➤ The house of the killer dolls 🎮

The horror genre seems to be experiencing a second youth in this generation, a harbinger of new technologies that seem particularly compatible with its nature, see virtual reality viewers, but above all thanks also to the contribution of minor studios, which have the opportunity to experience more respect to productions from large capitals.

Even just mentioning Steam, everything is really coming out, with a very wide eye on the thriving youtuber market, the ideal vehicle to give rapid relevance to a production. With this in mind, games like this are developed Emily Wants to Play, a first-person strategic survival that takes some ideas from the very successful Five Nights at Freddy's series of titles., already small classics in the streaming universe thanks to simple mechanics, quick executions and big scares, defined in jargon as "jump scares". Weapon of excellence in the entertainment horror genre, it consists of a meticulously orchestrated scene to vent the spectator's adrenaline after a more or less prolonged period of tension, the infamous "phone calls" sequences, or exploited in such a way as to be completely unpredictable. Video games have quickly adopted the technique of jumping on the chair, already experimented in the first Resident Evil (who remembers the dog that breaks through the window?), And even Emily Wants to Play manages to make wide and wise use of it. Most impressive is that this tiny, scary game was developed by a single person in just four months, using the Unreal Engine.

The scares are guaranteed with Emily Wants to Play, will we be able to escape from the cursed house?

I just wanted to deliver a pizza

The opening words of Emily Wants to Play are extremely simple: in the role of an unfortunate pizza delivery man, we find ourselves trapped in a dismal house, right where we had to make the last delivery of the day. The entrance door closes behind us, revealing for a moment the eerie figure of a white-haired girl. There is no way out, all the windows have been barred, while moving boxes are scattered around the house.

The suggested idea is that the owners were about to leave the house, and in the course of our tragic adventure we will unfortunately have the opportunity to discover the reasons. Having no choice but to explore the environment, we quickly become witnesses to a series of sinister events: doors that open by themselves, subliminal apparitions, strange noises, figures moving in the shadows and the presence of dolls and puppets. lay anywhere. Reading a note in the kitchen, we discover that starting from midnight we will become the protagonists of a deadly game: the rule is to survive until six in the morning, if we arrive unscathed at the first light of dawn, the mysterious entity that dominates the house will finally allow us to go out. The purpose of Emily Wants to Play is precisely that of pure survival, once we arrive in the house we have an hour to explore it in relative safety (but not tranquility), once midnight has struck, however, the dolls begin to come alive and we will have to understand quickly the right strategy to evade them, considering that there is no combat system. Otherwise instant death will follow after a frightening scene. Every hour the difficulty increases with the combined attack of the puppets, to which the Emily of the title is subsequently added, a very dangerous ghost girl who challenges us to a bloody interpretation of hide and seek. We have a limited amount of time to find the baby, after which we will suffer her attack. There is no way to react to the assault, the only way is to find Emily before time runs out, unfortunately trying to keep her three deadly companions at bay too. Easier said that done.

PlayStation 4 Trophies

There are only a dozen trophies that can be conquered in Emily Wants to Play, but fortunately (or not?) Most of them can be obtained simply by completing the adventure. There are, however, a few trophies related to the secrets of the house, including areas the player must discover to find the recordings of Emily's parents, which provide valuable clues to the story. Good luck!

Sleepless night

Emily Wants to Play strictly follows the rules of classic horror, while at the same time lending herself to a long series of quotes, including filmic ones, which demonstrate a true passion for the genre. References to The Blair Witch Project, Sam Raimi's Evil Dead, Stuart Gordon's Dolls and The Killer Doll are obvious, including the classic streak of haunted houses and ghost girls. On the videogame side, the references to the aforementioned Five Nights at Freddy's, PT by Hideo Kojima, Outlast and also Gone Home by Fullbright Company are clear.

From this the title of Shawn Hitchcock retrieves the idea of environmental narration. Even if it is not the focal point of the production, by analyzing objects, reading notes or listening to recordings scattered around the house and the basement, it is possible to recover some useful clues to understand the events prior to our arrival. Do not expect Oscar scripts, it was certainly not the intentions of the developer to propose an articulated story like Gone Home, in fact it is possible to play the entire title avoiding these details, which also include secret areas, simply focusing on mere survival. The title is short but intense, every hour has a duration equivalent to 5 real minutes, so it is technically possible to complete the adventure in half an hour, but considering the deaths (you really die a lot) and the fact that every Game Over brings back to the start of the last hour won, the player settles in around two hours. Despite its brevity, the game's non-linear structure makes every game always different, with randomly placed enemies. Even the events of the first hour, those most related to the atmosphere and exploration, are characterized by a dynamic trend that facilitates a new round, even if only to discover some secrets or unlock trophies. Once the house clock strikes midnight, the action begins and the mechanics adapt to what is a real survival test: the three dolls attack in turn for each hour, then all together and in the finale as already mentioned in combination with Emily herself. The puppets consist of a vaguely oriental porcelain girl, a clown and the classic ventriloquist's puppet. Of the three the most successful is undoubtedly the first, not only for the disturbing aspect, but above all for the fact of not emitting noises except for a sinister giggle, which indicates its presence. The purpose, as mentioned, is to identify the right strategy for each puppet, suggested by the aforementioned blackboard in the kitchen, but not without a certain irony, since it is clear that the main entertainment of the title remains to scare the player to death. In any case, the only way to save yourself is to follow the rules that characterize each of the dolls, all variations of typical children's games, of course we leave the pleasure of discovering them to you. The use of audio is truly commendable, which is of crucial importance for the gameplay and which requires the use of headphones, obviously amplifying the fright factor. Not everything always works as it should, the random nature of the apparitions can lead to situations that are impossible to manage, and the truly essential technical realization does not entirely favor identification. Finally, the level design of the house, rather small, is designed above all for the interaction with the dolls and ends, after the player gets used to it, to harm the exploratory aspect. The VR potential of the project is undoubted, and in fact, even under the advice of fans, the developer has subsequently included support for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.

Comment

Tested version PlayStation 4 Digital Delivery Steam, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store, App Store, Google Play Price 4.99 € Resources4Gaming.com

8.0

Readers (8)

7.0

Your vote

Emily Wants to Play is a successful title full of atmosphere, despite the simplicity and a truly inflated cue (the classic haunted house), managing to make its own random mechanics rather interesting, even if not without flaws. Designed especially for video reactions, thanks to the many and well-orchestrated scares, it proves to be an excellent pastime to celebrate Halloween and for all fans of the horror genre. It does not last long and the technical aspect highlights the limits of a typically indie production, but it has among the main strengths a really excellent value for money, for the rather paltry cost of 4,99 euros it is in fact a title that we recommend to everyone. those who love genuine chair jumps. The impressionable, on the other hand, would perhaps do better to abstain.