I personally do not think I will continue to follow the development of this game, as it's going in a direction that I just can not force myself to enjoy. I adored the original [i]Close Your Eyes[/i], and think it's issues, such as the rare annoying enemy encounter or tedious puzzle, were easy to overlook because, horror wise, it was really effective with such an interesting story and cast of characters. It also, most notably, did not overstay it's welcome, so even drawn out sections could be forgiven for their purpose to the overall story. I still adore it's characters to this day and, at first, loved the idea of learning more about them through seeing them in future projects. I wouldn't mind the development of this game being slow, or changes being minimal, if I felt that was what I was getting.
With a remake, there are so many chances to include added dialogue, scenes, and additional horror that help flesh out the characters. However, in actuality and in my opinion, this isn't what is being done here. The focus, instead, has been put on padding, with random puzzles that only slow players down, to new monster encounters with characters that are neither part of the original cast or developed enough for me to actually care. Both take away focus from the atmosphere, the story, and anything far more interesting going on at the time. The way these are being handled shows a lack of self awareness towards why players struggled with, or even outright disliked, puzzles and monster encounters in their previous games. It feels like [i]Close Your Eyes[/i] is being made to be more like the [i]Twisted Puzzle[/i] DLC, which was horrendous to play compared to the original game. If the thing missing from the original game was just more tedium and a longer run time, just the run time, not anything particularly interesting or important plot wise, and changes or additions concerning the characters are extremely minimal, then what is even the point of a remake? If the desire is for a game featuring Marshmallow Monk that has more puzzles and monster encounters, why not just make that instead?
Furthermore, the scare factor just isn't here anymore, I'm not scared by some random creature chasing after me while I'm trying to do something, I'm frustrated by it. The forced nature of the remake's horror, no longer relying on atmosphere but rather random additional somewhat upsetting visuals, feels very cheesy. In the original game, The Host and Simon were constant looming figures that felt is as if they might appear to mess with Marshmallow Monk at any moment. They were such unique and wonderful characters because the threat they posed was directly tied to the narrative. Rather than being cliche monsters that randomly jumped out at the player, the way The Host constantly toyed with the player and the way Simon constantly stalked them in turn, a combined, unyielding, and violent obsession with the main character, really got under my skin. It drew me into the dark world that game had crafted, being shown just how far they would go to satisfy this fascination at every turn, to the point I'd hesitate, but continue playing out of morbid curiosity. The claustrophobic environments made me feel stuck with them the entire game. However, here, The Host feels more like a mean spirited narrator than an actual threat, and Simon is yet another weird element on top of many weird elements present within the remake. It's hard to be convinced that either actually cares about Marshmallow Monk, outside of him being a passing curiosity, and it certainly does not feel as if they are creepily drawn to him the same way they were in previous games.
In short, being trapped with what's effectively a sadistic God and a relentless perv, is far more interesting and effective horror wise than random monsters that just look "scary" chasing the player.
The direction this game is taking also really shows a lack of focus on what would actually benefit Marshmallow Monk's story overall. On a smaller scale, I personally don't understand the need for a director's cut of [i]My Hole is a Mouth of Dirt[/i]. The original game was more polished than the original [i]Close Your Eyes[/i], and told it's story both succinctly and clearly, fitting so perfectly into the world that the previous games had created. On a larger scale, I don't understand the need for several other games to pull attention away from the remake. As a player, I'm really not interested in knowing every facet of Marshmallow Monk's life, just the important parts that would necessitate a remake, more accurately a reframing, of the original game. Otherwise, his story will just end up bloated. [i]Twisted Puzzle[/i] seemed to have really interesting lore, at least, from what few endings I could manage to collect while playing the original DLC. These additions would so much better suit the remake of [i]Close Your Eyes[/i] over a remake of the tedious DLC itself. If the original [i]Close Your Eyes[/i] is being remade to add extra content, why do we still need the DLC to expand upon it?
When it comes to where Marshmallow Monk is after the original game, [i]Feast Your Eyes[/i] already exists, and not only does it do a far better job developing these beloved reoccurring characters, it also reveals really interesting lore in a way that's effective horror wise, all while being an incomplete story. As far as I understand, it still [b]remains[/b] incomplete, despite the creator claiming they would complete it last year, which is extremely disappointing. It progressed things, rather than running players around the same narrative circles over and over again. A [i]Close Your Eyes[/i] remake could have aided in bolstering future stories about Marshmallow Monk, or any of the other characters really, by setting certain things in stone and offering a new perspective on the story. Instead, it feels like the creator is trying to completely reinvent the wheel to the point of breaking said wheel. [i]Close Your Eyes: Beneath the Surface[/i] does not give me any faith the creator genuinely wants to progress this, quite frankly, fascinating story, it just sounds like another survival horror game with the same issues as the remake. This isn't even mentioning the amount of additional games that have absolutely nothing to do with [i]Close Your Eyes[/i] that are being developed within this title.
As a creative myself, I can potentially understand where the creator may be coming from, and their original vision for [i]Close Your Eyes[/i], now that they can create it, might just not be for me. But even then, I can't say the more survival horror focus the game has taken is well implemented. Even if someone enjoys survival horror games, I can't see them taking much interest in underdeveloped monster encounters, a candle system that makes absolutely no sense and appears as if it will be more punishing than it's worth, and a frustrating mannequin puzzle, one which reveals the long going issue of enemies always being able to track where the player is, absolutely screwing them over despite their best efforts. I didn't mention the puzzle elements here because they're extremely basic. It's not just that I don't like survival horror or puzzle games, I actually adore puzzle games, but, as it stands, the remake is very bad at both of these things. There's no strategy, it's just brute forcing your way to the end, and I don't understand what this, or the other games, are adding to the experience. I understand the desire to rewrite old stories, but sometimes I think it's best to work with what you have and continue forward. This is where I bid this title goodbye, and go play the original(s) instead.
