Probably the most stunning moments of Summer season Sport Fest this 12 months was the looks of Blumhouse Video games on Geoff Keighley‘s stage. Whereas we all know the horror label was moving into video games, we weren’t conscious of the extent; six sport bulletins later, we’re nonetheless reeling.
The primary of these video games, Concern The Highlight, had a presence on the ensuing Summer season Sport Fest Play Days occasion. We sat down with the PS1-era spookfest for a short hands-on demo, and if that is what Blumhouse has deliberate for its first outing, horror aficionados are in good palms.
The demo follows the bookish Vivian and insurgent Amy, two highschool college students who’re sneaking into their college with the intention to “borrow” a Ouija board and discuss to spirits. Sunnyside Excessive has a repute, it appears, and Amy desires to resolve it, whereas Vivian is apprehensive about the entire thing. We play as Vivian, and we sheepishly management her as she follows Amy deeper into the college.
In the beginning, the retro PS1-era graphics do wonders in making a temper for the complete demo. The halls of this college after hours are darkish and dreary, and the pixelated filter over the display screen solely enhances the spookiness. The load of strolling by these halls and ultimately attending to the library within the silent darkish is peak environment, and it’s making us nervous with out something truly taking place.
As we flip a nook, a digicam with a flashlight is seen monitoring the hallway. Amy tells us to duck underneath a close-by desk, and we get our first style of hazard. As we slowly make our well past the digicam – watching the trail of its flashlight the entire approach – Vivian’s breath is heavy and audible by the headset. Her anxiousness is palpable, and in flip it’s elevating ours as we lastly get round this temporary impediment.
Lastly, we attain the library, and Amy asks Vivian to get the seance board out of the show case. This entails a short puzzle the place Vivian should discover her keycard – she volunteers on the library, in fact – to get into the workplace, retrieve the important thing to the show case, after which open the case and procure the board.
“In the beginning, the retro PS1-era graphics do wonders in making a temper for the complete demo. The halls of this college after hours are darkish and dreary, and the pixelated filter over the display screen solely enhances the spookiness.”
That sounds, as written, extremely boring, but it surely’s something however; strolling by the darkness of the library alone, whereas listening to creaks and different noises in all instructions, makes the hairs of our neck arise, although we’re by no means in any hazard. No enemies assault, no monsters seem, nothing of the type, and but our coronary heart is pounding as we stroll from room to room on this library nervous that one thing may soar out of the shadows and seize us.
Again with Amy, the seance board is positioned on the desk, 4 candles are lit, and the ceremony begins. There’s little interplay right here, all we have to do is transfer the cursor over the indicator on the board, however ultimately issues go haywire, we see a darkish determine behind Amy, and the candles exit, returning the room to the pitch black. As Vivian stirs, we’re tasked with re-lighting the candles, one after the other, simply to up the stress much more, and after we do… Amy is gone. Uh-oh.
We make our approach again to the principle room, previous a maze of fallen bookshelves and ungodly noises, earlier than discovering Amy standing by the door. As we strategy her, the door flies open, an ominous crimson gentle emerges, and Amy rises into the air earlier than being sucked inside. In the meantime, the library is filling with fireplace, and we should escape earlier than we’re killed.
This final sequence someway creates a very completely different sense of stress, as we should now escape a burning library the place one incorrect flip might spell dying. The trail is pretty apparent to navigate, admittedly, however that doesn’t make getting by it lower than an ordeal. Ultimately, we attain what appears like a lifeless finish, however then the wall opens up – you recognize, as partitions are likely to do – and we go by for the tip of the demo. Whew.
Concern The Highlight managed to scare us, because it makes use of its PS1-era visuals and sound design in masterful methods. Each step of Vivian’s stroll by the college is riddled with doubt, as we by no means can inform when the second present goes to drop and all hell will break free. When it lastly does, it’s a race to the end that will get the center pumping.
We have now a ton of questions on this sport – The place did Amy go? What’s with the hearth? Who was that shadow man? – however fortunately we received’t have to attend lengthy; Concern The Highlight is scheduled to launch later this 12 months on consoles and PC.
