Fiona Belli Is An Amazing Protagonist
Hewie Is The Best Boy
7 Daniella Is A Truly Chilling Villain
Sometimes horror-survival games bring villains to the table that are cheesy or just plain not scary, but Haunting Ground did no such thing. Every enemy is terrifying in their own way, but Daniella stands out among them for being especially chilling.
The contrast of the chaos around her and her cool, collected energy is haunting.
At first, she simply moves around the house, completing the tasks that she’s been given, and serving Fiona with food and clean clothes. However, she eventually snaps because, in her own words, she is not complete, and becomes the new threat against Fiona. Dealing with her is unique and stressful. She’s quiet, fast, and intelligent, so evading her is hard, and the shard of glass that she uses as a weapon is surprisingly effective.
6 The Story Is Twisted And Incomparable
Fiona’s innocence makes a stark contrast against the dark, twisted story that is unfolding with her in the dead center of it. There’s an underlying notion of perversion to every little thing about the story that’s being told. Trying to cope with the loss of her parents would be hard enough without the constant, oppressive presence of stalkers that all seem to have sickeningly suggestive intentions.
5 The Immersion Is Second to None
While playing Haunting Ground, players will find themselves feeling the same way that Fiona does. The fear that’s stricken into her heart when she hears something approaching becomes theirs. The stress of trying to solve a complicated puzzle, often while dealing with an enemy, becomes theirs, too. Perhaps most importantly, so does her feeling of helplessness.
There are several times where Fiona has no means of defending herself whatsoever, because her physical attacks are weak and her crafted weapons are finite. The player will be left with no choice but to hide from their stalkers, especially if Hewie and Fiona have been separated. The feeling of vulnerability is palpable.
4 The Environment Deserves An HD Remaster
A big part of what makes Haunting Ground so beautifully immersive is the environment. Poor Fiona has awoken in a sprawling castle that’s filled with potential dangers around every corner. Most of the rooms are filled with elegant but aged furnishings and decorations, though there aren’t very many signs of actual life. The walls and floors are made of stones and each step echoes, giving the impression that it’s most likely a cold, empty, and unnervingly quiet place.
It’s A Unique Gameplay Experience
The mechanic of being unable to properly fight defend yourself was used in games before, but Haunting Ground does it in a way that’s all its own.
Relying on Hewie for most things, from retrieving items to completing puzzles to protection fosters a dependency on him, while praising him, petting him, and feeding him makes him endearing. Fiona is a vulnerable young woman who’s being objectified against her will to a truly dangerous degree, spurring the player to want to protect her.
Growing to genuinely love Hewie and Fiona causes the stakes to feel even higher, because players don’t want to see either of them hurt.
3 There’s A Lack Of Female-Driven Survival-Horror Games
Like most genres, survival-horror tends to focus on men. Of course, there are some noteworthy exceptions, such as Resident Evil’s Jill Valentine and Claire Redfield, though it could be argued that each of them share their spotlight with a male counterpart.
2 It’s Obnoxiously Hard To Get Your Hands On A Copy
It isn’t uncommon in the survival-horror genre for games to become scarce over time, especially if they’re practically an exclusive for an earlier PlayStation model, and Haunting Ground is notoriously hard to hunt down. An intact version, meaning one that includes the booklet and the original case, can cost hundreds of dollars. Specialize resellers may have it, and it’s always possible to hunt it down on an auctioning site, but it’s not something that can be dug up in the vintage section of most popular gaming stores.
1 Capcom Literally Acknowledged It Recently
There have been quite a few games that have fallen through the cracks with Capcom, and for a while, it was believed that Haunting Ground was one of them. Until somewhat recently in 2018, when one of the costumes for Cammy in Street Fighter V was revealed to be Fiona’s classic outfit. The official Street Fighter Twitter account even mentioned it in a tweet.
Suddenly, the game wasn’t so forgotten about after all, and there was new hope for a remake! Though it’s been a full calendar year without another word, that hope hasn’t entirely dissipated. There are some things that you just can’t give up on, and a remastered (or remade) version of Haunting Ground that allows modern gamers to pay respect to one of survival-horror’s most underappreciated games is one of them.
NEXT: 10 Games To Play While Waiting For Resident Evil 8
