A video game review: 'Slender'

Origin: -
Language: -
Genres: Survival horror / adventure
Platforms: Windows / Mac OSX
Release: June 26, 2012
Developer & publisher: Parsec Productions

I kept on seeing this Slender Man fellow on 9GAG posts. I thought he was some new horror game character or something, but apparently it's actually a long existed Internet meme / urban legend based on some ancient folklore (possibly a fake one) of a tall, skinny, and faceless entity. But then again... he is kind of new again... when some guy under the moniker of Parsec Productions decided to take the horror this thing has bring upon to a whole new level by turning it into a first-person, single player survival horror PC game with a title derived straight from the said being's name: Slender.


Well, I for one think that on a first glance, he pretty much reminded me of the infamous self-proclaimed 'King of Terror,' the 'Pumpkin King' Jack Skellington. But dude... you were lying to yourself, man. THIS guy is the REAL fictional (or factual) King of Terror! As this is a review, I can't really show you the actual screenshots nor video footage from the game, because that would spoil the fun. So instead, enjoy this little comic I found that pretty much almost explains the premise and gameplay of the game itself.

One of the post I found on 9GAG on Slender Man which uses his Slender incarnation. Credits go to whoever made this.

Well, just don't expect the game to look exactly like this, of course. Anyway, here's what's in the game; an anonymous character (which is YOU, the player) who appears in the middle of some forest at midnight with some trees and objects of interest with 8 pages of something Slender Man-related attached to them (as illustrated by the above comic) that must be collected in order to move forward, and of course... the very loving Slender Dad... I mean, Slender Man, that just wanna say hi or something. I don't know.

And yeah, that's pretty much it. The only object that you'll wield is a very dim flashlight ONLY for light source so that it's easy for you to navigate through the dark forest, and it is NOT your weapon. Yeah, that's right. You CANNOT KILL or HURT the Slender Man. He'll chase you, and you can only do is run for your dear life. The best part of the game (or the worst part, depending on whether you're gutless or weak-hearted) is that... you can't pause the game (pausing it does not offer the option for players to resume the game, 'cause when you decide to go back to the game after you paused it, you will HAVE to start the game over from page zero... so jokes on us, man!), and the silent atmosphere of the game will gradually disappear every time you pick up a page, and the screen will start to distort. You'll know what I'm saying here when the time comes... provided that you're up to the challenge. I've played it, and now my throat is still damn sore after screaming like a pussy, no thanks to the very unorthodox way of saying 'hi' courtesy of the Slender Man by catching me off guard, effectively ending the game after collecting only half of the pages. Seriously. That is not how being friendly works. That'll only make people feel scared of you, and hell yeah you scared me... REAAAAAL good, even as I am reviewing your game right now! Happy, Slender Man? Sheesh!

Anyways, I think, the game's simplicity in design, gameplay mechanics, graphics, the price (it's FREE, gosh darn it!), along with its intended shock value, the popularity of the goddamn Slender Man mythos and people's tendency to know more about it are what really sells. I mean, it stripped down every single conventions that notable survival horrors Silent Hill or Siren or Fatal Frame has established; making it a disturbingly easy to relate game, in which everyone is curious on something that puzzles them, and Slender gives the players just that.

If you think games like the first Silent Hill, the Siren series and the Fatal Frame series and Malay horror films are for pussies (okay, what's this mention of Malay horror films doing here in a video game review?), then take this game for a spin. You're in for one hell of a shock. You can download the game by clicking HERE (no installation is required).

P/S: It won't make a difference which time you choose to play the game. It'll spook you no matter what.