BlackFaith

Horror games are usually designed to be experienced alone, preferably at night with all the lights off and a pair of headphones on. Unless the developers opt for cheap jumpscares and silly monsters, the focus is on the atmosphere, so the single player campaign slowly makes you aware of all the nasty things that try to get you. On the other hand, a multiplayer horror game is not a bad idea, at least if the execution is decent.

BlackFaith is a first-person survival-horror game in which you also get to cooperate with other players while avoiding wild animals and various other nefarious creatures. The game is still in early access at this point, which means that it lacks many features, but it’s a pretty engaging experience under the right circumstances.

You can also play on your own in the free roam mode, although there are quite a few bugs and inconsistencies here. To begin with, there’s very little guidance on what you should be doing, except for a cryptic “find resources” quest that provides you with no other clues. The story is theoretically based on a podcast series about local horror stories, but that’s not too obvious in terms of gameplay.

In fact, the whole thing feels more like a sandbox game than a horror game, especially since you can gather materials and craft various buildings around the forest. It takes a while to be able to do that, on the other hand, and again, there’s little guidance to get you started, so there’s a lot of trial and error involved.

The interface is a bit buggy as well, especially since you have to get really close to certain objects in order to interact with them. You also meet a variety of wild animals around the forest, each one of each is incredibly aggressive, including deer, for some reason. There’s not a lot you can do at first but run away, and you really need to cover some distance before they give up the chase.

Horror-wise, there’s very little to be afraid of, but then again there’s not a lot of content in this regard as of right now. The underlying idea is certainly tantalizing, but we have to hold our breath and hope that the execution matches the enthusiasm. Thankfully, at least the graphics are top-notch, mainly thanks to the decent level design and the power of Unreal Engine 4.

In the end, BlackFaith appears to be a bit different than most indie games out there, but only in concept at the moment. Hence, the co-op horror trope is a very attractive prospect, but there’s not enough content right now to judge its merits.