Which games are in high demand right now? Mostly those where you don’t really need to think or solve anything. Games that require deep and lengthy contemplation are much less popular, while games where all you can do is be afraid of everything around you usually end up gathering dust on the back shelf in stores. The horror game Slender is the subject of today’s review.
The Faceless Man
Let’s start with a bit of backstory. Rumor has it that there is a man who appears at night near dense and frightening forests and rivers. He likes to appear before lonely travelers on their path. What happens to people after meeting him, no one knows, because no one has ever managed to look this man in the face and return alive; those who encountered him disappeared without a trace and were never seen again.
In the dark, dark forest...
There is practically no story in the game. After a short cutscene, our hero immediately finds himself in a dark forest with a single brief instruction: “Find 8 notes” — that’s the entire plot. Our hero has neither a gun nor a knife in his pocket, only a flashlight to light the way; otherwise, you can’t see anything in the pitch darkness. There are no hordes of monsters jumping out from behind every tree in this game. There is only one creature that instills fear and horror — the Slender Man. Coming face to face with him means the end of the game.
Loneliness
After playing this game, you’ll realize that pitch darkness, the frightening sounds of the surrounding nature, and complete solitude in the game are much scarier than hordes of ruthless monsters. You wander around a map that is randomly generated each time, so you have to explore it anew every time you play. Eventually, overcoming the overwhelming sense of fear, you find the first note, which contains no useful information—just a brief message: “Don’t look him in the eyes.” The feeling of fear immediately intensifies, the soundtrack becomes more oppressive, and it gets truly creepy. And when you spot the Slender Man in the distance, there’s an irresistible urge to quit the game and delete it from your PC. But we’re not faint-hearted, so we continue our journey.
Genuine Horror
We move on and suddenly stumble upon an abandoned building, shrouded in darkness just like the rest of the map. The flashlight starts to flicker and its light becomes much dimmer than usual. It's scary, but we need to find another note. Suddenly, static appears on the screen, and there he is — the Slender Man. The horror is overwhelming, and the game ends, because you can only look at this "boogeyman" from a cannon’s distance, and even then, only for a few seconds.
***
Clearly, this game needs some improvements in terms of graphics, and the sound effects could also use some work. However, when it comes to genuine fear and horror, the game scores a perfect hundred. You will definitely be scared—a lot and intensely. So if you’re not a coward, go ahead and hunt for those notes. But if you’re a timid person with weak nerves, it’s better to stay away from this game.
