Slender: The Arrival: Review

Slender Man can invoke memory loss in all but the most resolute - you could have already had a Slender Man encounter and not remember it.

I was in high school when the Slender Man CreepyPasta story became popular. The wild debates of whether or not Slender was real, was he based off a folk story from Germany, or if he was simply the product of someone's imagination. The one thing most of us could agree on was that he was indeed creepy, and we watched as he took over pop culture. I can remember Slender: The Eight Pages coming out and the hoards of games I knew flocking to it. Everyone wanted a chance to try and beat the game, which got progressively harder the more pages you found. I to this day still have The Eight Pages downloaded on my laptop and will occasionally play when bored. Though, it's not as scary as it was when I was in high school.

Like many products of pop culture, spin offs and retellings game in droves. For a long time it was the sheer amount of mods and spin offs of The Eight Pages that be found and enjoyed. The '$20 mode' became a fan favorite of the traditional style of the game. Then came the SpongeBob and Teletubby mods that you could play, which were more hilarious then scary. So it was no surprise when Slender: The Arrival hit the gaming stage. A new take on the original game, but still paying homage to what made The Eight Pages so popular amongst fans. This game renewed the love everyone had for Slender Man and took the gaming community by storm.

This play through is the first time I think I've legitimately played the game. I've watched a handful of gaming YouTubers play through, like Markiplier and Achievement Hunter, but was never able to play myself since I didn't have a system. So actually getting to play a game I've only ever seen others play was exciting for, even at my big age. With that being said, you can tell I've seen the game play when I wasn't exactly scared from the beginning. The prologue and first level I've seen played a dozen of times, once by my own brother. I knew what to expect and what I was looking for really. Except for the flashlight and we're not going to talk about how many times I walked by it.

I still think there was a sense of 'unknown' when I played through because it is different to actually play rather than watch. Like, I didn't know Slender followed you around during the prologue, hiding in the trees or standing in front of the door of the house. I also found clues and hints that I don't remember others finding or I had forgotten were a thing. Granted, the running animation did take away some of the creepiness just because of how absurd it looked. There is definitely a distinct difference in watching a game played and playing the game yourself. That's why I was still just as excited to play through on my own.

The actual first part of the game was a lot more challenging than I thought it was going to be. I remember playing The Eight Pages and not having nearly as much trouble actually finding the pages. I was consistent on finding some of the locations, but there were some I only came by once or twice the entire time. Also, I felt like Slender was on my butt a lot faster than I thought he should have been. And maybe I didn't really understand the game mechanics, but I thought running in the opposite direction of Slender was supposed to let me, you know, live! But no, I was dying at basically every turn during that level.

What through me off was the fact that I only had four pages and it let me pass to the second part in the tunnels. From what I remember, you needed all eight pages to fully succeed at that level. I was running through some kind of field and all of a sudden there was a cutscene. I wonder if I was taking too long and the game decided enough was enough for me, time to move on. That's why at the beginning of that level I was confused because I didn't think I have completed the level successfully. As I moved forward, thinking it was some sort of memory scene or something, I realized I was in one of my least favorite levels. The mines.

Now this level is no scarier really than the rest of the game, it's just more intense and frustrating. You have to find nine generators to power the elevator of the mine and go up. Simple enough right? What you don't know is that Slender is still after you, but there's also another character hunting you too. Now Slender will instant kill you if he gets ahold of you, but the 'mole man' as I call him can grab you three times before he kills you. I remember that the flashlight blinds him, I just couldn't recall how to get away from him when I did. I learned the hard way to not touch him though, even if he was blinded.

Since I couldn't remember the exact mechanics of the level, and didn't feel like looking them up, I decided to speed run the level. I knew I need to find so many generators and then get to the elevator before the monsters. Easy enough. I thought I was doing well to until I ran face first into Slender and was killed immediately. Which is why I decided to try at least once more to see if I could beat it because I was determined. I didn't get nearly as far as I did in my first try. What was funny was that Brendan also couldn't beat the level and he tried two or three times too. We think something was wrong with the settings, but who knows. I wasn't playing anymore because I was getting pissed.

Maybe one day I'll go back and try to actually beat the game since Slender is part of my youth. I know I can beat it, I just have to find the time to sit down and play. After the prologue and first two levels, I'm definitely screwed though because I have no idea what goes on after them. Which makes me want to finish the game even more.