May 7th, 4 days before the expo. While all the players were eagerly waiting for the gameplay expo to arrive, some fans who followed Lucas closely kept refreshing his official account every day, hoping to catch a glimpse of game news. And this time, they really found a post.
"Test DEMO 'Silent Hill PT' is now available on Nebula Games platform. Interested players can download and try it for free."
Many players were stunned by the news.
What's going on?
Wasn't Lucas just done making 'It Takes Two'? And during this time, shouldn't he be focused on working on the prequel to 'Dark Souls'?
So why suddenly drop a DEMO out of nowhere?
Is this a new game?
But that doesn't make sense either. If it were a new game, shouldn't it be called a trial DEMO?
What does "test DEMO" even mean?
Players everywhere were curious.
With that curiosity, many clicked into the Nebula Games platform to read the description. After seeing it, a lot of them went silent for a few seconds, then quickly bowed out.
Because it turned out to be a horror DEMO.
Even now, many players still remember Lucas's old work 'Outlast' all too well.
Even those who never played it themselves, and couldn't find good streamers, would still go back and watch Outlast. The "screamed to death" videos on all the big platforms still pull in huge numbers.
And now this new thing called 'Silent Hill PT' is another horror game!?
But after reading the description carefully, many people got even more curious.
Because the description made it very clear: this is not a full game, nor is it a teaser for one.
Put simply, it's a DEMO made only for testing, built for Game Division to use with their new VR device.
Besides the upcoming gameplay expo, the biggest news lately has been about this new VR hardware.
Foreign companies started hyping it first, trying to set the stage and claim they were leading the way.
At first, developers at home kept quiet and worked, but after that push, they couldn't just sit still anymore.
So they also released some specs to the public.
For normal players, this was just something to watch from afar. Nobody knew when it would really come out. And even when it did, for most people it would be too expensive, maybe something you could only try at a VR arcade.
But for designers in the industry, this wasn't surprising. Everyone already knew Game Division had invited some top local designers to join their DEMO testing program.
That news had already been leaked and covered by some media.
And now it looked like Lucas was part of it too!
This instantly stirred up heated debate among players and designers.
"Lucas finished a test DEMO that fast? He must have phoned it in."
"Come on, why would he? Game Division didn't force anyone, and Lucas still has the Dark Souls prequel to work on. If he didn't want to join, he could've just said no. I bet it's just a small-scale DEMO."
"No, I heard the DEMO has a lot of content, and it's really scary!"
"Scary? How scary can it be? With the new VR system it might feel terrifying, sure. But on PC, how scary can it be?"
"Honestly, anyone who doubted Outlast ended up crying in a corner."
"Don't exaggerate! Outlast was a full game. This is just a DEMO. Not the same thing at all!"
"Anyway, stop focusing only on Silent Hill PT! It's just a DEMO. Shouldn't we be more worried about the Dark Souls prequel? If Lucas spent time making Silent Hill PT, doesn't that mean the Dark Souls prequel is likely delayed?"
"Damn, you're right! So at the expo, will we still get to play a demo of it?"
"How should I know? And Lucas never said there'd be a demo at the expo anyway. He only promised new info."
"I can't take it anymore! No Dark Souls and I'll die!"
"Come on, man. No Dark Souls, sure, but Lucas gave us a test DEMO, didn't he? Maybe we can at least catch a glimpse of the new VR features from it!"
"You're overthinking it. The PC and VR versions won't feel the same. It might be super scary in VR, but on PC it probably won't hit as hard."
...
At Nebula Games, Rachel, Anna, and Hector were also watching the online discussions. Their expressions were complicated as they read through the comments.
"Lucas, this 'Warrior of Love' nickname of yours… I don't think you'll ever shake it off," Anna sighed.
"Exactly!" Rachel nodded.
Everyone was curious about Silent Hill PT when they first heard it was sent to Game Division as a VR testing DEMO.
But since they couldn't experience the VR version, they used the same data to build a PC version instead. And finally, they got to feel that crushing sense of fear for themselves.
Of course it couldn't compare to the VR version, but that was exactly why it felt even creepier to them.
"No way around it, this is also for the players' sake. Tell me, isn't 'Silent Hill PT' an amazing demo even if it's short? With such great level design and puzzle elements, if players couldn't experience it, wouldn't that be a huge loss?" Lucas said with a smile. Then he added, "Besides, look at this—players have already given us the perfect excuse for why we don't need a 'Dark Souls' prequel demo."
Hearing Lucas's words, everyone around the table fell silent.
"And if players respond really well, I think in the future we might consider making a more complete Silent Hill on the VR platform, not just a short demo," Lucas said, stretching lazily.
A complete one? On VR?
Was he finally dropping the friendly act and showing his true side?
Wouldn't that mean as many players as play it, just as many might get scared to death?
At this rate, Nebula Games could just switch careers and open a hitman company!
While everyone was still speechless, the main theme of the gaming world in front of the gameplay expo had already shown up—screams!
In households everywhere, countless players who tried Silent Hill PT all let out blood-curdling shrieks, like pigs being slaughtered.
Yes, the PC version was much less intense than the high-immersion VR one.
But compared to Kojima's PT in Lucas's past life, thanks to the tech of this parallel world, Lucas had made the visuals far more realistic. And visuals are the heart of a horror game. This made the PC version much more immersive than the original.
As a result, most players quit the moment Lisa turned her head for the first time.
A smaller group of players gave up earlier—just from the glimpse of Lisa peeking through the bathroom door crack.
It couldn't be helped. It was too scary to keep going!
Compared to Outlast, even though this was only a demo, many felt it was far scarier.
It was just a game, yet playing it felt like risking their lives.
And if the PC version was already this terrifying…
Then the VR version built for testing must be on another level!
Even players who had never met the official testers started to feel sympathy for them after experiencing Silent Hill PT themselves.
On the forums, players gathered to comfort each other and share their misery.
"Damn it, who was the idiot who said this demo wouldn't be that scary? I'll add a curse to your character!"
"Exactly! Unlike Outlast which is full of jump scares, this demo only has one or two. But the constant pressure and dread, and then suddenly that one scare hit me so hard my poor heart nearly stopped!"
"The crying baby in the bathroom, and then the ghost woman banging on the door—I literally pissed myself!"
"The worst part is the graphics. Why the hell did Lucas spend so much budget on a demo? It's way too real—it's killing me!"
"When the ghost turned her head like she wanted a kiss, I threw my mouse across the room!"
On the streaming platforms, many streamers were falling apart.
When streaming Outlast before, they could at least move forward step by step. As long as they weren't scared off, it wasn't too hard to finish.
And new areas gave them some comfort—every new area meant they were closer to escaping.
But this demo, Silent Hill, was only about half an hour long according to the description. The problem was, it was built around puzzles!
If you couldn't solve them, you'd be stuck in the house forever, looping endlessly with Lisa!
Though honestly, being stuck with Lisa meant having a wife, a kid, and a house. Kinda tempting, wasn't it?
The only drawback… it really wears down your heart.
(End of The Chapter)
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