Getting a horror game right is a tough ordeal. Balancing giving players exploration and an eerie feeling at the same time is something Slender: The Arrival, by veteran independent videogame developer, Blue Isle Studios, gets very right. The Slender man is a surprisingly effective villain. His creepy presence makes for an experience a person new to the slender games will not be expecting.
The setting of the game gives a sense of restlessness in a truly original way. The environment design feels polished, and the graphics are on par with other big android games. The lighting is gloomy giving the perfect setting for a horror game. The look and feel of the game are fantastic and apart from some rare stuttering and flickering, it perfectly complements the experience you expect from a game which you want to scare you.
The forest in Slender: The Arrival looks stunning. The foliage looks dense and impressive. The sun rays cutting through the leaves of the tall trees gives a real feel of being in a dense forest. The sound design really brings the environments in this game to life and make it feel like it has a mind of its own.
The gameplay is where Slender: The Arrival both shines brightly and falls flat. The first time you enter a new area and start exploring it, the sense of fear of being caught by the slender man gives a sense of urgency and will make the game feel very alive. The tall shadow stalking you and always on your tail really makes progressing in the game feel like a daunting challenge. However, once you inevitably must replay a setting you quickly start feeling disengaged as the design starts feeling repetitive and the imminent danger of being caught less threatening.
Most of the levels are very straight forward. You must find certain objects before the slender man and his allies creepily lurk behind you and leave you no chance of fighting back. This makes completing certain levels extremely hard. This can be off putting for certain players, but hanging in there certainly feels rewarding. Escaping the lurking shadows is a very rewarding experience but can sometimes feel difficult enough to a point where it almost feels overpowering. This makes Slender: The Arrival take hours to complete even though the game can seem short at first glance.
In conclusion, Slender: The Arrival is a game that will make you feel unnerved. There will not be a lot of jump-scares and other classic horror movie tropes but just the presence of the creepy shadows waiting in the dark is enough to make you sweat in place.
Game Score: 7/10
Check Out Slender: The Arrival Trailer:
Slender: The Arrival is available on the App Store and Google Play as a free download with the first chapter of gameplay unlocked.
For more information, please visit www.slenderarrival.com, follow @BlueIsleStudios on Twitter and Like on Facebook and Instagram, and watch on YouTube.
Related: Slender: The Arrival Haunts Your Mobile Devices Today
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