I guess you could say I have subverted your expectation of what this editorial was about. If it were a film, it would be one of those nice 90 minute movies that goes by at the perfect pace.īy letting you in on this small subversion, I’ve actually ruined Coffin Mall’s reveal for you. It’s a short experience, around 45 minutes. We shouldn’t hold games up on pedestals like that. Please don’t leave this editorial thinking you’re going to play the next big thing. I said it above, but Coffin Mall is not earth-shattering. I really won’t spoil Inscryption but I suggest you all go check it out. You are expecting a simple horror card game based in a central location, and that’s what you get…until you don’t. We want that subversion of expectations, we want our Cabin in the Woods.Īnother good example that I don’t have permission to spoil like Coffin Mall is Dan Mullins’ Inscryption. It’s the Jaws formula and it’s been going strong since the ’70s. Jason Voorhees will kill the teens, before being “killed” at the end of the film. Sometimes it’s comfortable to sit down and watch something predictable. I’m not saying Coffin Mall is a masterpiece or some kind of transformative experience that must be played to be believed. That was a mistake on my part, but in doing so I allowed my expectation to be subverted in a wonderful way. I had already built up in my head what the game was about. I had only seen one trailer, and nowhere in it was a killer car mentioned. At first, they asked if I was messing with them. I messaged OKSoft, to tell them that I’d beaten the game, and how impressed I was by the killer car. Subverting expectations, I think, is a big part of the horror. It excels at taking what you expect and flipping it on its head. Horror in general works in this neat spot of subversion. When you’re fully expecting a serial killer in your PS1-style horror game, It’s a treat to get a complete subversion of your expectation. At this point, I was thinking, “You did it, you crazy bastards did it. The tires squeal as it rushes to run you down. As you move across the mall, something catches your eye: Headlights? That’s right, the car on display from an upcoming film has seemingly come to life. A storm has moved through the area and every crack of thunder and flash of lightning has you checking behind yourself just to make sure. The mall, previously well-lit and unassuming, takes on a more threatening form. You leave the safety of the office and hear the cat you saw earlier shriek. After running your security rounds and heading back to the security office, the power goes out. Coffin Mall didn’t care what I wanted to pigeonhole it as. I’ve come to expect, at this point, perhaps a power drill-wielding killer, or maybe a person dressed up in a bunny costume. It’s a setup that lends itself to a very certain type of scare. Your job is to go around, touching the keypads at each corner of the mall to prove to your boss that you’re working. In Coffin Mall, you play as a nighttime security guard in a mall. I wandered the mall, saw a cool PS1 cat, and found my way to the security office. I was looking to check a box for “flesh-colored PS1 enemy”. Sitting down to play Coffin Mall, I was going down an internal checklist. It showed the player goofing around a mall, bowling with shopping carts. I was happy to get a copy of their newest project. The folks at OKSoft, who made the game, have kept in touch since Horror You Haven’t Played started. If you haven’t heard of Coffin Mall, that’s okay. I’m actually here to talk about Coffin Mall. If it was a well-maintained, pleasant town, then its transformation into a blasted hellscape would be more palatable. I maintain that Silent Hill would be more effective on that front if the town was nice. It actually enforces your expectation of what is going to happen. I maintain that the town of Silent Hill is already terrible, so when the air raid sirens go and the town gets all rusty, it isn’t much of a change from what it was before. It all goes back to something I’ve said about Silent Hill. Subverting expectations in horror has become a bit of a joke between myself and DreadXP QA Lead Cleveland Mosher. Coffin Mall and Its Subtle Subversion of Horror Expectations
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