Rating of
3/5
The Premise is a Bit Thin, Man
Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/22/17
A short history of Slender Man: back in 2009 Eric Knudsen (aka Victor Surge) submitted two photographs for Something Awful's photoshop contest to turn an everyday photo into something paranormal. Adding a tall, black-suited spectral figure, along with some accompanying text. Essentially turned Slender Man into a Creepypasta superstar. Soon, the internets became flooded with short stories, pictures and even video series (Marble Hornets) about this supposed creature. It was inevitable that a game would follow and 2012 gave us Slender: The Eight Pages, a short game where you wander a forested area looking for the titular eight pages while Slender Man can sneak up, distort your audio and video and eventually catch you. It was short and effective, if a bit too pedantic. In 2013, writers of the Marble Hornets series, along with Eight Pages creator Mark Hadley, teamed up to provide a more fleshed-out version of his original game. Thus, Slender: The Arrival was born. While it may have captivated plenty of people back when it first came out, I don't particularly think it's all that scary and, like Five Nights at Freddies, is over-hyped based on people who want to be scared but haven't really experienced anything that scary before.
Presentation: The game does get the atmosphere right. From creepy music that starts and stops suddenly. The video and audio glitching out when Mr. Man is nearby and plenty of little touches that make you jump a bit, this is the game's best features. Granted, it doesn't look all that impressive by modern standards. The enemies you encounter work more on jump scares rather than a deep sense of dread - though, I admit, some of the jump scares were quite effective. Still, I find this gimmick rather cheap (from what I've seen of Five Nights at Freddies, it does this exceedingly well). But, the game manages to give a decent mix of the "gotcha" moments with an attempt to craft a deeper lore that gives it more depth outside of just being a cash-grab on a monster-of-the-week story. The game also does a good job of varying the setting - an abandoned farmhouse, mines, a forest on fire, hills, a secluded beach - at least it changes things up. It also does a good job of giving you some interesting asides. At one point you come across video cassette tapes and when you play them you are transported to another "level" where, essentially, you play out what you're character is watching on the tapes. Kudos for turning things on their head. It's a good atmosphere, but it can't quite elevate it to more than decent status.
Story: There is a story. Your friend has gone missing and, upon arriving at her house, you realize something is very wrong upon entering a room with plenty of manic scribbles about being watched and such. Pointed in the direction of a local lake and surrounding woods, you are tasked with finding pages (much like the original game) that will help you understand. It is at this point that Mr. Man shows up and begins harassing you. Even if you collect all the pages, you will find yourself overcome by the tall, gaunt monster and wake up much later, and nowhere near your starting point. The game jumps between present and past, and also follows the story of a young boy who went missing as well as a family who were once prominent in the area. Tragedy and death seem to follow and it seems Slender Man spreads like a virus - once you've seen him, you will be forever followed until you succumb to his touch, or you end it all yourself. The story is somewhat fleshed out, but is still pretty flimsy. It could have been better, but it did offer some compelling moments (though the end is ripped straight from Blair Witch as far as I'm concerned).
Gameplay: A traditional first-person adventure game with horror elements. You never point a weapon, a flashlight is your only tool. You can gather various notes, papers, memos and such that flesh out the story and background. Of course, besides Slender Man, there are other enemies, though I was only "killed" once - most of the time the guys seemed to be more for shock value rather than actual death. Completing levels quickly can earn you achievements, as well as silly things like going down the slide, listening to all the radio stations and playing the piano. The most memorable levels are the ones where you take control of the missing boy (and find out why he went missing) and the two cassette levels. The game can be completed in one setting, and has some scares, but nothing really stands out in how you play it.
Replayability: Unless you are hunting for achievements, not really much to go back for.
Overall: The relatively short game (you can easily get through it in one setting) does have some scares, but, overall, it doesn't hold a candle to some of my favorite horror games of old.
Presentation: 4/5
Story: 3/5
Gameplay: 3/5
Replayability: 2/5
Overall (not an average): 3/5
