GamesSurvival HorrorClock TowerClock Tower: Rewind’s Scissorman is the original survival horror stalker, and it still makes me want to cryWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesSurvival HorrorClock TowerClock Tower: Rewind’s Scissorman is the original survival horror stalker, and it still makes me want to cryWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Human Entertainment, WayForward)
It’s a hook that’s become easier to pull off in the modern era as game technology has gotten better. Yet it’s remained a hard trick to pull off for a long duration. But what if I told you one of the earliest games to do it,Clock Toweron the SNES, wasn’t just one of the most influential horror games ever in how it pulled it off; but that even today it stillterrifiesme to my stainless steel core? The series has long had a cult-following, but the very original, released in 1995, has only just been officially released outside of Japan with Clock Tower: Rewind.
Deliberately repetitive hallways are truly hard to follow, a noose-knot you must untangle.
Deliberately repetitive hallways are truly hard to follow, a noose-knot you must untangle.
Scissorman cometh
(Image credit: Human Entertainment, WayForward)
That alone would be bad enough. But being alone is not a luxury Jennifer is allowed. On a primarily 2D plane, she walks through the halls as disconcerting sounds punctuate the otherwise silent score, from screams to distant telephone ringing. Her walk speed is glacially slow, and jogging quickly uses up stamina. Controlled like a point-and-click game (the PS1 box art calls it a “horror adventure” – survival horror wasn’t an established genre at the time), Jennifer has to return to the front of the room every time she interacts with something further in the background. It’s all very sedate.
Sometimes he’ll simply be inside a room or hallway you enter, turning his sights on you as you stumble in. But, more often than not, he has several dramatic entrances he can make throughout Clock Tower’s many rooms. He’ll crash down from a skylight right in front of you; he’ll emerge from a tub of water in which a victim’s body has been left to rot; he’ll be standing behind a curtain when you check it (which, devilishly, is also a the spot in which one of the most important items in the game can sometimes be found). He’ll even drop a ceiling panel in the music room to play a jaunty song with his feet on the piano as he sidles toward you.
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(Image credit: Human Entertainment, WayForward)
Scissorman’s even been made slightly smarter in Clock Tower: Rewind’s eponymous ‘Rewind’ mode (the very original SNES experience is also an option), pursuing Jennifer more relentlessly from room to room – thankfully, her stamina recovery has been tweaked slightly to match that as well.
Meet him head-on, and you can mash the action button to try to knock him over and run past. After all, you can only move left and right and in and out of doors, so there’s only so many avenues to make your escape. Jennifer’s stamina and health are one-and-the-same. Get too low, and she’ll trip over as she runs, and be unable to fend off the Scissorman’s attacks. If he gets you from behind, it’s an instant Game Over.
Hide and seek
(Image credit: Human Entertainment, WayForward)
On a mechanical level, it kind of sucks, right? It’s frustrating. It’s slow-paced. It’s deliberately unfair. But I love it. I’mobsessed! Considering all the limitations Clock Tower developer Human Entertainment faced, it feels wildly ambitious, from the dynamic chases to the gorgeously detailed artwork and soundscape (Kono cites Dario Argentino’s films as a primary influence – specifically the likes of Suspiria and Phenomena).
Thanks to the shuffled nature of each playthrough, I’m going to panic while I try to remember which room had the hiding spot I’ve yet to use. Kono can explain how Clock Tower works as much as he wants, but when I’m wandering those halls myself… I’m not sure my lizard brain is capable of believing him? It transcends its limitations to become a deeper experience, and one that will always make me gloriously uncomfortable.
(Image credit: Human Entertainment, WayForward)
Second fear(Image credit: Human Entertainment)Clock Tower (Clock Tower 2 in Japan) released on PS1 in 1996, just one year later – the same year Resident Evil released. It features similar mechanics to the first game, but in three-dimensions. It still has fun moments, though it loses some of the original’s atmosphere.
Second fear
(Image credit: Human Entertainment)Clock Tower (Clock Tower 2 in Japan) released on PS1 in 1996, just one year later – the same year Resident Evil released. It features similar mechanics to the first game, but in three-dimensions. It still has fun moments, though it loses some of the original’s atmosphere.
(Image credit: Human Entertainment)
Clock Tower (Clock Tower 2 in Japan) released on PS1 in 1996, just one year later – the same year Resident Evil released. It features similar mechanics to the first game, but in three-dimensions. It still has fun moments, though it loses some of the original’s atmosphere.
Clock Tower and Scissorman have gone on to inspirenumerous other horror gamesand their stalker enemies. But it’s not been easy to replicate. Even Clock Tower’s own sequels, which moved to 3D, couldn’t hit the same – though they’re charming in their own ways. Pondering whether he’d ever like to return to the series in Rewind’s interviews, even Kono seems to feel similarly, suggesting he’d rather return to it with a retro-style closer to the original than chasing bigger budget realism.
Lovingly presented, Clock Tower: Rewind is a wonderful release that doesn’t just allow for an official way to enjoy the horror that started it all, but thanks to its enhancements it’s the best way to play it. While its titular rewind feature is actually a bit rubbish – offering roughly five seconds to scrub through, it barely covers Jennifer’s slow movement to look at a single object – the simple save system can still make the game a bit more approachable.
But it’s a great fan package too, from the previously mentioned interviews with Kono, to new animations and motion comics, booklet scans, and even a fresh arrangement of the theme song Sharp Laughter with vocals from Mary Elizabeth McGlynn ofSilent Hillfame. But most importantly, it recognises one of the most influential horror games of all time, finally giving the game its moment in the spotlight, and making it easier than ever for me to goad my friends into playing it. Walk, don’t run (because of the scissors), to enter the Clock Tower.
Disclaimer
Looking for more to play? We’ve picked out theupcoming horror gamesthat need to be on your radar. For right now? We have ourbest horror gamesright here! Looking for something scary that has some movie-like flair? Thebest games based on horror moviesmight be worth a look too!
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