18 minutes. That’s the total time you’ll be able to play in each round of ‘Don’t Scream,’ a new horror video game with seemingly simple gameplay: walk through the forest, explore, don’t get scared… and don’t scream if you don’t want everything to start over from scratch. You might be wondering, “Okay, but what’s it about?” And the only possible answer is, well, “not screaming.” It doesn’t get more straightforward than that.
Not a single word
Don’t scream’ will be released in early access on October 28 on Steam, just in time for Halloween. It’s one of those titles created in an old-school way by two friends, Joure and Joe, who want to try their luck with something novel. In other words, they are trying to scare players with demonic figures, sudden volume increases, and other clichés of modern horror, but without any overarching storyline.
Somewhere between ‘The Blair Witch Project’ and those PowerPoint presentations where a screaming monster would suddenly appear, ‘Don’t Scream’ does not have an official release date for its full version, and it will depend on community feedback. It’s important to consider that each scare will happen at the most unexpected moment, so it all depends on your ability to test your nerves, rather than your skill.
The idea of these guys is to create a bigger game that can be explored beyond the trees and tell small horror stories without the player ever removing the microphone. For $9, we can’t ask for much more from a novelty: a novel mechanic, a desire to experience fear, and monsters popping out from anywhere. Never have 18 minutes felt so long.
In return, the only thing the developers ask is that you play fairly, don’t cover the microphone, and try to enjoy the experience. Oh, and be careful with your underwear, because you might not be able to use it again afterward. They got a bit carried away right at the end.
