Slender Review

[Bindal]

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]

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.

 

[leviadragon99]

Well that was a needlessly dramatic and entirely predictable way to close out the review.

 

[itezel2]

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]

Find where each page has spawned first, then make a ma͔̫d̼ d̜̮͍̣a̳̹̰̖̱̥s̲̱̥͎̱h̩̗̱̝ t͕͓o̟̦̗͍̮ ͓s͓̩̼̺̰͙̝n̮̱̝a̺̲ṭ̦c̮̬̙̲͈͍̣̟h̩̺̣̗̦̱̰ ͚̝t̰̘h͓̩͙e̜̭̥̟m͇̗̘̤̬̮.̥̮̯̤͖̹͉̣

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S̙e̺͖̩̻̠̮e͇̝͍m̲s͕̞ ̼͍̲͙̪̤̳̬̠l̬͈͉͔̜̙ḭ͉͍̳k̖̹̤̹̲͉e̞ ̤̱̩̗t̺̝̱̭̭̟͓̥̟h̙̯̖̤͚̲̩͚ͅa̼͔̲t̳̻̪̥ ̯̯̪s̱̦͙̖̤l̩e̬̻͚̘̩̩̺͍n̫̱d̗̺͓̞͉̻̬͍̬ẹ̹̟̙̭͚r̞̤͖̝̲̙̼ ̙̪g̲̗̻u͚̪̲̦y̲̖̪͔̹̬̼̟͖ i͎̦͢ṣ͖̩ ̷̤̥́p̝̘͇͔͖̙̀͟r͖̹͙̙̲͉͔̀͢e͓͇̖̖̻̙͔͙͓t̴̸͖͙̼̮t̠̲̠y͎̤̠ ̧҉̙̘̬̰̤̝̠̗e͢͏̱̥͕̮̥̬̣͝á̢͍̖̩̦͔̩̬͓s̳̺̲̝͘ỵ̛͓̳̬͔̪̟͖͝ ̸̖̣̗͖͍̗̖͙t̵̨̤̪o͏͍͚̖̖̝̮̺̱͢͡ ̶̣͕f͕̩͇̙̜͞o͎o͇̞l͏̧̲̰͎͠!҉̴̜̭̼̩̕

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

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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]

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.

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]

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.

Spoiler: ending spoiler

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]

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]

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]

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

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

 

[Proverbial Jon]

Slender Review

Don't look behind you.

Read Full Article

That ending was horrible Paul Goodman, horrible and cheap and I hate you for it!

 

[antipunt]

But it sounds scawwy.....

>_>

 

[Rad Party God]

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).

 

[saintdane05]

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.

Spoiler: ending spoiler

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.

You forgot to mention the way Slendy doesn't actually appear till a few of the pages are collected, how your walking speed is slower than a game of Sins of a Solar Empire, and how he breathes through a Darth Vader mask. I think.

 

[Polite Sage]

4.5 - 5.0

Ehhhhh... there are much better horror games. Ones which are free too. Or is the reviewer trying to appeal to "underground gamers" (read: hipsters)?

Game is just walking around and collecting pages and is actually not that scary to be honest. Very similar to this another first person freeware game (whose name I can't remember anymore) where you are a prison escapee and need to collect a few plates in a very snowy area. While scary cops (like, they're actually disturbing, they make this weird noise) and helicopters search for you. Wouldn't be surprised if the idea was lifted straight from that one.

For true horror try out SCP - Containment Breach. Shit is scarier than Amnesia and is random generated, all the while still being in Alpha phase of developement. Will appease the ego hunger for "le underground gamers" too since it's not developed by a big studio and isn't that popular (yet).

 

[Polite Sage]

If you think it's bad, YOU YOUSELF CAN MAKE SOMETHING BETTER RIGHT?

How much time he took to make the game has nothing to do with the subject at hand. It still doesn't play well, it still doesn't look good, and most important of all, it's still not scary.

Simply doesn't deserve 4.5 stars out of five. Or is any game that has no real effort put behind it automatically good for it's "possible potential"? Or is it good because it's "indie"? Or "good" just for including "le epic meme character xD"?

 

[Phisi]

I don't find slender that scary to be honest, more of frustrating, possibly stressful. It's like playing the annoying stealth section of a game. I get quite scared from other games and movies but Slender just feels to gamey for me.

 

[Metalrocks]

i have kept playing it more and got up to 6 pages. and to be honest now; it wasnt as scary anymore. i just kept walking, trying to find the other pages and eventually he got me. made me jump still when he got me but it does lose its appeal after a time.
never the less, its still a good game. its after all a beta version. so still time to fix things.

 

[Evil Smurf]

Nice ending bro!

But Paul is not a child......Why would it kill him? Does this game work for the Mac?

 

[Whateveralot]

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.

Spoiler: ending spoiler

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.

Damn, yes. It totally ruins the immersion and it makes the game world seem distant and uncanny. Have you seen those textures? Very ugly, and this is 2012, ey! This game needs to be built on the CryEngine!!1

[/sarcasm]


Of course not. The game is fine the way it is. The darkness serves a clear purpose. If you could just see everything. The rest are simply coding or engine issues. Who the hell cares if it doesn't look THAT good, it's simply good enough to be scared shitless.

And about the purpose of the game. It only has one purpose; that's being scared. Of course it ends that way, it's exactly what it wants to do. It's about the buildup and being caught. Getting all 8 pages and then being caught is the ultimate achievement in the game. It's how you get there (and how often you don't make it) that determine the experience.

Spoiler