Sweet Home (1989 NES game)

One of the first survival horror games ever made, and still one of the most unusual (horror RPGs are rare things). I admire what it attempts, to conjure a sense of dread through its limited system mechanics (healing is a big deal), and I think it is mostly successful in that regard, but it shares the usual flaw of ambitious NES titles of its reach being far shorter than its grasp. I'm supposed to be clueless and desperate, yes, but not this clueless and desperate. Still, it conjures more scares than most modern titles, so I'd call this a success.

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