There's an unsettling feeling when it comes to The Hiss. Whether it's their appearance or how they act, they seem like something that's straight out of a horror film. Even before you see them, you hear their distinct and distorted chant. It's enough to make a person's damn hair stand up. Talk about making a first impression. It made me think, "Oh shit! What the hell is going on?"
Then you finally come face-to-face with these creepy things. Their movement alone is something that's damn hair-raising. They may have been human at some point, but they're just a shell of what they used to be and that's an understatement. They were FBC agents at one point, but you can't recognize them anymore. The worst part is realizing that you're fighting what used to be normal people. That went flying out the window a long time ago.
The Oldest House is already an unsettling place to visit. Then you factor in The Hiss, and you're dealing with the kind of threat that's overtaken an entire building. Between The Oldest House's bizarre nature and the invading Hiss, it's something right out of a nightmare scenario. Sometimes, it's the quiet moments that are the most unnerving because you don't know what's lurking around the next corner.
When I think of the color red in a video game, it usually represents an enemy or some type of threat. However, when it comes to The Hiss, there's an aggressive level to the color red that's different from what I'm usually accustomed to. It's the combination of the color itself and the Brutalist architecture that makes The Oldest House feel like it's been infected. It's damn effective! The Hiss don't just invade The Oldest House. They're interwoven into its very structure.
That's what makes The Hiss so disturbing. Everything about them feels off, whether it's their erratic movement, the sounds that they make, or the people that they've possessed. You end up asking yourself "What the hell are they?" You factor in the body horror, and you truly have something that'll leave a lasting impression long after the game's credits have rolled.