Through the Woods

Horror games, or more accurately psychological horror games, can have a big impact on the player when the story connects to them on some level. Through the Woods is an example of one that will certainly create a bond between you and the protagonist, a woman who is in search of her son who was kidnapped.

Through the Woods begins with an interrogation of the mother. To your delight, the dialogue between her and the man carries on into the game, giving you some clues as to what you have to do but its main effect will be that of creating a bond with the character.

What you witness in the game has already happened so, all in all, you know that she survived the journey ahead of her, but the mystery remains. What happened? Did she manage to save her son? The end of the demo will give you a slight clue about the answer to one of those questions but until then, got enjoy excellently crafted audio.

Seriously, Through the Woods has some of the best sound effects we’ve encountered in horror games for a long time. The game doesn’t use jumpscare tactics to be good; it solely relies on the atmosphere and how it makes you feel. Here, the sound effects slowly get in your subconscious and create the unsettling sensation of fear that all horror game designers hope to achieve.

Another inspired idea from the guys over at Antagonist is to use the third-person perspective for the gameplay. That does wonders for two reasons. One, seeing the protagonist in the scene creates a deeper level of immersion and enables you to see the environment in a different way; and secondly, the animators have figured out the perfect walking and sprinting pace for the character.

You can feel how she treads lightly in the darkness of the forest, with care, and the running is that which you would have when the fear of the unknown is there. In other words, Through the Woods is not slow-paced or fast-paced, it’s perfectly paced.

Through the Woods is still in the works but it will get here. Games like this take a good deal of effort to put together and from what we’ve seen in the demo, it’s definitely on the right track.

Play the demo, and if you get a good vibe, drop by the Through the Woods Kickstarter page to show your support or to offer some feedback.