Description
A playthrough of Xseed Games' 2009 license-based survival-horror game for the Nintendo Wii, Ju-On: The Grudge.
Episode List:
2:13 Rundown Factory
18:44 Abandoned Hospital
44:33 Derelict Apartments
1:01:25 Security Guard's Ordeal
1:19:00 Cursed House
Ju-On: The Grudge, released just a few months ahead of the original Ju-On film's tenth birthday, is a self-proclaimed "Haunted House Simulator" that was developed under the direction of Takashi Shimizu, the creator of the series. He directed the first four Japanese Ju-On films and the first two films in the American remake series.
The game plays out over five episodes that each place you in the role of a member of the Yamada family, all of whom have been afflicted by the curse of a vengeful murdered housewife. Everyone shares the same goal. To escape alive.
You wander through each environment armed with nothing but a flashlight, looking for clues that'll aid your escape, secret collectible items, and batteries. Your flashlight's remaining power acts as your lifebar. If the light dies, so do you. You can't run, you can't fight, and you can't rely on anything but your nerves to see you through. And in a cheeky bid to troll you, the game uses the Wii remote's motion sensors to gauge how much you flinch when something jumps out at you. If you're the type who flails uncontrollably when watching horror movies, prepare to get roasted on the stage clear screens.
The critics shredded this one when it came out, but I like it. Ju-On: The Grudge knows exactly what it is - a short, interactive movie-style experience that's designed to get people shrieking at their TVs in dark rooms - and it stays firmly in its late. It doesn't try to be deep or epic, but it's fun in the same way a corny horror flick is. Everything is drowned in deep shadows, things constantly jump out at you, and engaging with it requires zero thinking. It's entertaining, and the chapter structure makes it a great game to pick up and play for twenty or thirty minutes an evening over the course of a week until you've finished it. It looks decent (for a Wii game), the sound design is effective, and the controls are immersive once you've learned to steer your character like a truck around furniture and door frames.
I picked this one up many years ago for about the price of a new movie disc, and I had no complaints. All I wanted from it was a couple hours of mindless horror-themed shlock, and that was exactly what it delivered.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.
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