First Impressions: Slender: The Arrival (PC)

Slender: The Arrival is a full fledged version of the free game, Sleder: The Eight Pages that scared the shit out of the internet back in 2012.  For those of you all who are not familiar with the Slender Man mythos, you can read about it either on Wikipedia or any other numerous websites, but in short, Slender Man is a variant on a bogeyman who takes children.

Original pictures by Victor Surge, 2009.

So, what started out as a couple of short sentences in a "create your own paranormal image" thread has turned into a pseudo-legitimate urban legend with it's own cultish-type following, as well as two video games, Slender: The Eight Pages, in which you wandered around an enclosed forested area and picked up eight pages placed randomly on landmarks all the while avoiding the Slender Man.  And now, it's current full fledged iteration from Blue Isle Studios, Slender: The Arrival, which was released back in March, 2013.

I gave this game a go a few weeks back at the request of Conklederp wanting me to play a scary/horror game that had a story.  Both of us really enjoyed playing/watching each other having a go at Slender: The Eight Pages, so I began this new iteration only knowing that the full game had been expanded but not much else..

Slender: The Arrival, like it's predecessor is an FPS/POV horror game where you have to collect items/pages/documents as you progress through the level/stage.  You can walk briskly and sprint, look around with or without a flashlight (once you find one which is a nice touch) and pick up papers.  The game itself is pretty basic and the mechanics have pretty much stayed the same from the first game to this one, which is nice since they are trying to keep, maintain and grow the original fan base.

It turns out that my first playthough (I did not make it through Chapter 1) I accidentally accessed a secret hidden level, which Conklederp and I thought was a really elaborate glitch, but equally creepy and unnerving in it's own way.  The second time playing, I completed Chapter 1 and made it through part of Chapter 2 before I was "caught".  I feel like I am now stuck at Chapter 2, but just mentally stuck.

Chapter 2 is a modified version of Slender: The Eight Pages.  The chapter title is even called "The Eight Pages."  But what's that you say?  Isn't the whole game a modified version?  Well yes, but The Arrival is like an expansion as a whole, where as Chapter 2 in The Arrival, you are in an enclosed wooded area where you have to collect, I assume, eight pages before you can proceed while being "chased" by the Slender Man.

This is where I become mentally stuck.  I played The Eight Pages quite a few times and each time I failed to collect all eight pages as I would either be caught after locating X:8 pages or my flashlight would go out and inevitably be caught as I stumbled around in the darkness.  I would like to assume that this area in the game is easier than the whole of The Eight Pages, otherwise I just ran into a brick wall that I am not willing to spend a whole lot of time on figuring out how to climb over or dig under.

Jesus I hope I can't see it!

So that is where I am currently at with Slender: The Arrival.  I like that there is an attempt to create a story where there was very little to begin with and what I have played I really enjoyed.  The graphics are well done and the controls are your standard FPS PC WASD set up so as long as you're comfortable with the Left Shift being used for sprinting, then you are all set to go.  As long as you don't mind being scared by static, as if kids these days even know what static is.


~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian
You Better Get Up While You Can

Review: 5 Days a Stranger

(I want to quickly mention that I decided I should play '5 days' after playing 'Slender' for ten minutes and totally freaking out and being too scared to play Slender anymore  --that game is fucking scary.)

Happy Halloween.  This last weekend I played through 5 Days a Stranger, the first game of the Chzo Mythos; a PC game series by Yahtzee Croshaw, spanning 5 point and click adventure games of the 'Psychological Horror' Genre.

I was pleased with 5 Days a Stranger.  The graphics and sound aren't great, it doesn't have brilliant gameplay by any means, but the plot, characterization, and general execution of the story are solid.  I put in about 3-4 hours to beat the game, and I would say that it was definitely worth that time.

I will admit that midway through day 3 I went to Gamefaqs to find help.  I had gotten to the point where I was walking back and forth, scouring each room, over and over again, and finding nothing.  The game was losing its fun, replaced by frustration. I was getting tired of the sound of my characters footsteps. So I did what I thought was best to preserve my enjoyment of the game- I cheated.  That is, I found a walkthrough and I followed it.

The general interface could use some work.  Sometimes I was trying to click on a menu item or action, and my character would just start walking to the corner of the screen where the menu is located.  This happened more than a few times, actually.  The gameplay quirks compounded my frustration at not solving puzzles, and I went back to the walkthrough whenever I felt this way, so that I could focus more on the unfolding plot. 

Though I may criticize, I think it is important to note that this is an amateur game, made by one person and the first in a series.  There are bound to be some bugs.  I don't think I could do any better. 

The story and the characters kept me playing.  And while the interface somewhat hampered the gameplay, and I couldn't figure out some of the puzzles, It was still an enjoyable gaming experience and I appreciate that.  After I broke the seal on the walkthrough, I had a great time playing through the game to the end.  

The gameplay of '5 days' is mostly a vehicle for the plot.  And while that vehicle may need some of its belts changed, and probably have the suspension looked at, the ride is worth it.  (Well look at that, a car metaphor)  

I recommend "Five Days a Stranger."  

Dvid

P.S.  I just started playing the sequel:  7 days a skeptic, and there are some things I am excited about.  First, the interface/pointer system is drastically improved.  I expect that this will greatly reduce the frustration factor with the game mechanics. 

A couple other details are:  it takes place in space.  That might be cool.  You play as the ships counselor.  I've been around the ship, and met the lead characters, and I'm excited to see how they interact as the plot moves forward.  Fun times!

First Impressions : Slender

Hey, it's October! It's getting cold, people are putting fake spiders on their houses, and Army of Darkness is playing in theaters. You know what that means- Halloween is near! I am a horror junkie, so I never pass up a good excuse to scare myself.

Jaconian has mentioned a game called Slender in some previous blog posts, and a few days ago he got me to play it. I'd watched him play before and it was creepy but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. I'm a pretty big fan of all things horror and I don't frighten easily, so I figured why not?

How do I say this? Slender scared the crap out of me. The first thing I learned was that being the one behind the controls suddenly makes everything more real. I realize this might seem obvious, but I'm usually the person watching, not playing. Suddenly I had to make all the decisions. And if "Slenderman" shows up, he's here for me, not somebody else. And as a person who doesn't do a whole lot of PC gaming, having a poor grasp of the controls made it even more horrifying. Like I can't run away even if I want to. It also doesn't help any that the game design bears an uncanny resemblance to the woods where I spent my childhood summers.

Exhibit A : Vendée, Quebec

Exhibit B : Terrifying Slenderman-ville, Ohjeeztown

Yeah, I'm never going out there at night ever again. Slender definitely takes the minimal approach to horror. With the exception of some distant rumblings, a low, barely noticeable drone, and a super rare "scare chord" there isn't much of a soundtrack. You don't fight any enemies. You don't solve any puzzles. Your one and only goal is to collect eight pieces of paper that are randomly scattered throughout the game. The thing is, the more papers you get, the more you risk running into Slenderman. The game runs entirely on tension. It doesn't waste time with blood or violence. It elegantly accesses our deep-rooted fear of the unknown.

 Anyway, here are some notes I jotted down immediately after playing :

 Heart was pounding, mouth was dry, body temp. dropped a good 5 degrees, definitely screamed out loud when Slenderman popped out unexpectedly. Reminds me wayyy too much of Vendée. Okay guys, let's just go home now, okay??? HUGE difference between watching and playing, although watching is also pants-shittingly terrifying. Animation for when you get caught will haunt my dreams probably. Great!

The only negative I've heard about this game is that if you play it for too long it's possible to become desensitized, since the "caught by Slenderman" animation stays the same each time. Personally? I have yet to muster the courage to play for long enough to become desensitized in the first place.
Overall rating: 5/5

FPS: First Person Sickness

The content of the following post may change the way that some people see me.  Some people might feel that what I'm about to reveal/confess will not only make me less of a person, but less of a "gamer" as well.  To that, I rebuttal with: "Piss off."  Just do a Google search and you'll come back with over 100,000 results for motion sickness and video games.  It's not an isolated thing.  It's pretty common.  And that's what I'm here today to talk to y'all about.  Yes, I just typed "y'all."

But first off, I wanted to mention that I used to get car/motion sickness a bit growing up.  Up until sometime in Jr. high or late elementary I would have to either be sleeping or watching out one of the windows so as to not feel ill on car trips.  So, the happenings of motion sickness aren't entirely foreign to me.

So I just finished playing about an hour worth of Legendary (as of the writing of this, which I did a couple of days ago) and I had to stop as I started feeling the onset of motion sickness.  This is not the first time this has happened.  The very first time I felt motion sickness from playing a video game was back in 2006 when I was playing Time Splitters: Future Perfect.  When it happened, I recognized the feeling but at first couldn't figure out why it was happening.  I'd played other FPS' before (Goldeneye 007, Time Splitters 2, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter) and had never felt sick before, so I just chalked it up to just feeling sick for no good reason.  After the second time it happened, probably the following day, I realized that it was due to motion sickness caused by the game.  Did that stop me?  Uh-hell no!  I played a bit until I felt the first tinges of sickness, then stopped for a while, eventually going back to the game sometime after I felt significantly better.  Eventually the feelings of being sick stopped entirely and I was able to play all night/day/night/sleep/day etc.

I guess I felt that I had since become immune to FPS induced motion sickness as I hadn't thought about it again until earlier this year when the feelings of being ill came back.  Later in 2006, I purchased Time Splitters for the PS2 and was perfectly fine with that game.  When I played Doom 3 in 2010 in a darkened room with headphones, I felt perfectly fine; although maybe that had something to do with some sensory deprivation, or I'm just making shit up.  Then late last year/early this year when I started playing a lot of PC FPS' (Portal, Portal 2, Bioshock, Doom, Dear Esther), I felt perfectly fine.  

Then, a month or two ago, I started feeling ill after maybe 30 minutes of game playing.  This wasn't from some current AAA title either.  This was from Doom II: Hell on Earth.  By the end of the first level, I was starting to feel like I was going to be ill.  I've played Doom II now for only 58 minutes because I was feel like crap every time I play it.  I felt a little bit ill after playing Team Fortress 2, so I don't know what that's about.  maybe it's my eyes being too used to moving around and I'm just sitting still.  I've also played Slender for about half-an-hour and felt fine afterwards.  A little jittery about what was in any shadows, but physically alright.  And now, motion sickness again from Legendary.

A lot of the posts I've read about how to curb/cure this is to play often to adjust your eyes/brain to what's going on and that it's normal.  Another one is to move farther back from the screen, which I don't think is my problem as I currently have my laptop connected to our TV, which is about seven feet away from me.  I personally think that I might be able to lessen the effects by just playing an FPS frequently enough, but if it doesn't seem to stop, then I may just have to stop playing that particular game.

My name is Jack, and I sometimes get motion sickness from first person shooters.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

Now That That's Over, Time For French Fries!


Update: It is two hours after completing this post and I feel fine now, with no sign of nausea.  All I did was eat some baked french fries, drank a bottle of Ninkasi Total Domination IPA and finished watching Wrath of the Titans.  It wasn't a very good movie, although I liked Toby Kebbell (the guy who played Posiden's son).  I'd totally watch The Adventures of Agenor.  Let's get on that Warner Bros.