Now THIS is a much better game! I also remember this game back when it came out, everything from the presentation, the gameplay, and slender himself is an improvement from the eight pages
This review contains spoilers
I played the release version when it wasn't even on Steam ages ago and loved it then (I was 15). I recently saw that they remade it in Unreal Engine and added a few new chapters, so I decided to replay it with its fresh new coat of paint.
I beat all the chapters, including Genesis (which is a recreation of the original 8 pages) in just under 3 hours and came out of it feeling like it was okay. There were two new chapters added to the original base game. One of which was a short interlude that gave us some insight on a character we didn't get before. The other was a whole new area, but there were no additional challenges. The new area is mainly just a haunted house walkthrough with some jumpscares. I was hoping for another chapter like the park or the mine level.
Replaying it now, it feels like everything in the game has untapped potential. The bones for a really good horror game are all there: the vibe, the music, the environments, the story...it just feels like I'm left wanting more substance. I know this game is long finished by this point and I doubt the devs will make any significant overhauls, but some things I would have probably suggested are to make the story of Kate and CR more interesting, and maybe make the Matheson story more involved or mysterious. Add some meat to the gameplay, more sections involving Slenderman and the proxies would be great. Expand on the soundtrack, there's some great stuff there already, but it needs more tracks and situations where those tracks would be effective. If a sequel were ever to happen, I hope it's a true iteration. I just feel like there's a good story hidden in the Slender Man mythos, but no one has really been able to find it, aside from maybe Marble Hornets.
I beat all the chapters, including Genesis (which is a recreation of the original 8 pages) in just under 3 hours and came out of it feeling like it was okay. There were two new chapters added to the original base game. One of which was a short interlude that gave us some insight on a character we didn't get before. The other was a whole new area, but there were no additional challenges. The new area is mainly just a haunted house walkthrough with some jumpscares. I was hoping for another chapter like the park or the mine level.
Replaying it now, it feels like everything in the game has untapped potential. The bones for a really good horror game are all there: the vibe, the music, the environments, the story...it just feels like I'm left wanting more substance. I know this game is long finished by this point and I doubt the devs will make any significant overhauls, but some things I would have probably suggested are to make the story of Kate and CR more interesting, and maybe make the Matheson story more involved or mysterious. Add some meat to the gameplay, more sections involving Slenderman and the proxies would be great. Expand on the soundtrack, there's some great stuff there already, but it needs more tracks and situations where those tracks would be effective. If a sequel were ever to happen, I hope it's a true iteration. I just feel like there's a good story hidden in the Slender Man mythos, but no one has really been able to find it, aside from maybe Marble Hornets.