With countless indie chillers heading our way this year and growing signs that mainstream gaming may be following suit, Mark Butler asks whether we’re about to enter a new golden age for the criminally-neglected survival-horror genre.
VGChartz's Lee Mehr: "Slender: The Arrival is a frustrating horror game in that it's easy to complement specific elements while disliking the core conceit. I may have found Slender's origins to be flawed from the start, yet I'm also left commending a full-fledged game rising out of creepy pasta threads. If nothing else, it's a sign of earnest appreciation from unexpected source material. But when I feel more legitimate tension from linear sections than repeated trial-and-error collecting bits – i.e. the series' main identity – I can't help but feel something is fundamentally lacking. The 10th Anniversary Update showcases Blue Isle's sedulous care in honoring the past, but it's nevertheless tainted by a game trying to pad out a one-trick pony."
Kind of a shame how quickly this game fell off after it's popularity. It even got a movie faster than any other horror game of the last decade. Still an interesting concept and design for the cryptid.
True. If there's one takeaway I'll consistently have for Slender Man, as a property, is its rise to prominence from humble origins. I think Amnesia: The Bunker would be a great foundation to look at for new ideas too. There's still hope for him to star in a stellar title, but Blue Isle (or another dev) has to look past this incongruent mishmash of templates.
Was it ever actually good was basically meme worthy from day 1 and resulted in some quick cash in attempts the whole concept felt like it was built off of a early 2000s forward to X number people or X will appear at night and kill you.
@Profchaos
Your thoughts on The Eight Pages (freeware game) seem closely aligned with me. Even at the beginning, I found the execution to be flawed. But what I'm arguing is I think someone *could* make a good Slender game. Amnesia: The Bunker can be a good place to look as to how it could be done were he the sole villain.
WTMG's Leo Faria: "This brand new 10th anniversary remake of Slender: The Arrival might be an impressive visual overhaul of what was once a cheap-looking horror game, but at its core, it’s still the same janky and frustrating walking simulator released ten years ago. It may be a cult hit in the horror gaming community, but I didn’t find it very scary, nor compelling. I will give Blue Isle Studios credit for showcasing what Unreal 5 can provide to smaller games and teams, but sadly, mechanic-wise, nothing else of importance has been added. If you haven’t liked Slender: The Arrival back then, I doubt this overhaul will convince you otherwise."
If you are yet to play a Slenderman game but are a fan of all things horror, Slender: The Arrival on Xbox Series X|S is the version to step into.
YES....Once Amnesia A Machine For Pigs releases.
Dont forget Outlast
It doesn't stop at survival horror imho, I think we are going to reach a golden age for smaller studios in general. Thanks to stuff like kickstarter and Steam's early access thing, it's getting a lot easier for independent studios to make their creative ideas a reality.
With the increasing costs of AAA titles, the big games are taking less and less risks and I'm so glad there are smaller games picking up the pieces and offering niche gamers a place to go.
After playing Chivalry and Loadout, for me I see my gaming future relying more and more on these independent studios. This weekend I plan on buying Insurgency, loved the HL2 mod and miss the real tactical FPS shooters.
Asylum looks very promising and is from the creators of scratchers. Among the sleep needs funding and support at the moment it will be great if everyone funded this game.