Slender Review

The_Echo

New member
Mar 18, 2009
3,253
0
0
Garrett said:
Am I the only one that finds Slender unbelievably boring? You're just walking around an empty forest looking for some pages. Appearances of SlenderMan don't make this game scary, they just make it hard to complete.
And the ending makes collecting pages totally pointless, since you die anyway in the exact same way as when he catches you during gameplay. The only possible motivation for playing this game is to see what is drawn on these pages.

I also like how you can't see shit without the flashligh under clear and starry sky but can see everything perfectly fine inside a building.
To me, Slender just seems like a very poorly implemented "me too!" in the Slenderman community. As a game, there are many flaws, both major and minor. I really don't understand the popularity, especially given that it brings absolutely nothing new to the table, nor does it do anything better than any other game. (Now that I think about it, this game is like a worse SCP Containment Breach.)

Playing Slender just seems akin to watching the same screamer video on YouTube over and over.
 

Baron_BJ

Tired. Cold. Bored.
Nov 13, 2009
499
0
11
I played the game and while I did find it scary there are a couple of things that, if fixed, would make things far better.

1. Something has to stop Slenderman from spawning right on top of you because you're directly on a corner/tree, it happens a lot during play and even in let's plays and the like. Yes it's scary, but it's also an unstoppable, uncontrollable insta-kill which is complete bullshit. If the previously mentioned method of removal is something they don't want to do because having him spawn on you like that is too good of a scare they can always make it so that the capture time is retarded (I say that in the literal context, not in the context of "this is shit"), allowing for a players pants to feel a great deal heavier whilst also giving them a reasonable chance to escapte.

2. The building/s in the game are really featureless (I had the game on the top graphical settings in case there were some decorations that are removed in lower settings), having nothing but chairs in them, although the tiled design of the insides (I only found the one building, I'm guessing I missed some, but this will be addressed more in my next point) give me the impression that they are public restrooms. The build of the game wasn't yet 1.0, so I assume that they're going to add the shitters and sinks in later.

3. A real lack of landmarks between the REAL landmarks (the REAL landmarks being like the "public restroom", the gigantic tree and the "Gas Storage Center" [I don't know what that area would actually be called, sorry], although there's probably more that I didn't find) which are spaced apart a great deal. I know some people are wanting to say "You're meant to get lost, you're not meant to be able to just know which way to go to find the papers", a sentiment which I agree with, to a point. What I'm referring to are more simplistic things; like noteworthy rock formations, Benches or water fountains and differences between them (say a lot of benches get placed around the map to decorate it [This is a park after all], where, for example, a bench has fallen into disrepair, a tree has "Harry loves Sarah" or something engraved into it or a fountain has received a gigantic dent which causes it to lean to its side), this allow players to become lost and think "shit, where in the park am I?" as they do now, but if they stopped and took a look at these telltale signs (stopping being rather dangerous) they could grasp their surroundings and head to the next location they think may have a paper(if they already know the park, meaning they've probably played a few times and been killed or having been running around for a lengthy period of time and have just recently noticed things, the former being far more likely than the latter). Not only would this stop things from being an almost complete navigational nightmare, but it would make things a lot more believable, at the moment there's trees, trees and more trees and a couple bare areas between locations, it's not something I can really buy.

4. Walkpaths. The Game needs walkpaths. This is a park, people go walking in them. The walkpaths should go between the major landmarks of the park, perhaps in a large circle (this kinda crap is in real parks, people play in them, walk dogs and other piddling shit that someone who actually treads into the sunlight would know more about than I), a long pointless walkway that loops around and shit (you silly-ass joggers), that kind of thing. You might be thinking "If people follow paths then they're less likely to get lost and can easily move around areas", this is true, so a mechanic would need to be implemented that made it so that Slenderman because a lot more "aggressive" (for lack of a better term) if a player is very close to the path, making players question whether they want to chance becoming a lot more easily lost, but having a less aggressive Slenderman (the current aggressiveness, minus the shitty spawn atop players thing mentioned in point 1) or dealing with a hyperagressive Slenderman (I don't have many suggestions for this, but I guess some simple ideas would be that he spawns a lot more frequently and closer to the player) and being able to more easily reach navigate the park.

As I said at the start of my post the game is good, but it's really lacking in a couple of areas, mainly just making me believe that this is a real park/forestry area, however the game isn't a 1.0 release yet, meaning I assume a lot of things will be added at a later date to make things more believable (like the "bathrooms" I mentioned), something that their patch notes imply they've done in other areas in the past, like adding a wind effect on the grass and trees, a massive improvement over having nothing but static and unmoving flora, it's simple but adds a lot more life to things. However, if it's left as is, it's still a decent game and with it being free it's totally still worth a go.

NOTE: I avoided mentioning graphics because I think that they're perfectly fine, they just need more details (example of what I mean; a lot of games allow players to make custom maps [I'll use L4D as my example, but don't worry, even if you haven't played it just think "Zombie Apocolypse"], but this is a zombie apocolypse, there are zombies filling the streets, but some custom maps are too "clean", as though someone just got through scrubbing everything to its brightest and cars are parked properly; everything looks like something out of a fucking postcard. There should be cars thrown about, turned over, broken windows, corpses in the street, blood and bile smeared about, broken windows in the buildings, messages scrawled on the walls [things that are all addressed in the official maps, because they know that this is something they have to do to make the world real]. This sort of thing doesn't require any improvement on the current graphical standard they've set and would actually be very little work.

EDIT: I just read a bit about Slender Man and apparently he takes his victims to forests, but my comments regarding landmarks and the like is still true, it would simply change the type of landmarks available, like making the walking paths much much direct, maybe one or two being long and scenic (spelling?), maybe a stream, a main road going through (considering some of the landmarks and that it's a forest I'd downright expect a real road going through at least part of the area with some short dirt roads breaking off to reach landmarks by vehicle (with Slenderman becoming even more aggressive to compensate for the easy navigation of a road and story wise because you're on a fucking road, can't have you potentially running into help [despite that being unlikely], but to make sure you of didn't just run down the road out of the game you'd make it so that approaching the exit would cause the screen to do the static thing, building as you get closer to the edge of level barrier, with the player instantly being killed by Slender Man if they cross it, this being far better than the alternative of sealing off the ends of the road with a truck, fallen trees, etc because it also gives the horrifying impression that he's keeping you in there with him.
 

Mr Cwtchy

New member
Jan 13, 2009
1,045
0
0
The most I've played this game is about ten minutes. I only ever gathered 3 pages and I never even saw Slender Man. The atmosphere was too much for my fragile soul.

As for those who didn't find it scary, well..

nothing to say really. If it didn't click for you it didn't.
 

SpaceBat

New member
Jul 9, 2011
743
0
0
This game starts out heart inducing, but it really loses a lot of its creepiness after a couple of tries. Still a pretty good game though and I've been able to reach 7/8.
 

Bindal

New member
May 14, 2012
1,320
0
0
Played it and either the ony people impressed by the game are totally pussies (and everyone else just doesn't care enough to say something) or I am the least scared person on the entire freaking planet!
I played the thing and the only reaction I had when I saw the Slenderman was an annoyed grunt because of the statics. I mean, if you sprint regular, you don't need to give a damn about that guy. The only time I jumped up was when he teleported in front of me - which happened ONCE.
Otherwise... It was a nice, but freaking slow walk through the park for me. Quite literal. The forest looked decent for a free-game with a few hundred MB of size (even the random walls and the Slenderman itself look like ass) and the only bad thing is that you're CRAWLING through the entire thing. Would it hurt to make the walking at least... walking-speed? Instead, the sprinting is the speed I expect.

Either way, I was NOT scared at all - I was just admiring the nice (but slightly repetitive) world, was always thinking if I went down this path before (as there is no map or signs to give you direction) and that was it. Not scared ONCE.
 

Astoria

New member
Oct 25, 2010
1,887
0
0
I think funnily enough the seeing Slenderman is the scariest part of the game. I've watched a fair few LPs and people don't really start getting scared unless they see him. Even though I'm pretty sure I know how to beat the game there's no way I'm brave enough to try it, hell I've been playing Amnesia for months and I'm only up to the sewer.
 

itezel2

New member
Mar 17, 2011
31
0
0
Is anyone else getting headaches just WATCHING the videos? I think it's something to do with the combination of the sound and weird lighting that just causes my head to swirl...
 

Draxz

New member
May 2, 2012
173
0
0
Wakikifudge said:
Nurb said:
Find where each page has spawned first, then make a ma͔̫d̼ d̜̮͍̣a̳̹̰̖̱̥s̲̱̥͎̱h̩̗̱̝ t͕͓o̟̦̗͍̮ ͓s͓̩̼̺̰͙̝n̮̱̝a̺̲ṭ̦c̮̬̙̲͈͍̣̟h̩̺̣̗̦̱̰ ͚̝t̰̘h͓̩͙e̜̭̥̟m͇̗̘̤̬̮.̥̮̯̤͖̹͉̣

.
S̙e̺͖̩̻̠̮e͇̝͍m̲s͕̞ ̼͍̲͙̪̤̳̬̠l̬͈͉͔̜̙ḭ͉͍̳k̖̹̤̹̲͉e̞ ̤̱̩̗t̺̝̱̭̭̟͓̥̟h̙̯̖̤͚̲̩͚ͅa̼͔̲t̳̻̪̥ ̯̯̪s̱̦͙̖̤l̩e̬̻͚̘̩̩̺͍n̫̱d̗̺͓̞͉̻̬͍̬ẹ̹̟̙̭͚r̞̤͖̝̲̙̼ ̙̪g̲̗̻u͚̪̲̦y̲̖̪͔̹̬̼̟͖ i͎̦͢ṣ͖̩ ̷̤̥́p̝̘͇͔͖̙̀͟r͖̹͙̙̲͉͔̀͢e͓͇̖̖̻̙͔͙͓t̴̸͖͙̼̮t̠̲̠y͎̤̠ ̧҉̙̘̬̰̤̝̠̗e͢͏̱̥͕̮̥̬̣͝á̢͍̖̩̦͔̩̬͓s̳̺̲̝͘ỵ̛͓̳̬͔̪̟͖͝ ̸̖̣̗͖͍̗̖͙t̵̨̤̪o͏͍͚̖̖̝̮̺̱͢͡ ̶̣͕f͕̩͇̙̜͞o͎o͇̞l͏̧̲̰͎͠!҉̴̜̭̼̩̕

.

H̵̥͇̥͍̬̰o̺̘̠̥͔̜͝l̸͘҉̮̭̘d̴͇̖̺̫͠ ̹̼́ͅơ̧͕͍̥ͅn̷̜̠̠͖̲̳͎ͅ ̡̢̪̮̕a̢̟̳̺͕͓͉͙̬͉ ̸̺͍̦̳͚͇̘̀s̰̘̯̩e̴̩̝̲̤͚̯̲͍̬c̭̙̠̕͢͟ǫ͏͚̮͔̰̪n̸̵҉̰̼̖d̛̟̦̠̜̺̫̕͠ͅ,̡͇̤̤̬̜͙͚ I̵̠̳͍̺̞͇̘̠̺̤̙̦̹̝̗̪͋͌ͬ͋̀͞ ̌͐ͩ̂̑̚҉̯̩̮̳̭̹̹̼̖͈̮̞̥̜̻͕̳͎̀̕͜t̢̛͖͙̳̺̮̘̟͇̺̦͎̣̞̹̫̅̍̿̾̈͛̉ͧ̐̀̔̀ͯ͛̀̕ͅȟ̆̑̾ͨ͏̢̟͕̫̱̹͟i̧͈̩̙̭̰͙̥͉̭͕̱͍ͨ̉̀́̌ͮ̾ͨ̀͂͒͌̅ͬ̈̓̾͒ͪ̕ͅn͚͕̯̠̘̣͍͔̪̗̟̘̰̘͔͑̅ͨͣͭ͋̕̕͢k̴̨̾̏ͫ̋̽͒ͫ̄̓̓̒͐ͧ̌͠҉̥̳̻ ̢̂ͥ̀̿̇͂̿͏̨̪͔͈̹̼̀͡I̷̝̰͍̤̼͓̲̤ͬ͒̎̉͑͢ ͗̃͑ͯ̓̒̈ͨ̚҉͕̻͕̜̮͙̘̳͔̻͍̣̳̀͢͢͝ḩ̶̢̖̯̥̹̱̥͈͚̞̱̮̟͕̖͋͑ͬ͌ͮ́̄̈̽͊̀̚ę̷̵̵̥̱͕͔͍̫̔̅͑̈́́̎̈̋͒̓ͣͪ̏ͅaͮ̄ͣ͛̔̆̈́͠͏̯̘͎̣̹͟r̍̒̈́͌͏̟̩̜̖̰̘̝̗̤̭̬̜͝ ̛̖̺̗̻̮̟̱̩̺̹̣̯ͤͣͬ̔́͛͐͆͛ͭͩͮͩ͂ͩ̆͜͟s̶̪̹̩̩̩͙̥͔̯̻̒̆̍̾ͯ̓̓̒̾̉ͩ͐̓̏͊͗͐̿͗ͅö́̃̍̕͜҉͓̩͍͇̲̗͢͟mͫ̎͂̂̈̀͛̑͐̈́̾ͦͮͪ͑ͭ̀́̚͟҉̹̩͖͇͖͔̗̞͙̜̳͎̹e̡ͭ͒ͮ̽ͪ̆͢͏̯͓̳̪̙͇͜ ̲̮̬̩̥̘̙̼̙̂ͪ͛̿̋̍̀̽ͫ̒̇̚̕͝ͅs̛̰̦̮̮̒̀͐̂̾ͤͥ̇̆̏ͬ̚c̶̡̛̛̘̰̗̝̝͇̲͈̻̰͕̙̬̙̙͓͌ͨ̑̈́ͮͪ͊ͫͩ̉͐̀͜r̷̵̥͙͕͎̖̻̦̗͎̠͖̲̯̆ͣ̒͛ͥ̀ͅă͒ͨͫ͠͏̤̤̟̟͈̪̠̩̼͍̥̞̯͔̫ț̙̣̖͕̠̜́ͭ́̈̍̿̔͞͡ͅc̶̶͌̈̈͂͛̈͐͟͏̮͕̯̼͇̼̻̖͙͎̜̬̰̝̬̜ḩ̸̱̱͇̩͍̭̙͉̼͍̳͚̯̘͆̈́͛͌͋̆̊͜͜͞i̴̡̨̩̦͖̦̠̤͓̠̙̖̪̮̰͓̫̘̤̠̹̔ͫ̅͋ͬ̿̔n̢̙͍̟̪̹̎̅ͥ̏͒ͧ̈͢͝͡g̵̡͙̯̻̞͔̪͙̭̺̜̣̘̰̺̣͇ͩ̅ͦ͂ͅ ̡̐͆ͭ̋̊̋͗̿ͤ̓ͣͣ̑ͦ̿̃̃̊̑҉̸̀͏̠̤͔̞a̶̢̲̼͇͔̠͙̬͔͖̮̱̠̫̲ͧ̃̑̀̂ͬ̕t̶͕͔̪͚̲̤̰̱̦͍͙̾͛̇̚͜ͅ ̴̡̱̦̫̼̲͎̘̹̞̱̤̱͇̘̩̬̰̯ͥ͗̈́̏̃ͨͥ̿͑͋ͯ̃͑́̚ͅṱ̵̡̢̫̲̫̗̲̥̥͍̹͚̆̆̄̎̅ͫ̅͌̉̌ͪ̄̓̒̊̌͡h̾̽̍̓̿̀͏̖̤̪̝̟͓̟͍̻͉͈̞͓̱̖̯̱͢͡ȇ̵̢̺̝̘̳̹̥̞̺̠͍̼ͭ̈̊̊ͣͧ͑̂̊ ̋̍͋̐̇̒͂̈́̔ͫͨ͑͊̾͏̵̦͔̥̻̹̠̦̜͘͠d͉̹͎̠̥̥͔̘̞͙̾̀͛̽ͭͦ̔͑̏͌͛ͣ́ͅỏͦ͊ͩ̂ͩ͊ͪ͛͛͐ͧͪͪ̚̕͝͞͏̧͈̖̲͓̲̱̝̰̮͖ͅô̵̸̸̭̮͎̖̺̱͈̈̿͑̆̎͐̆̐ͨ̈̉̔ͩ̾̄̍̌͜r͉͖̜̭͙̰̬͓̠̈́ͬ̄̅́̚̕ͅ.̸̙͎̪̬̮̣̗̬ͧ͑͌ͧ̐̉̉̈́ͪ̽̈́̃͛̇̀̕

.
How on Earth did you have the time and knowledge to write all of this for your post? Or was your post attacked by a mod?
"And that was the first time I died..."

Hah, I used to be slender man, myself... Then I took a--- look in a costume shop and become PedoBear.
 

DarthFennec

New member
May 27, 2010
1,154
0
0
I tried this game out. Couldn't even find the first page, mostly because for whatever reason the game doesn't recognize my mouse position. So I could click, and I could move, but I couldn't look around, I was stuck looking the same direction the whole game. So that pretty much broke the entire thing for me, but I'm glad I gave it a try anyway.

EvilestDeath said:
Scary? LOL! Startling, yes, when he jumps in your face on screen with the screeching static but its hard to create lasting fears with a character so easily identifiable and poorly created. Just a dude without a face, a badly rendered one at that. The sounds are the only scares I can find here kids. Go play a real horror game like Amnesia the Dark Decent.
I agree that showing you the monster's low poly face for a few seconds close up like that isn't the best design when the idea is to make the monster scary, but I also don't think that was necessarily the point. The point is more about paranoia and a sense of dread. Basically, the thing could jump you at any moment, and you don't know where it is so you don't have a whole lot of chance to get away if it's close, you're not always even sure which direction to run. Sometimes you don't even have a chance to get away at all, and it'll lose you the game whether you like it or not. You're basically at the mercy of the monster, racing against a clock that it can reset whenever it wants, and it feels like it's toying with you in that respect (which is entirely the idea behind Slenderman in the first place). Or at least I assume all of this is the case, from the footage I've seen, as I haven't been able to play it properly myself.

Maybe it's just that I was generally unfazed by and unimpressed with Amnesia, but I would argue that this game is certainly scarier than that one. Compare what I've stated about Slender to what we know of Amnesia: In that game, the only danger present in the entire experience is the Gatherers, which 1) you get full warning about about each time they appear, 2) they're easy as hell to hide from and you're given plenty of time to do so, 3) mostly if you sit and wait in one place for a minute or so, they go away forever, 4) if that doesn't happen, you can easily hang back and track their movements and just sneak right past them with minimal fuss, and 5) if you do get seen, you have ample time to get to the nearest door (assuming it's particularly close) and if you do get killed, you just start back at the front of the segment, so death is more of a minor inconvenience than anything. In Slender, death means restarting the entire game, which means the stakes are higher, which makes Slender more scary.
 

maninahat

New member
Nov 8, 2007
4,397
0
0
Garrett said:
Am I the only one that finds Slender unbelievably boring? You're just walking around an empty forest looking for some pages. Appearances of SlenderMan don't make this game scary, they just make it hard to complete.
And the ending makes collecting pages totally pointless, since you die anyway in the exact same way as when he catches you during gameplay. The only possible motivation for playing this game is to see what is drawn on these pages.

I also like how you can't see shit without the flashligh under clear and starry sky but can see everything perfectly fine inside a building.
I haven't played the games, but I do fail to see what all the fuss is about the slender man and the Marble Hornets series. I'm disappointed by that because I like being scared, but I don't get scared by shakey cams or gibbon shaped statues.

SCP - 87, now that does it for me.
 

AlexWinter

New member
Jun 24, 2009
401
0
0
Boudica said:
I don't get it. The game just isn't scary. Your a faceless camera on wheels that drives around finding paper nailed to buildings and trees. Occasionally a faceless suit appears and stands still. That's not horror. That's stupid.
You need to read the mythology to understand it.
You're* not your.
How many first-person games do you complain about being a faceless camera on wheels?
It scared me and most people here. It is notoriously scary and well done in my opinion. You're probably just smarter, braver and/or better-looking than everyone else.

OT: Completely agree with the review. Great suspense, great atmosphere. I've only managed to get one page though before I either terror-quit or get bored and haven't played it in a while since I realised that the pages change places. Might give it another go now though.

Would be better if he didn't insta-kill you at 5+ pages though I think.

Also, what do you guys do when you run out of torchlight battery?
 

scw55

New member
Nov 18, 2009
1,185
0
0
Looks like a very annoying game.

Mechanic where it's dark. Check.
Limited vision with a flash light. Check.
Have objects blocking line of light. Check.

I think I'll get a migraine from frustration before I scare myself.
 

Kragg

New member
Mar 30, 2010
730
0
0
ares556600 said:
What's the point of reviewing this?
1. It's free, the whole point of a review is to tell you weather or not it's worth your money.
2. It's not even a game it's just a proof of concept and a poorly crafted one at that.
plus the review is half of a lets play, which mostly ruins the game already, you see what happens and how it works.

here is a cool horror game, let me show you everything about it ruining that first blind experience

yRar_972 said:
I've played Slender and it does give you a fright for the first time you play it, but things get less frighting the more you play it. I'm not sure if that's just me talking to myself as I play or everyone.

As a free title, Slender is just awesome. Small download and free, unless you don't like scary games, go get this game!
exactly why this review is a bad idea to watch
 

Rad Party God

Party like it's 2010!
Feb 23, 2010
3,560
0
0
Last night, I literally had a nightmare about the Slenderman, but more closely resembling the Slender game.

I've never played this game myself and I'll probably never will (probably), but I've seen plenty of Let's Play videos and I certainly shit myself everytime I watch those (I've never seen anyone actually get the 8 pages).

With the rising popularity of the game and the Slenderman mythos, I hope Funcom capitalizes upon it and make a Slenderman cameo in The Secret World. That would definitely kick ass (and make me shit my pants).