conversation was enough for me to put this game down for an extended period of time. I felt sheer horror at trying to make it through his story.

I ended up re-watching a part of Rakan’s story and it involved the player running through a maze in search of a knife to escape. The kicker was that Rakan is chasing you throughout this maze, so if you ran into a dead end, he would catch up. There are ways to run around him, but not many. It was nerve wrecking and to search for an object to escape was hard enough without Rakan’s aggressive nature.

Rakan’s ending is so sad because he is separated from the other patients due to his aggressive nature and is put into isolation. The player watches as he notices someone standing in his doorway and as he runs over to them to attack, they close the door and shut out the lights, leaving him screaming in agony. He is a prisoner in his own mind, but also a prisoner in this hospital, seemingly unable to see the light of day again since he doesn’t get better. It’s awful because he truly has no one on his side and this includes the people who were meant to help him get better.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I think that Visage has been the scariest game I’ve played. Even in comparison to the Outlast franchise. I loved Visage for its compelling storytelling and its ability to scare me to the point of never wanting to play this game again. I unfortunately never beat it (Dwayne Anderson’s story is the last story in the game) because after Rakan’s story, I needed the biggest break. It’s been a total of two years as I write this and I’m half tempted to revisit this game to finish it? What do you guys think?

Have any of you played Visage? What’re your thoughts? Were you able to pick up on everything that was portrayed through the lens of these characters? Or were you too afraid and focussed on surviving them?

I think that I ultimately was a little more focused on trying to survive. I definitely missed bits and pieces of each of the stories, because through research, I discovered some new things about each character….

Anyway, that’s all I have to say about this game. It takes about 8-10 hours to simply beat this game, but if you want to get through and understand everything, it could take up to 20 hours. It took me much longer because of my inability to play straight through. I took multiple breaks throughout my run, but always came back. This includes all stories except Anderson’s unfortunately. If you opt to play this game, I highly suggest taking as many breaks as you can to reset.

That's all from me this week. I thank you so much if you've made it this far and I hope this was interesting enough even with my limited memory. Feel free to comment below your thoughts, the answers to the questions above, or simply if you'd like to play.

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Thank you again and see you next week!

🔪Versa