Ultra-Indie Daily Dose: Play As Killer And As Cop In Harmful: The Second Tape
Hello, you glorious gluttons for all things indie horror! Are you just starving for the newest of the new, the most unknownest of the unknown? If so, you’ve come to the right place. Welcome to the Ultra-Indie Daily Dose! In this series, we’re going to pick a new game every day from an indie horror creator you’ve probably never heard of. No million-dollar budgets or factory productions. This is the space for the little guy with not but a developer toolkit and a dream. So if you’re down to roll the dice on something different, then stick around and check it out!
Today’s Daily Dose comes courtesy of developer ToothandClaw. Recently featured for their other game, The Petrified King, the title we have now is Harmful: The Second Tape. There is, of course, a first Harmful tape, which you can find here. But H: TST is such a good follow-up, I wanted to write about it first.
Harmful: The Second Tape has you playing as a federal agent, investigating a series of grisly murders. Having come into possession of the killer’s videotapes, the game is about the agent watching these tapes, seeing through the eyes (or at least, through the camcorder) of the deranged person he is chasing. So actually, you’re seeing it through the eyes of the agent seeing it through the eyes of the killer. Is anyone seeing this through our eyes? Too horrible a question to contemplate…
Gameplay shifts between the two (one?) characters. Harmful: The Second Tape transitions from sequences where you’re playing as the agent, sometimes investigating crime scenes, and sometimes watching the videos. In the tapes, you play as the killer, going through the act of stalking your prey. An interesting way to shift perspective, collapsing the premise of Dead by Daylight into one PSX-style game.
Harmful: The Second Tape is generally $2, though frequently it goes on sale for 100% off. You can buy the game from itch.io by clicking here. And be sure to check out the first Harmful by clicking here.
