Initial Research - Haunting Ground

I noted that in Fred you were unable to fight back against hostiles and were forced to avoid the ghosts and other enemies by jumping over them or finding a way round them. I like the idea of forcing the player to think strategically about escaping their enemies.

The survival horror game Haunting Ground uses this form of gameplay very well. Fiona, the plyaer character, is trapped in a large castle and must explore it and its grounds to find a means of escape. Accompanied only by the dog Hewie, Fiona must solve puzzles, explore the castle and avoid persuers in order to try and escape the castle.

During the course of the game the castles inhabitants will begin to chase and attack Fiona on sight. The four characters that make up the castle staff will chase her one at a time as the story progresses. The player must defeat each one in a boss battle before the next 'stalker' is introduced.

The only means of defense against the stalkers is Hewie who can distract them and bite them after enough damage is inflicted on them they will be incapacitated for a short period of time, allowing the player to get as far away from them as possible. It is also possible for Fiona to kick enemies and can create alchemic weapons to stun or simply slow them down.

Despite being given the option to do so, directly attacking the stalkers are not advised as they can easily over power Fiona and Hewiw isn't always reliable even if you have treated him well (you can train him to obey your commands). The only sure fire way to get enemies and stalkers to leave you alone is to run away from them and hide. Hide spots are found everywhere though out the castle. The player can hide under beds, behind curtains and doors and even in warderobes.

The player must carefully scout around the area for possible hiding places and escape routes and train Hewie to obey your commands so that he can quickly attack hostiles to slow them down, allowing the player to escape without too much danger of a game over.

The game shares many similarities with Capcoms other game Clock Tower 3, as the player must flee and hide from the 'Subordinates' instead of directly engaging them.