Remothered: Tormented Fathers

Last updated

Remothered: Tormented Fathers
Remothered tormented fathers official cover art.jpg
Developer(s) Stormind Games [lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s) Darril Arts [lower-alpha 2]
Director(s) Chris Darril
Designer(s) Chris Darril
Programmer(s) Rosario Terranova
Artist(s) Omar Scala
Writer(s) Chris Darril
Composer(s)
  • Luca Balboni
  • Nobuko Toda
SeriesRemothered
Platform(s)
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows
  • WW: 30 January 2018
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
  • WW: 25 July 2018
Nintendo Switch
  • WW: 6 September 2019
Genre(s) Survival horror
Mode(s) Single-player

Remothered: Tormented Fathers is a 2018 survival horror video game created and directed by Chris Darril, developed by Stormind Games and published by Darril Arts. The game was originally released digitally on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. [1] A Nintendo Switch version was released digitally in 2019, in collaboration with developer Dico Co., Ltd. [2] [3] The game was also released physically in October 2019 by publisher Soedesco. [4]

Contents

Created, written and directed by the Italian videogame artist and director Chris Darril, it has been described as a homage to the Japanese survival horror series Clock Tower . [5] Its story follows Rosemary Reed, a woman who arrives at the Felton family's mansion to investigate the disappearance of the daughter, Celeste, some years before. When the owner, Richard, realizes Rosemary's true intentions, a terrifying night begins. [6]

Tormented Fathers received generally positive reviews from critics. A sequel, Broken Porcelain , was released in October 2020.

Plot

An old woman named Madame Svenska meets a young man named Mr. Manni, to whom she begins recounting an old story so that it will not be forgotten.

In the year 1992, a mysterious woman named Rosemary Reed (Danielle McRae) heads to the villa of Dr. Richard Felton (Adam Harrington), a retired notary, to discuss how to treat the mysterious and incurable illness he suffers from. During the interview, it is revealed that Felton's adopted daughter, Celeste, ran away from home 21 years prior and his now deceased former business partner, Professor Albert Elias Wyman, was the prime suspect for her disappearance. However, it is quickly revealed that Reed only used the medical interview as a pretext to find out the truth behind Celeste's disappearance. Angered, Felton orders Reed to leave the villa.

Later that night, Reed sneaks back into the villa using a spare key left by Felton's nurse, Gloria Ashmann (Lani Minella), in order to find Felton's wife, Arianna Gallo, who might have the answers she's looking for. However, upon reaching Arianna's bedroom, Reed only finds a decomposed corpse and soon begins having to scour the villa for more clues while a psychotic Felton stalks the halls. Eventually, Reed finds out from a recorded hypnosis session that Celeste had actually returned home after her disappearance but due to his madness, Felton came to believe Celeste was a different girl named Jennifer (Olivia Steele) and murdered her. Just as Reed manages to escape from her bindings, a masked nun dressed in red appears in the villa and begins chasing both Reed and Felton. Eventually, Reed sees a young woman that flees into attic; upon finding something to help get up there, Reed is then attacked by the mysterious girl and falls down the ladder, knocking herself unconscious.

When Reed finally regains consciousness, the woman apologizes for attacking her and tells her of a hidden room Felton sealed away. Reed finds and opens the sealed room, discovering that it was originally Celeste's bedroom. After investigating, Reed discovers a tape recorder that reveals how, after Celeste returned home, she was imprisoned within the villa alongside Arianna by Felton and subjected to forced hypnosis sessions which gradually began to destroy her memories, leading her to desperately try and find a way to escape. Reed eventually finds and follows Celeste's escape route but ends up falling into the sewers beneath the villa and is hunted by the red nun again. Upon climbing back up to the surface of the mansion, Reed discovers Felton's birth certificate, listing his name as "Jennifer Richardine Felton". This knowledge causes Reed to realize that Felton was actually born a girl but was raised as a boy and given testosterone treatments by her cruel father, leading Felton to developing a split personality, creating the "Richard" and "Jennifer" personas. In fact, the young woman Reed met earlier was actually Felton in their Jennifer character.

After a dangerous encounter with Jennifer, Reed winds up meeting Felton's nurse, Gloria Ashmann and warns her about Felton's madness. Gloria is shocked that Felton murdered Arianna, and confirms all of the revelations about Celeste and Felton's past. However, Gloria then drugs Reed, revealing herself to actually be the red nun. Reed attempts to escape but is then captured by Felton. When Reed wakes up, Gloria reveals that she had been experimenting on Felton for revenge and manipulated him into murdering Arianna, but Celeste was able to escape. Gloria then orders Felton to kill Reed in a murder–suicide. Fortunately, Reed is able to escape and manages to kill Felton by setting him on fire, after he drenched himself with kerosene. Reed then heads to the attic where she find Celeste's escape route and tricks Gloria into falling out of a window.

Reed approaches the mortally wounded Gloria, who reveals that she, Felton, and her fellow nuns of the Cristo Morente convent near the Rosso Gallo farms were subjected to inhumane experiments by Wyman in order to perfect "Phenoxyl", an anti-psychotropic drug created by Felton, the Ashmanns, and Professor Wyman himself by synthesizing a rare species of parasitic moth to repress and erase traumatic memories that was eventually banned in the late 1960s for its horrific side effects, including severe photosensitivity, hallucinations, ulcers, proliferation of the parasitic moths, and homicidal rage.

Gloria then recognizes Reed as one of her fellow nuns, who set fire to the entire project to put a stop to the experiments conducted on the nuns of the convent. Reed confirms it but says her memories of that period are still missing. Gloria apologizes to and forgives Reed, telling her to keep searching for Celeste before finally passing away. Reed returns to Celeste's room with a piano key Gloria gave to her and finds a clue, a luggage tag pointing her towards the Flemmington Girls' Institute, an all-girls' boarding school.

Back in the present, Madame Svenska tells Mr. Manni that Reed continued her search for Celeste.

Production

The first version of Remothered was a one-man-only-project developed on Enterbrain's Rpg Maker Xp, with 2D and oil painting aesthetics and similarities to Clock Tower . The project was cancelled in 2012 by Chris Darril himself with the objective of making a stronger version with new 3D engine. [7] [8] [9]

The title Remothered is a combination of the words REM (rapid eye movement), moth, mother, other and red, all of which refer to the game's story and symbolism. [10]

The main character Rosemary Reed is modeled after the features of Jodie Foster. [11] According Italian website Upside Down Magazine, the game is an homage to many films such as Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho , The Birds , Stanley Kubrick's The Shining , David Lynch's Mulholland Dr. , Dario Argento's Deep Red , Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs and Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby , but also to other media, from television series to video games such as Twin Peaks , The Evil Within , Rule of Rose , Clock Tower and Silent Hill . [12]

Reception

Critical response

According to the review aggregation website Metacritic, the game received "generally favorable reviews" for Windows and PlayStation 4 versions, and "mixed or average reviews" for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch versions. [13] [14] [15] [16] Eurogamer Italia praised the game for its atmosphere, gameplay and story, but noted minor technical issues and "woody" animations. [11]

On 22 July 2018, three days prior to Remothered: Tormented Fathers' console release, Keiichiro Toyama, creator of Silent Hill and Forbidden Siren , expressed his admiration for Remothered and hoped to collaborate with Chris Darril. [17] [18] [19]

Accolades

In 2018, Tormented Fathers was included in the list of "The Scariest Games of All Time" by GameSpot. [20]

YearAwardCategoryResultRef
2019NAVGTR AwardsBest Writing in a DramaNominated [21]
2018 Eurogamer Awards Best Indie GameWon [22]
Best Italian GameWon
2018Italian Video Game AwardsBest Italian Debut GameNominated [23]
Best Italian GameWon
2018 TGM Awards Best Horror GameWon [24]
Best Italian GameWon

Future

A successor that serves as a prequel and a sequel, titled Remothered: Broken Porcelain , was announced in April 2019 during the Italian Video Game Awards. It was released on 13 October 2020 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch. [25]

On 29 January 2021, a digital spin-off director's cut graphic novel named Remothered: A Lamb to the Slaughter – Book 1 was also released via Steam and GOG.com. The comic book is set in between Tormented Fathers and Broken Porcelain. [26] [27]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ported to Nintendo Switch by Dico Co., Ltd.
  2. ↑ Published physically on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch by Soedesco.

Related Research Articles

Fatal Frame, titled Zero in Japan and Project Zero in Europe and Australia, is a Japanese survival horror video game series that was created, published and developed by Koei Tecmo. Debuting in 2001 with the first entry in the series for the PlayStation 2, the series consists of five main entries. The series is set in 1980s Japan, with each entry focusing on a location beset by hostile supernatural events. In each scenario, the characters involved in the present investigation use Camera Obscura, objects created by Dr. Kunihiko Asou that can capture and pacify spirits. The series draws on staple elements of Japanese horror, and is noted for its frequent use of female protagonists.

<i>Clock Tower</i> (1995 video game) 1995 video game

Clock Tower is a survival horror point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Human Entertainment for the Super Famicom in 1995. It is the first installment in the Clock Tower series. The story follows orphan Jennifer Simpson soon after she is adopted by the Barrows family along with other orphaned girls. Shortly after arriving at the Barrows family manor, one of the other children is killed by a stalker called Scissorman. Jennifer must then explore the Barrows Mansion to find a way to escape while evading Scissorman, leading to one of the game's multiple endings. Clock Tower utilizes a point and click interface with the player controlling a cursor to direct Jennifer's actions.

<i>Fatal Frame</i> (video game) 2001 video game

Fatal Frame is a survival horror video game developed by Tecmo for the PlayStation 2. The first installment in the Fatal Frame / Project Zero series, it was released in 2001 in Japan and 2002 in North America and Europe. An enhanced port for the Xbox was released in 2002 in North America and 2003 in Japan and Europe. The game was published for both systems by Tecmo in Japan and North America. In Europe, the PlayStation 2 version was published by Wanadoo, and the Xbox version by Microsoft. It was re-released in North America on the PlayStation Network in 2013.

<i>The Journey Down</i> 2010 video game

The Journey Down is an episodic adventure video game for Linux, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 by Skygoblin. An Android version is currently in development.

<i>Outlast</i> 2013 horror video game

Outlast is a 2013 first-person survival horror video game developed and published by Red Barrels. The game revolves around a freelance investigative journalist, Miles Upshur, who decides to investigate a remote psychiatric hospital named Mount Massive Asylum, located deep in the mountains of Lake County, Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gamer Network</span> British digital media company

Gamer Network Limited is a British digital media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and other video game businesses. Its flagship website, Eurogamer, was launched alongside the company. It began hosting video game trade show EGX in 2008. In 2018, it was acquired by ReedPop, a division of RELX.

<i>Whispering Willows</i> 2014 video game

Whispering Willows is an indie adventure horror video game developed by independent developer Night Light Interactive for Ouya in May 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sickhead Games</span> American video game company

Sickhead Games, LLC is an American independent game development studio founded in 2002. It is best known for its multiplatform turn-based strategy game ARMED!, its involvement with the MonoGame framework and Torque series of game engines, and the development of several PlayStation 4/5, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch ports of indie games including TowerFall Ascension, Stardew Valley, Darkest Dungeon, Octodad: Dadliest Catch, Slay the Spire, and Axiom Verge. The studio has updated classic console and PC games from the late 1990s and early 2000s, including ExZeus, Enclave, and Grandia, to run on modern gaming systems.

<i>The Escapists</i> Strategy video game

The Escapists is a strategy game played from a top-down perspective. The game was developed by Mouldy Toof Studios and following a Steam Early Access release in 2014, was released in 2015 for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. It was released on iOS and Android in 2017. A Nintendo Switch version of the game containing all downloadable content was released in 2018. The game was launched on the Epic Games Store on 23 September 2021, with the weekly free game campaign of Epic Games. Players assume the role of an inmate and must escape from prisons of increasing difficulty.

<i>The Park</i> (video game) 2015 video game

The Park is a first-person psychological horror video game developed and published by Funcom. The game was released for Microsoft Windows via Steam on October 27, 2015 and is a spin-off of an earlier Funcom game, The Secret World. It was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on May 3, 2016 and Nintendo Switch on October 22, 2019. It was released in Japan on September 24, 2020. The game takes place in the Atlantic Island Park that closed in 1980 for mysterious reasons that are gradually revealed throughout the game.

<i>Darkwood</i> 2017 survival horror video game

Darkwood is a survival horror video game developed and published by Acid Wizard Studio. The game was first released through Steam Early Access on July 24, 2014, eventually becoming a full game release on August 17, 2017 for Linux, macOS, and Windows. On March 20, 2019, a Nintendo Switch version was announced during the Nindies Nintendo Direct and was released on May 16, 2019. The game was also ported and released for the PlayStation 4 on May 14, 2019, for Xbox One on May 16, under the publisher Crunching Koalas, and for Google Stadia on September 17, 2021. It later released for PlayStation 5 on October 28, 2022, and for Xbox Series X/S on December 23, 2022.

<i>Celeste</i> (video game) 2018 platform game

Celeste is a 2018 platform game developed and published by indie studio Maddy Makes Games. The player controls Madeline, a young woman with anxiety and depression who aims to climb Celeste Mountain. During her climb, she encounters several characters, including a personification of her self-doubt known as Badeline, who attempts to stop her from climbing the mountain.

<i>The Escapists 2</i> 2017 strategy role-playing video game

The Escapists 2 is a strategy role-playing video game developed by Mouldy Toof Studios and published by Team17. It is the sequel to The Escapists (2015) and it was released worldwide for Linux, macOS, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in August 2017. Nintendo Switch and mobile phones versions were released in 2018 and 2019, both iOS and Android respectively.

<i>V-Rally 4</i> 2018 video game

V-Rally 4 is a racing video game developed by Kylotonn and published by Bigben Interactive for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch in 2018. The developer had previously worked on the official 2017 WRC game.

<i>A Plague Tale: Innocence</i> 2019 video game

A Plague Tale: Innocence is an action-adventure stealth game developed by Asobo Studio and published by Focus Home Interactive. The game was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in May 2019. It was made available on the cloud-based service Amazon Luna in November 2020. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of the game were released in July 2021, alongside a cloud version for the Nintendo Switch.

<i>Remothered: Broken Porcelain</i> 2020 video game

Remothered: Broken Porcelain is a 2020 survival horror video game developed by Stormind Games and published by Modus Games. It was released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Microsoft Windows.

<i>Bayonetta</i> Video game series

Bayonetta is an urban fantasy action-adventure video game series created by Hideki Kamiya. It is developed by PlatinumGames, owned by Sega, and currently published by Nintendo. The franchise was introduced in 2009 with Bayonetta, which was followed by two sequels, Bayonetta 2 (2014) and Bayonetta 3 (2022), as well as a spinoff, Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (2023). The games follow the titular character, a witch who wields dual pistols, shooters in her high heels, and long, magically transforming hair which becomes a deadly weapon.

<i>Maid of Sker</i> (video game) 2020 survival horror video game

Maid of Sker is a 2020 first-person survival horror game developed and published by Wales Interactive. The game is set in 1898 in the Sker Hotel, on an imaginary island called Sker Island. The protagonist, Thomas Evans, is invited by his lover, Elisabeth Williams, to uncover the mysteries of the hotel after she notices her family's strange behavior. While exploring the hotel, Thomas learns cult followers called "The Quiet Ones" control the place. He finds notes and gramophone records scattered around the hotel that reveal the history of Elisabeth's family.

<i>Monster Crown</i> 2021 video game

Monster Crown is a 2021 role-playing video game developed by Studio Aurum and published by Soedesco. Heavily inspired by early games in the Pokémon series, it features similar mechanics, but with a darker fictional universe and storyline. The game received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its gameplay and graphical style, but noted significant bugs and performance issues, and also criticized it for game balance issues as well as its story.

<i>Tormented Souls</i> 2021 video game

Tormented Souls is a 2021 survival horror video game developed by Dual Effect and published by PQube for the. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions were cancelled in February 2021 but were eventually released in February 2022. A sequel, Tormented Souls 2, is set to be released in 2024.

References

  1. ↑ "Remothered: Tormented Fathers im Test – Vater, Mutter, Horror". GameStar. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  2. ↑ "Switch players, get ready to enter Felton's mansion!". remothered.com. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  3. ↑ "Remothered: Tormented Fathers 日本語版、Nintendo Switchで配信決定！". DICO Games. Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  4. ↑ "Remothered: Tormented Fathers – SOEDESCO".
  5. ↑ "Remothered: Tormented Fathers review – towering fears". Metro . 26 July 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  6. ↑ Soriano, David (26 February 2018). "REMOTHERED: TORMENTED FATHERS ANÁLISIS". IGN Spain. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  7. ↑ [ dead link ]
  8. ↑ "Game Base – Consoles e Jogos – Novidades no Mundo dos Games". Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  9. ↑ "Remothered (lost build of cancelled remake of "Clock Tower" survival horror game; 2007-2012)". The Lost Media Wiki. 6 July 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  10. ↑ "What does "Remothered" mean? The story behind the name". 24 February 2017.
  11. 1 2 "Remothered: Tormented Fathers – recensione". Eurogamer Italia. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  12. ↑ "Remothered: Tormented Fathers – tutte le citazioni cinematografiche e videoludiche – Upside Down Magazine". 27 August 2018.
  13. 1 2 "Remothered: Tormented Fathers for PC Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  14. 1 2 "Remothered: Tormented Fathers for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  15. 1 2 "Remothered: Tormented Fathers for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  16. 1 2 "Remothered: Tormented Fathers". Metacritic .
  17. ↑ 外山圭一郎 (22 July 2018). "Chris-san, I fell in love with the upcoming survival horror game Remothered and its story. It would be wonderful if we could do something together someway. @chrisdarrilpic.twitter.com/1HSTemIPhQ". twitter.com. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  18. ↑ "Guess who spoke about Remothered: Tormented Fathers". remothered.com. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  19. ↑ Zibbo, Matteo (24 July 2018). "Keiichiro Toyama vorrebbe collaborare con i creatori di Remothered: Tormented Fathers". eurogamer.it. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  20. ↑ "Scariest Games Of All Time – Remothered: Tormented Fathers". Gamespot.
  21. ↑ "Nominee List for 2018". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. 11 February 2019. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  22. ↑ "Eurogamer Awards 2018 feature – Remothered: Tormented Fathers". Eurogamer.it. 25 December 2018.
  23. ↑ "IVGA – Italian Video Game Awards". www.remothered.com. 11 April 2019.
  24. ↑ "TGM Awards 2018: l'elenco di tutti i vincitori". 22 December 2018.
  25. ↑ "Remothered sequel Going Porcelain announced for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC". Gematsu. 12 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  26. ↑ "Remothered: A Lamb to the Slaughter – Book 1 on Steam".
  27. ↑ "Remothered: A Lamb to the Slaughter – Book 1".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.