Slender: The Arrival (Computer)
User Review
Product Information:
- Release Date (NA): March 26, 2013
- Publisher: Blue Isle Studios
- Genres: Survival, Horror
Game Features:
Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative
Review Approach:
Honestly, I've never liked horror. Even in movies. But this... this is an exception. After hours of fun playing the prequel to this game, I thought this wouldn't be able to beat it. Boy I was wrong.
After the massive success of Slender: The Eight Pages, the team at Blue Isle Studios brought back the fun from 2012 with this new sequel of the game that made even the eldest wet themselves.
Slender: The Arrival is the sequel to the worldwide phenomenon that is Slender: The Eight Pages. It features better graphics, a better storyline and a lot more spooky moments.
Story
Let's start with the story. The protagonist of the game is Lauren (though, in Chapter 6, the game can be played as Kate). After her friend goes missing, she travels to her house to go look for her. After being unable to find Kate in her house, she follows clues to a radio tower that is depicted in many pictures scattered around the house. Here, she follows even more clues to the girls disappearance, with the Slender Man aggressively chasing her and getting more agitated after each page is collected. Unfortunately, here I went to Wikipedia for help, having never collected more than 7 pages.
Outside Kate's house & Level Map
The rest of the game is dedicated to Lauren collecting more clues and trying to escape from the Slender Man. Chapter 4 reveals what happened to Kate in a flashback, showing that she escapes to a nearby park after confronting the Slender Man. This brings you to the end of the game and I'll leave that up to you to find out.
Clues & more clues
The main objective of the game is to discover what happened to Kate and CR (Kate's friend). This is mostly done by finding pages and notes scattered around the level. These are collectibles, and must be obtained before you can continue to the next level. In addition to this, small pictures are scrawled around houses and there are things like TVs and dead bodies that help explain the story even more. There are also handy text clues to help make decisions on what to do throughout the game.
Picture of CR.
Graphics & GameplayThe graphics are an improvement on the prequel, but not at all something you'd expect in a DICE game. I frequently experienced spots of lag (even after playing it on a computer with a 3790k and a 780), especially when the Slender Man was chasing you and even when one was simply walking. That being said, the game is easily playable. There is quite good music through most of the game, as well as frequent sound affects from the Slender Man, adding to the suspense and the horror of the game.
Enranged Slender Man.
Conclusion
If you like any sort of horror and enjoy video games, this one is for you. It has great gameplay and is thoroughly enjoyable, and has a great range of 'jumpy' moments for those fans. The storyline is impeccable, and keeps you wondering what is going to happen next the entire game. A recommendation to all.
(the attachments don't seem to work. Any admin feel free to fix it).
Verdict
What I Liked ...
- Great gameplay
- Smart and well-done storyline
What I Didn't Like ...
- Lag and the odd freeze
- Short 'campaign'
8
Gameplay
The gameplay, whilst short, is enjoyable and contains is very fun when you're running from the Slender Man, but can get boring after a while when you're looking for notes or clues.
7
Presentation
The area that is explored is built well, and is quite realistic. The randomness of notes and pages to collect within the area makes it that much harder to complete.
9
Lasting Appeal
Having asked a few friends (remember, I've never finished it before), the game can take as little as 20 minutes. That been said, they all say the game can always be played again and I agree.
8.5
out of 10
