Haunted PS1 Madvent Calendar 3: Necrosis
Video Description
Summary: The Haunted PS1 Madvent Calendar 3: Necrosis is a collection of 30 holiday-themed games that resemble PS1 titles.
The Haunted PS1 Madvent Calendar 3: Necrosis is the third installment in the Haunted PS1 Madvent Calendar. It’s a collection of PS1 style games, mostly with a Christmas theme. There are 24 games leading up to Christmas Day, then another six in the center of the map that are secret games. An event occurs that unlocks these. The games vary in length.
The overall story is that Bitey the zombie got blown up by her friend, Gifty, but of course she cannot die beacuse she’s a zombie and is technically already dead. She must then collect dreams to take out Gifty because he goes on a rampage and starts destroying the entire town. The curator (Skully) uses the dreams to take out Gifty.
My personal favorites are A Mad Christmas Carol, Do They Know, NAILHEAD, YuleTown, SWOLE, and Truss.
Table of Contents
RIIIP
Story: There is no story immediately present. Just avoid the enemy. When you make it to the end, you go into a coffin.
Gameplay: Rip through space and time again while avoiding some mysterious glitch. You can pound on the walls and the ones that are paper thin can be ripped. Each time you rip through an area, you fall into the next area. The glitch will always chase you. If you get caught, you restart that area.
Graphics: Very crusty look, like a PS1, but far more blocky. It’s hard to determine what things are sometimes.
Sound / Music: There really isn’t any music, mostly just background ambience.
A Mad Christmas Carol
Story: Skully invites you to an unknown realm for a test of fate. Enemies will visit you each night, and you must fight them off. At the end is a demonic Santa, and defeating him will end the game.
Gameplay: This is similar to one of those clicker / idle games, except nothing is automatic. Fight enemies and have a set attack, as do they. You both have health, and if you lose all your health, it’s game over. Defeat the enemy and you move onto the next one. As the days progress, the enemies get stronger and have more health. If your attack is more than your enemies health, then they will die without attacking you. When you defeat an enemy, you get gold to spend in the shop. The only way to access the shop is by starting anew. You can restart back to the beginning at any time, and it’s important to do if you’re about to die.
The shop has more powerful weapons, armor, and healing items. They will help you deal more damage to your enemies, have more health to withstand more hits, heal if damaged. By the end, the enemies are strong enough that you won’t be able to kill them in one hit.
It is quite repetitive, but pressing ‘G’ will activate God mode.
Graphics: I really like the look of the game. It’s a creepy Christmas living room background with the enemy in front of it. The game is in a box with all of your buttons and stats on the outside of the enemy window.
Sound / Music: There is one music track, kinda, that plays during the entire game. As well as a little jingle when you defeat an enemy. Then the amazing shop theme!
Do They Know
Story: Hollis lives in a welcoming and kind town that is surrounded by a gate. His task is to venture out and search for firewood. They let him go out, but things start to get strange. Going further and further as it gets darker and darker. He ends up falling and is in an odd place that looks radioactive. A doll is trapped within a box, and as he reaches in, his hands get stuck and he gets crushed from above.
Gameplay: Walk around the village, talking with people and completing tasks. It’s relatively simple. The main problem is the controls. They are very strange, even when using a controller. You have to use buttons you never thought you’d use for looking up and down, and doing other tasks.
Graphics: Nice and pixelated with a simple design for the characters. It’s like a cross of a PS1 and N64 game, but with a relatively dark atmosphere.
Sound / Music: The music is calm and relaxing. When venturing out of the town, things get eerily quiet. From there, the music gets dark and ominous. The soundtrack is available on two separate Bandcamp artist pages here, and here.
NAILHEAD
Story: Jack found a strange box in the cellar during a winter vacation. The box was covered in nails and devours him. He ends up killing his friends, Rebecca and Eric, in the cabin, except one who manages to knock Jack out. Now this friend must find a way to decapitate Jack and burn the box. Upon doing so, the box grows large and ends up consuming the character.
Gameplay: The game is pretty straightforward. It’s a small cabin, so analyze the environment, pickup some key items, and ultimately destroy the box.
Graphics: It’s a dark and creepy cabin.
Sound / Music: There is no music. But, the environmental sounds are pretty ominous and lead to a sense of dread.
For Goodness Sake
Story: It’s Christmas Eve, and you fear Krampus will get you, so you do some chores to get on the nice list. Each time you do a chore, you are given a moral question. Get all five correct, and Krampus will spare you. Get them wrong and he’ll capture you.
Gameplay: Just walk around the house, finding the spots where you do the chores, and answer the question following the chores. Answer wisely since one screw up could change the ending for the worse.
Graphics: It’s extremely dark, and has tons of static on the screen. It’s not the most pleasant thing to look at, but surely quite spooky.
Sound / Music: There is just ominous ambient music playing in the background. There are some creepy sounds too that makes you think something is there, but it isn’t.
Petra Theos
Story: A man awakens in the middle of the night. His dog is gone so he goes out to search for it. He ends up finding a mysterious rock and a strange entity starts chasing him. He runs back to the cabin. Three months later when he is sleeping he levitates and is transported into a different place with a gigantic rock with an eye on it, and a rock baby. He eats the rock baby.
Gameplay: Run around, find the rock, that’s pretty much it.
Graphics: It looks amazing. It’s completely black and white, but is nice and dark, looking creepy.
Sound / Music: There is a light ambience in the background, but not much else. The soundtrack is available on Bandcamp.
In the Drink
Story: A lonely researcher is at the bottom of the ocean. There are strange, friendly alien like creatures that the researcher talks to to get abilities for the submarine. After freeing all four friends, they join the researcher on the larger submarine for Christmas.
Gameplay: There is limited 3rd person controls, but most of the game is in the submarine, which I find hard to control. In the submarine, you collect gems, dash, and can use a laser. The laser can melt the ice that’s under water,
Graphics: It definitely has the PS1 aesthetics going for it. Jagged edges, low resolution look. Very nice.
Sound / Music: The music is calm and relaxing.
Antlers
Story: You’re a deer hunter and go to your secluded snowy area out in the woods. Killing the deer is fun, so you kill three of them and head to sleep. Upon waking, they’re all gone. You go out to search and find them mutilated, then a skeleton zombie deer attacks you. Deer are being teleported into space as well. But, you escape and decide to stop hunting.
Gameplay: It’s basically a walking simulator, followed by some hunting segments. Take the long walk to the cabin, don’t go the wrong way or you’ll need to walk all the way back. Right is always right. Once you get to the cabin, get the gun and start hunting deer. After killing each one, bring it back to your cabin and put it up. Then the zombie deer will come out, so run away and escape.
Graphics: The snowy, white landscape with the crusty pixels. Doesn’t look creepy at all, which makes it not so scary when the zombie deer comes out.
Sound / Music: There is nice sounds of the wilderness, and a calm music in the background.
Occuleye
Story: A farmer accidentally summons the occult, and now the eyes have come and are invading your space, and the watchers are out for the attack. Burn the small eyes if you want to survive.
Gameplay: This is basically a survive as long as you can game, while gaining points. Get some wood, cut it up (if you can find the axe), and burn the weird eyes laying around, all while you are being chased by a large eye and have to watch out being frozen to death. You can go in your home where its warmer to prevent freezing. The eyes you have to burn can also spawn in your house, but under the floorboards, which makes it impossible to burn.
Graphics: It’s very dark, hard to find things, but at least the reds stand out and look nice.
Sound / Music: There is some ambience that plays, but the real jams play when the giant eye is nearby. It has a sick subwoofer attached!
Boulder Baby
Story: There is no story that’s immediately present. Either that or it’s extremely convoluted. Help a guy with a boulder, then you get crushed and enter a strange realm. Help the guy again and you’ll eat a penguin, and come out the backside. You’ll drown multiple times in the process.
Gameplay: What do you do in this game…? I have no idea. Just walk and interact and experience the weird goodness.
Graphics: Looks like an old game for the Nintendo system. The color pallet varies from each map, with a dithering effect on it.
Sound / Music: The music is quite strange. It’s 8-bit style music, and fits the game perfectly.
THY FLESH CONSUMED
Story: Head through the snowy cliffs and find your way to the village. When you find it, you enter a building with a deep hole and fall to your death.
Gameplay: This is a shooter, quite a difficult one at that. You have a revolver to kill very strange creatures that will stop at nothing to harm you. You can also dodge which will boost your power momentarily so that’s the best time to attack. You can pickup ammo and health along the way. There is also a shotgun which deals even more damage.
Graphics: This does not resemble a PS1 game, rather more of a modern game with nice graphics. Everything is clean and clear and looks really good.
Sound / Music: There is very minor music in the background, but it’s not much. Mostly just the environmental sounds. The first set of creatures also sound like dogs.
Night Guard Skull Steve
Story: You’re a skull night guard of a museum, so make sure the guests leave before closing time.
Gameplay: Since you’re just a skull, roll around the four paintings to make sure the ghosts leave. The map is super tiny and easy to complete. Get rid of 33 ghosts and you’re all good.
Graphics: It looks like a N64 game. It is colorful and a bit dark as well.
Sound / Music: The music is cute and catchy. The sounds of the skull are also quite funny.
Santa’s Shop
Story: Check out Santa’s Shop and you may find something you weren’t meant to find…such as Santa who will eat you.
Gameplay: Walk around with your flashlight and look out for shadows. You can tell where you’ve been by the snow that creates a path behind you. Just listen for the music and follow it until you find Santa.
Graphics: It looks super low res and blocky, even smeared and motion blur at times. Very dark and creepy. One of the creepiest looking ones.
Sound / Music: There is creepy music playing in the background. It gets louder the closer you get to Santa.
YuleTown
Story: As you move into your new home, try not to get killed by giving presents to the Yule legends. Give them what they want or else Krampus will get you. After the gifts have been given out, it’s time to party!
Gameplay: Walk around the village, talking with the creatures, and finding out what they want for Christmas. There are two endings, one is to give them the right gifts. If you give out a single wrong gift you’ll get the bad ending and can start the gift giving again. The funniest set of characters is Santa and Krampus which are gay and you give them RuPaul’s Drag Race season 7.
Graphics: It’s like a bright and cheery cartoon. Very cute, but also sinister knowing what could happen if you mess up the gifts.
Sound / Music: There is a nice song that plays in the background, and when it’s party time, it gets even groovier.
DIGITAL HYPERSPACE RETROGRADE
Story: You enter digital space and must collect rings to make it to the top of the circular structure. At the top is the digital overlord and the game ends.
Gameplay: Collect rings to open the path upward. The controls can be floaty and too fast at times, making it hard to collect the rings without dying.
Graphics: The appearance of the game is a mess. There is so much going on that it’s hard to see. Vibrant reds, pinks, and other colors of the rainbow are present, and move very quickly.
Sound / Music: The music is the best part, it’s like drum and bass style music with a nice beat. Then it becomes relaxing music later.
Cordoba Court
Story: There is no story.
Gameplay: This game launches in the browser. You’re on a patio where you can create a plant or wall ornament with a short message for others to see.
Graphics: It’s a well modeled patio that plays well in the browser. Nothing too detailed, but still looks nice.
Sound / Music: There is no music, just a few sound effects.
Tears Of Christ
Story: There is no story, but there is a poem that is shown as you’re walking through the maze.
Gameplay: Walk around the maze until the poem ends and the game shuts down.
Graphics: Super blocky and crusty looking game, adding to the creepiness. You see the slit hands before you as they bob with each step. As you continue to move, the screen gets blurrier.
Sound / Music: The sounds of footsteps, buzzing, and knocking that makes it seem like you’re progressing into madness as time goes on.
Peace On Earth
Story: A small group of friends celebrates Christmas. However, they’re on the moon after it appears the Earth was destroyed.
Gameplay: Walk around the small cabin and talk with your friends.
Graphics: Characters have no faces, and there is a dithering effect over the game. However, it doesn’t necessarily look like a PS1 title.
Sound / Music: There is Christmas music playing in the background.
BloodBoarderz
Story: As a blood thirsty serial killer, you’ll kill anyone, anywhere, at anytime. So, you’ve decided to go snow boarding and do some killing. However, you get caught and go to jail.
Gameplay: Ski down the mountain with a knife, killing your enemies to increase your time and points. There is no objective to the game, just kill and compete for a high score. You start with one minute and three lives. If you run out of time or lose your lives, you’ll start at a recent checkpoint. When respawning at a checkpoint, you will not regain your time. You can also collect gifts along the way. It’s a very difficult game.
Graphics: It definitely looks like a classic PS1 sports titles. It has jagged edges, muted colors, and looks great.
Sound / Music: The music is groovy and matches other sports games that it’s based off of.
FUTILE
Story: There is no story.
Gameplay: Explore the empty island with a lighthouse. That’s it.
Graphics: It definitely looks creepy, a bit foggy, but also empty and nothing to it.
Sound / Music: There is just sounds of the ocean and wind.
SWOLE
Story: You’re on lockdown again after a pandemic has ravaged the Earth, so you focus on your physical form to get in shape and get SWOLE! Christmas is coming and lockdown is coming to an end, and you want to impress that second cousin after all. After you get SWOLE, you grow super tall. After you have maximized your SWOLEness, you ditch the tiger posters, computer, and pills and head outside. You’re a monster and ready to eat your entire family and cousin.
Gameplay: You’re in a tiny apartment and have to eat protein, check your phone for the latest social media posts, and use your computer for virtual SWOLEness. In this virtual reality, there are a bunch of others exercising to get SWOLE. Take your pill to get even more SWOLE in the real world.
Graphics: There are two types of art styles. The one in your apartment which is mostly muted colors and untextured models, but with some artwork of people kissing tigers. And the game world which is more vibrant neon colors.
Sound / Music: There is some music that plays in the background of the computer game, and really good electronic music that plays when you’re dreaming and the narrator is speaking.
A Mall Near You
Story: Mom has dropped you off at an abandoned mall. Explore the dead mall and get gifts for your family. You have to return a bunch of items too. There are no customers, but just a few shops are open for business. When you have them, the mall closes and mall demons will come out. Be careful! Leave the store and mom will be waiting to pick you up.
Gameplay: Walk around the abandoned mall and talk with people, figuring out what they need and getting gifts. There are a total of ten.
Graphics: The colors are muted and have a cartoon look to them. Things get spooky and dark when the mall demons come out.
Sound / Music: There is mall ambience and music from the stores.
Dream Loser
Story: You awaken in your room and have to go to the bathroom, but the door is locked. When you turn around, your wall is completely gone as you venture out into a hedge maze. You meet a strange man who will help you in exchange for 12 rabbit heads. In the maze is a mysterious creature that can wear your skin, and is after you, so be careful. Upon giving the man his rabbit heads, he opens a path, but a creature begins chasing you. Escape and enter the portal, you dream loser.
Gameplay: Hunt for those rabbits with a machete. But, something is chasing you, so watch your back. You don’t hear it coming.
Graphics: Everything is dark and mostly gray color pallet. There are many stars in the sky. Your crosshair is an upside down cross.
Sound / Music: There is ominous music playing in the background. The man has a heavily computerized voice.
Truss
Story: Venture out of your cabin in the middle of a snowy night in the woods. Something awaits you, and you chase it. But end up getting lost, so you close your eyes and are back in your cabin. Except this time the outside is different. You will do this many times that night, not sure if you’re awake or asleep as things get stranger and stranger. You enter another cabin and find a mirror to see yourself. You’re a hollow line creature, who’s flame within them has been extinguished, and want to burn again. The flame within you that drives and motivates you. Then you realize that you shouldn’t hide from the flame, but embrace it, pursuing what you love, no matter what.
Gameplay: Put the wood into the fireplace and your cabin will be revealed. You can close your eyes which will bring you back to your cabin. Go back and forth between awake and asleep as messages become clear to you.
Graphics: A PS1 vibe for sure, where the game starts off with a fireplace and expands to your cabin. The outside is both dark and creepy initially.
Sound / Music: The music changes as you interact with objects. It’s dynamic depending on what you interact with and objects you are near. It’s MIDI-like piano tracks, with a relaxing environment.
Merry Crisis
Story: Send the dreams you have collected (the prior days of Madvent) to the curator (Skully). Bitey helps you to take down Gifty which has gone on a rampage. However, he grows even stronger! He grows into a giant and wreaks havoc on the city.
Gameplay: Move around and shoot missiles at the eight towers to take away Gifty’s power. The controls are difficult to get use to, but if you die, you just respawn with your progress saved.
Graphics: Vibrant rainbow colors of the towers, with a snow storm obfuscating your view slightly. Really nice visuals.
Sound / Music: There isn’t really much music, mostly just shooting noises.
Cancelled Christmas
Story: Uh oh…Santa didn’t deliver the presents this year, and now elves are the emergency task force set out to deal with this crisis.
Gameplay: This is a rail shooter. You shoot demonic elves as they try to shoot you. In order to get the game to work correctly I had to enable Application DPI Scaling settings on the EXE since your shots won’t register correctly if you have a high resolution monitor and have scaling turned on in Windows. However, there must’ve been an update as that no longer worked and this 4:3 game was zoomed in. I had to go into the registry and make sure the resolution for the game was set to 800x600px and application scaling turned off and it worked correctly.
Graphics: Colorful elves, white environment.
Sound / Music: There are nice nature sounds, along with gunshots.
Box Game
Story: You had to stay late after work for mandatory training. You must return to your boss and drop off your card and leave before the snow storm gets too bad. However, you get sidetracked and find a deep underground passage, and the manager is mad! He wants to sacrifice you to the God of Parcels. Destroy him and that’s it.
Gameplay: Travel around the empty office building and find ways to progress. It resembles a classic horror game, collecting keys and progressing, but nothing too scary happens…well you have to scan barcodes that are enemies, barcode snakes…so yeah…Not to mention the maze that is the parcel room. Don’t get lost! And the boss is rigged.
Graphics: Low resolution, dithery graphics that definitely resembles a PS1 title.
Sound / Music: The silence is eerie.
Jennifer’s Nonsensical Christmas Adventure
Story: Jennifer is the temporary new Santa, as the real one needs to rest. But, she lost the final present, a car. She needs your help to search for it. Heading to the bar, you find that someone has stolen it, so Jennifer makes him crash it and get it back. Oops…it’s not the car and you’ve commited a crime and are now in jail. She disguises herself as the president of Placeland, and the guard says he’s the president of the United States, Jonathan Guy. He requests they go out to dinner. But, he admits he knew Jennifer was in a disguise the entire time. It turns out that the guard stole the car from Santa since he didn’t get it the prior year’s Christmas. As he was talking, you and Jennifer escape and steal his car. Christmas is saved!
Gameplay: This is a text adventure, but there are no choices.
Graphics: Cartoon style graphics that look really nice. The font is also quite unique with certain letters being lowercase, but most others are uppercase.
Sound / Music: Nice music plays in the background.
Calm the Wolf
Story: It’s New Year’s Eve and Belik has been bitten by a werewolf and has isolated himself away from his friend, Alessa. He says to Alessa to kill him if he turns, but she doesn’t want to make that promise. He manages to control himself and not transform. However, if you fail, he will transform.
Gameplay: As fireworks are going off, you have to relax yourself so you don’t turn into a werewolf. Keep the cursor in the green area as your heart beats, and away from the fireworks as they explode.
Graphics: The game looks very pixelated and the character has no faces.
Sound / Music: There is some relaxing music that plays with a rapid heartbeat and fireworks in the background.
Happy New Fear
Story: As Gifty starts climbing the tower to get you and Bitey, Skully shoots a purple beam at Gifty, stopping him from his rampage. He melted down the evil Gifty to his core, the real Gifty, as well as a man named Mook Spookem, which was the mayor of New Spook city. They all went out for bubble tea. The end!
Gameplay: There is no game, just a video.
Graphics: It’s like a hand drawn with crayon storyboard.
Sound / Music: There is groovy music that plays for the ending cutscene and after it.
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