Slender

Slender is an indie, first-person horror game that has received quite a large amount of attention from fans of the genre and for good reason. It has simple gameplay and manages to set an eerie mood the entire time.

The idea of the game is very simple. You wake up in a dark forest late into the night with nothing but the clothes on your back and a flashlight. To complete the game you have to find eight pieces of a manuscript which will reveal the story behind Slender.

It sounds easy enough but Slender is not your everyday stalker, he’s not of this world and if you maintain contact with him, he will cause you to go totally insane. You will encounter him everywhere and every time you feel safe, and as you find more and more pieces, he becomes equally aggressive in his pursuit for you.

There is no logical movement pattern which Slender follows so anticipating where he will be is nearly impossible and that adds up to the tension of the game. He may appears at a long distance in front of you or right behind you at arms reach, you never know.

The atmosphere in Slender is very well created. Your flashlight has a limited and narrow reach, fog is everywhere and even the trees seem to randomly appear all around you making it very difficult to retrace your steps or maintain a path.

Slender successfully reproduces a creepy and unsettling forest in which you constantly are aware that there is a being out to get you. The only major downside to the game are its rather rudimentary graphics. They are good, but some of the modelling and textures are rather poorly executed and at times, if you manage to get a good look at slender, he looks like a scary balloon man.

In the land of horror games, Slender has made a name for itself and it does deserve every bit of attention. It will put you in a frightening environment and you will get a good scare from time to time.