When we reviewed Terrorbytes back in June, we were fairly complimentary about the ambitious docuseries, which aimed to chart the history of the genre through five unique episodes, but showed a bit of concern over the high price of entry ($27.99 for the digital download) and whether it would turn people off.
Fortunately, though, since then, it seems that the creators have taken this criticism onboard, slightly lowering the price to $19.99 over on their website and publishing the first episode in its entirety for free on YouTube. This means that if you were previously on the fence about buying the series before, you now have the opportunity to see what is being offered, before committing to purchasing the entire thing.
The first episode, which is called "Enter the Survival Horror", investigates "the dark origins and rise of the survival horror genre" and features incredible interviews with veteran developers like Hubert Chardot (Alone in the Dark series), Hifumi Kouno (Clock Tower), Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill), Denis Dyack (Eternal Darkness), John Romero (DOOM) and Jeremy Blaustein (Silent Hill 2), to name a few. This is in addition to conversations with authors, academics, and video essayists.
In total, it's roughly 1 hour 30 minutes long, and is a good indication on what you can expect from the later episodes, covering topics like licensed games; the rise, fall, and rise again of the FMV genre; indie horror; and the history of "cursed" and controversial video games.
You can watch the first episode in its entirety below: