Zoot Plays Slender: The Arrival

Opening:

Developed by Blue Isles Studios, Slender: The Arrival is a first-person fetch-quest and run-like-hell game that offers moderate chills and thrills. But is it “too” indie for its own good? In a word– yes. Slender was release on PC in 2012 and definitely feels several years old with stiff controls and very simple mechanics for current-gen console release. This game is filled with nuances that scream indie. But that doesn’t mean it’s all that terrible. Let’s take a look at it further.

Synopsis:

Lauren, the playable character, is off to her friend Kate’s house. Upon close to arrival, a tree falls over blocking the path, forcing Lauren to walk the twilight lonesome road while recording her every move. As she enter Kate’s dark, empty, foreboding, eerie home, Lauren tries to find clues and figure out what exactly happened.

Soon, Lauren finds scribbles, drawings around Kate’s room and letters throughout. Upon investigating Kate’s home, a scream comes from beyond the homestead. All the letters and drawing indicate that Kate had indeed been trying to hide from Him. But that bloody scream for life proved that Slender Man– an almost white, faceless man in a slim fitting suit– had finally gotten his hands on her.

Now it is up to Lauren to find out what happened to Kate; but at the same time Lauren becomes Slender Man’s next victim and it’s a race for her life to escape; but going back without finding out what happened to Kate is not an option. And those notes Kate left around tell of going through a forest to find a radio-like light tower. Maybe that’s where safety from Slender Man lies.

The Good:

– Thrills and chills. During the first couple chapters, while playing in a pitch black room, Slender Man and his minion REALLY scared me! I allowed it because not many games scare me these days. Seeing Slender Man is genuinely creepy!

– Artistic style is simple, to the point.

– Hey, at least that flashlight doesn’t need constant batteries like it did in Alan Wake.

The Bad:

– Very little story. Yes, there is a story, but with minimum cut scenes, little-to-no dialogue, and collectibles that are sometimes too time consuming to obtain because Slender Man is always on the hunt.

– Stiff controls that seemed plucked from the year 2001. Sluggish, delayed, and the invisible stamina bar that the player can’t tell how much running he/she has left before walking.

– Fetch quests are what this game is all about. Run around a small forest, collect 8 letters; run around a mine, turn on six generators, etc. What else is there besides that? Not much besides walking, running and bad hiding mechanics.

– Collectibles are scattered throughout the game (50 in all). But Lauren moves so slow it becomes a hassle to walk slowly 100 feet to get one. Many don’t offer much in relevance, but some are letters or notes that give a little bit of back story.

– Maps are usually, spawn at random point, go right or left; start collecting or figuring out how to get through route, until eventually Lauren (main character); makes it back to the beginning or somewhere close by and proceeds to exit.

– Felt “too” indie. Slender really felt like a game made from a first time indie developer. It doesn’t have much going for it; graphics are almost N64 style, mechanics were much too simple. Stereotypical indie that many indie developers try to shy away from these days.

– Slender clocks in at about two to three hours long. But there is an Achievement/Trophy for beating it at around 45 minutes.

Summary/Score:

Going into Slender: The Arrival, I knew NOTHING. I had never heard of the previous release on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. When first starting it up, I instantly felt an uneasy, deep ambiance of fright. Which was so very neat.

Slender really could have been a nice game if there was something other than fetch this, or collect that. But coming out of Slender, I still know not much. The story is gently lied out, sometimes too “open” and impossible to follow if the player doesn’t read EVERY note/letter; some of which I had to skip because the realistic handwriting was too difficult to make out without spending several minutes just to read a couple paragraphs.

Score: 6.5/10