Initially released in March 2013 on PC, to then land the following year also on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Slender: The Arrival is proposed as a horror title also for the hybrid console, having been included in the eShop catalog of Nintendo Switch starting from June 20 just past. Developed by Parsec Productions and published under Blue Isle Studios, the title is linked to what is already shown in Slender: The Eight Pages, demo much appreciated by the public of the time and, above all, became a real viral phenomenon in 2012.
Certainly presenting itself more complete and accurate than the brief premise that anticipated it, therefore, the title offers an adventure that makes us protagonists (or rather, victims) of the encounters with the mysterious and lethal Slender Man, undisputed and well-known main character of many CREEPYPASTA who over time have consecrated it to legendary figure of the web and cinema. Below we offer a review based on the edition recently debuted on the Nintendo console.
Plot and gameplay
Duty and initial Premise: outside the menus and interfaces of Slender: The Arrival (however very sparse), the title is affordable exclusively in English: this could be an obstacle for those gamers who do not know the language very well, as they could lose parts of the plot (of letters, above all) that found and enrich, albeit not by much, the gaming experience.
In any case, the chapter opens with our arrival, at dusk, in a desolate forest accessible only on foot. Lauren, the protagonist that we will drive throughout the adventure, will then have to leave her car and continue towards a nearby house with only her hand in hand video camera, ready to film and warn her of any paranormal phenomena nearby.
The house he is heading to is that of his dear friend Kate, apparently disappeared shortly before our arrival. Wandering around the abandoned rooms and almost completely turned upside down, we get a very useful flashlight (less useful in the "hardcore" mode) and the keys to his private room, from which our adventure in mystery and horror will (finally) begin. Therefore, after a long and not very productive introduction, we therefore have access to the series of chapters that will represent the various phases of the game experience.
The first chapter is The Eight Pages, and consequently follows what was shown in the demo previously released: what we have to do is, in fact, collect the 8 pages of diary before Slender catches up and knocks us out. The peculiarity of this gameplay, however, is that the mode of appearance of the objects in the map is, from time to time, completely random: this precludes the possibility of relying on maps or guides, since the spawn points of the objects that we must collect - or activate, as in the following game chapters - are random and therefore vary with each session that is undertaken.
Despite this bizarre choice, however, perhaps intended to instill a little more of tension and the difficulty of the whole experience that the title wants to offer the player, does not make the continuation of the adventure particularly complex and complicated. In just over two hours, in fact - two hours and seven minutes, to be precise - it was possible to completely complete the campaign in all its phases, even considering the initial uncertainties that made me stall (unnecessarily) on futile aspects during the first exploration.
Unfortunately, everything is seasoned with one not very motivating plot and challenging, not able to really keep the user hooked. The letters and all the documents that can be found for the varied maps during the explorations they do not manage to enrich a roughly realized script too much, and the conclusion of the game does not allow to really understand its communicative effectiveness.
Ultimately, little plot and gameplay substantially repetitive. Furthermore, it should also be noted that unfortunately there is very little horror. It is indeed possible to consider the real horror elements as a (ineffective) triad: Slender, his henchmen and jumpscare. Except that, unfortunately, even with jumpscare at the end of the day you get used to it, and apart from a few small jolts from time to time, there is nothing left at the level of emotional involvement. A game that, in essence, does not push the user to want to play it and replay it, since even the most difficult mode rewards the patience (and, let's face it, also the luck) of the player with a small additional episode, aimed at giving a little more light to the canonical epilogue.
Graphic and audio compartment
La graphics sported by Slender: The Arrival does not appear at its best, and it is possible to infer that the title is based on a porting taken from the version released on PlayStation 3. In addition to the fact that some objects are not modeled in a particularly effective way, the title presents itself to the player's eyes with very few details, few colors, and offers a more "flat" and less enveloping atmosphere than what, however, can get used to the title if played on PlayStation 4. But beyond the graphic aspect, it should be emphasized that there are even gods bug which confirmed a lack of attention to detail from this point of view.
In the first chapter, in fact, it is possible to notice how the walls of Kate's house are not joined in a corner, leaving visibly the inside of the house with its furniture. Furthermore, in other and more cases it is possible to witness a strange, sudden (and unexpected) phenomenon of "lifting" of the ground - glitch which happens in some specific points of the maps, even up to the last chapter. Even the shadows cast from the figure of the protagonist, at times, they leave something to be desired: in particular, always in the very first chapter the shadow we leave on the walls of the house is extremely "pixellous".
For what concerns the brightness general of Slender: The Arrival, it is irretrievably poor, both in laptop and dock mode. In laptops the problem is further accentuated by the glossy finish of the console screen, which due to reflections makes it impossible outdoor use. It is useless to adjust the setting from the game menu, since the title is made to be experimented with particularly dark and crepuscular tones, and increasing the values would only increase the saturation in a very useful and, indeed, terribly unsightly way.
What is missing from the Nintendo Switch version is therefore a play of light and shadow weighted, as well as a fair one contrast regulation: if compared to those previously released on other platforms, the porting for the hybrid console shows an unsatisfactory effect from this point of view, sometimes resulting in disabling for the gaming experience - in my case, for example, it was difficult to notice details that were actually obvious and evident in the other versions, since the low light prevented me from noticing doors or objects necessary for the continuation of the game.
Il audio compartment it is left to the bare minimum, so no admirably orchestrated OSTs or sensational atmospheric music, if not for some occasional intervention capable of alerting the player without depriving him of the suspense effect. Otherwise, the only ones sounds and noises that we can perceive are those environmental, given by cryptic messages left on the answering machine, by crunches or sinister blows aimed at giving jumpscare, as well as by interference of our inevitable video camera.
However, it is sometimes possible to notice how the chant (always the same on most terrains) of the footsteps of the protagonist it does not fit perfectly with what is really happening on the scene; not infrequently, in fact, it is possible to hear her continue walking even though we stopped in front of a table or a bulletin board to read and collect the collectible documents necessary to continue with the story.
How does it behave on Nintendo Switch?
While lacking compatibility with motion sensors, the iconic vibration of theHD Rumble turns out to be very well optimized: Slender: The Arrival it therefore presents itself as one of those few cases in which, in my opinion, it is really possible to talk about a third-party title that has properly implemented this singular and exclusive Nintendo Switch feature.
HD Rumble generally activates concurrently with audio-video interference - those that foretell or accompany the appearance of Slender and his followers, so to speak - and manages to keep pace with them, thus being effective in the intent of further emphasizing those paranormal phenomena of which we are temporarily protagonists and passive victims (by increasing, among other things, the level of anxiety and suspense to the player).
La battery, for its part, it does not behave as well: in a laptop, with maximum charge, a first recharge is needed even after that three hours. The software, however, does not overheat the console, and consequently does not require activation of the cooling system.
