Slender: The Arrival

Most of the game takes place in abandoned areas (house, mine, etc.), where the player needs to complete missions. Slender: The Arrival uses similar mechanics from its predecessor, Slender: The Eight Pages . The character has only a flashlight, which makes him run away from the villains. When Slender approaches, the atmosphere of panic is added by strong camera noise, when in a critical situation the image is generally difficult to see, which in most cases makes the player run in a random direction. Also at the Hardcore difficulty level, not only Slender is becoming stronger, but the tasks themselves are becoming more complicated. For example, in the second level, the flashlight is limited, in the third you need to look not only for generators, but also cans of gas for refueling, in the fifth it is generally not recommended to attack the fire.

The owner of the house near Oaxide Park, Charles Matheson, disappears son of Charlie Matheson Jr. Charlie Sr. unsuccessfully tries to find a son, Diana (most likely his wife) leaves him from grief, and he falls into a depression accompanied by hallucinations. Later, a fire breaks out in his house and he dies in the basement from suffocation. Judging by the notes at the end of the game, it can be assumed that Charles himself set fire, as he could no longer endure heartache. Later, a new house was built on the site of the burned house, where Kate lived for some time with her mother. When the latter dies, Kate puts up a house for sale. Later she begins to receive letters written on paper due to problems with her computer and phone from her longtime friend CR, who shares her childhood memories and talks about hallucinations, which, it turns out, Kate also saw.

The situation gets out of control when Kate and CR exacerbate hallucinations and have a sense of harassment by a strange creature. CR asks Kate to move away from the park, but shortly before the main character arrives, she encounters Slender at home and, in an attempt to escape, jumps out of the window and runs into the forest, where he overtakes her and submits to her will.

1. Prologue

The main character Loren stops near Kate's house because of a tree that fell in front of her car. Lauren goes to Kate's dwelling, incidentally bumping into another car. Entering the house, the heroine discovers a mess: the furniture is upside down, the windows and doors are open, in most rooms there is no light. Several notes are scattered around the house, as well as in the backyard, including a postcard with a photograph of Kate's mother and a note from CR, which says that he is worried about the girl because of her hallucinations. Lauren also notices on the walls a lot of scratches and drawings depicting a forest and a strange man in a suit, and afterwards he finds a key and enters Kate’s room, where he sees inside walls completely covered with leaflets with inscriptions and images of trees, a radio tower and Slenderman. On the table lies a note urging you to go into the forest, after reading which Loren hears a long female scream (if you do not take the note, then after leaving the gate a scream will still sound). Taking paper and a flashlight, she goes out through the back door and goes into the forest.

In recent versions (starting from 1.5), Lauren, leaving the house, sees a generator similar to those that need to be activated at the Into the Abyss level. Turning it on, Lauren sees the glowing spotlights and walks along the road to them. Having activated two more generators along the way, the player sees the entrance to Oakside Park and a burnt house nearby. Inside, you can find a half-naked figure, which turns out to be missing Charlie Matheson Jr. If the heroine comes close, he will hit her with his claws and run away. In the course of the plot, the player encounters a closed door and a note, after reading which the entrance to the park opens.

2. The Eight Pages

Lauren explores the nearby Oakside Park and finds notes that give clues in search of the main character. After that, the game becomes similar to the previous part - the player needs to find eight drawings in the park that are randomly scattered throughout the park and are generated in different places with each restart. The more pages are collected, the more alarming and louder the music sounds and the more aggressive and intrusive Slenderman becomes. After completing the assignment, a plot cut-scene begins in which the heroine, trying to hide from her pursuer, runs through the park, after which she jumps into a small canyon and loses consciousness. The third level begins with her awakening in the park this afternoon.

3. Into the Abyss

Lauren wakes up in a park near the Kullman mine. After exploring a small valley, the player realizes that you need to enter the dark tunnel. A flashlight will automatically turn on in the tunnel. One of the newspapers that a player can read tells about the acquisition by a mining company of the rights to extract mineral resources from the owners of Oakside Park. When Lauren goes inside, she finds a sign that says the instructions for powering the elevator. After turning on the first generator, the player, in addition to Slenderman, begins to chase a figure in a white sweatshirt - this is obsessed with the antagonist Kate, who is afraid of the high beam of a flashlight. If she attacks you, she will hit a couple of times and run away for a short while, and you will be limp. If you give Lauren a break for a few minutes, then she will withstand another attack. As soon as the player manages to turn on all six generators, Slender and Kate become very aggressive. If Loren can get to the elevator and activate it, she rises to the top of the mountain shaft, proceeding to the fourth chapter.

4. Flashback

Leaving the mine, Loren observes a beautiful landscape, after which she enters a small building where she finds a television with a cassette, which depicts the symbols associated with Slender. This is a video of Kate. In the video, the player sees his girlfriend, manic writing notes about Slenderman. You start playing for Kate. In order for the antagonist not to get into the house, she must close 8 windows and doors, after which she needs to run to her room and close the door. All attempts to avoid Slender are in vain, and he appears in front of Kate, why she jumps out of the window and runs into the park.

You are again in front of the TV. On the table is a cassette with an attached note. You start playing for CR (previously this part was available as a separate level called "Homestead" ). You need to inspect Matheson's farm for evidence and get to the chapel, where after you go inside, you will be locked by Slender. On the floor you will find toys that, when picked up, proxy Charlie runs into the chapel. You need to go around it and run out of the chapel through the second door, then go into the house that is nearby and examine it. If you dodge Charlie, then run out of the house. CR throws the camera, the record shows how Charlie Jr. is chasing him. The screen is getting dark. This ends the recording and begins the fifth chapter.

5. The Arrival

Lauren descends into a small tunnel to get to the radio tower. At the exit, she encounters a forest fire that has begun, in which Slenderman tries not only to catch her, but also lets in deadly tentacles. On the way, trees sometimes fall in front of you, forming a fire. You can go through it, but it does damage.

Ending

Going inside the tower and finally stumbled upon a dead end, the heroine discovers the charred corpse CR and the camera lying next to it. The camera plays an audio file on which the argument of Kate and CR is heard - at first they shout at each other, and then a very long and desperate male cry is heard (maybe it belongs to CR). The sound is interrupted. The flashlight Lauren by that time sits down, the camera shows a discharged indicator. The fire in the dead end room, where Lauren entered, abruptly extinguishes, and you can hear the door open in the dark. Then the steps are heard. The camera starts to flicker again and ruffles from interference, after which the game ends.

After the release of the game on Steam, the ending of the game was expanded. After the flashlight Lauren went out, Charlie Matheson Jr. runs from the darkness to her, after which the heroine faints. Recovering, Lauren discovers herself in the basement, lit by a single dim lamp. At the stairs stands a proxy Charlie, who pushes you away when you try to come. You can find 2 notes in the basement and find that the exit from the basement is free. Leaving it, you will find yourself in a burnt house, as at the beginning of the game. After wandering around the rooms, you find Kate crying in a corner, she emits interference when the camera is directed at her. When Lauren comes up to her, Kate attacks and kills her, and the main character's legs, dragged to the side, are visible in the camera recording. The camera finally sits down and the game ends. This ending is also available in the version for consoles.

Hardcore ending

If players complete the game once, the Hardcore difficulty will be unlocked. At the end, Lauren's camera falls down from a radio tower and then records an image in the forest after it has been burned by fire.

• Lauren ( born Lauren ) is the main character of the game and the main character in the game. She comes to her friend Kate, who recently lost her mother and sells her house. Upon arrival, she learns that Kate was attacked the night before her visit, after which she tries to find her. After studying evidence and collecting evidence, she reaches the radio tower, where she finds the corpse of CR. She later meets Kate in a burnt house, which, being a proxy, kills Lauren.
• Kate is a friend of Lauren. In the first game, she was a protagonist (in favor of this, CR records say that Kate was found unconscious in the forest with a flashlight and eight pages), but after Slender lured her to her side, she is an antagonist in this game. In the files of the game, Kate is indicated as a proxy Chaser ( English Chaser - "Pursuing"). Found in the episode Into the Abyss and at the end of the game. Kate’s mother recently died, and she is considering selling her home, which was the reason for Lauren’s visit. Before the events of the game, she had hallucinations about Slenderman, about which she told her friend CR. Presumably, the night before the events of the game, she was attacked by Slender in her house, but she managed to escape, as shown while recording from her camera in the Flashback chapter.
• CR ( K.R. ) is Kate's friend with whom she shared about her hallucinations. Together they tried to escape Slenderman, but Kate was influenced by him and killed CR. From the notes, we learn that CR made his way to Kate's house to play with her when they were young. Later it also turns out that Kate's mom found out about this, and CR stopped coming. He knew about Lauren, but specifically asked Kate not to tell her about him. However, when Kate's mother died, he advised her (Kate) to call Lauren. Like Kate, he is the game character in the Flashback chapter, where he goes to the abandoned Matheson farm and finds evidence that Slenderman has been following this family for generations. The burnt corpse of CR will be at the end of the chapter of The Arrival . In a note that was in Kate's bin, we find out that his full (and real) name is Carl Ross , and that he had romantic feelings for Kate, though unrequited.
• Slenderman is the main antagonist of the game, a faceless creature of high stature with long arms and no joints and bones and the ability to control his limbs; dressed in a strict black suit with a tie. Disable digital devices when near.
• Charlie Matheson Jr. ( English Charlie Matheson Jr. ) - a boy who fell victim to Slender. According to the Memories chapter, where Charlie Jr. is a game character, he escaped from his parents on the beach and was caught by Slender in the forest, after which he became a proxy. It can be found in a burnt house at the beginning and at the end of the game in version 1.5 and higher.
• Charles Matheson is a senior citizen, father of Charlie Matheson Jr. He died in the basement of his house due to arson (which he might have arranged himself, being depressed due to the loss of his son).
• Proxies ( English Proxy ) - people who have changed under the influence of Slender, a kind of "puppets" or minions. They became Kate and Charlie Matheson Jr.

Genesis

After the main story has ended, and the player has collected all 13 letters that occur between the levels, the player is offered to go through an additional level (in new versions of the game it opens after passing through all five chapters). This episode is a remake of Slender: The Eight Pages . The player has to collect all eight notes. After collecting all the pages, Slenderman appears and says: “I have plans for you, Kate.”

Memories

While Charlie Matheson Jr. plays on the beach with his family, he finds parts of a toy train scattered across the beach. Collecting them, he enters the forest. His parents began to look for him. After Charlie finds the last part of the train, Slenderman begins to hunt for him. Trembling with fear, Charlie begins to run away from him, but falls into a trap. Slender entangles him in his tentacles, Charlie begins to scream. The screen is getting dark.

There is also a secret level that can be reached if the player finds the flashlight three times, turns on the radio and walks up to the post announcing the disappearance of a boy named Charlie Matheson Jr.

Slender: The Arrival was developed by Parsec Productions and Blue Isle Studios for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X ^{[1] [2]} . The developers also considered the possibility of releasing the game for the Xbox 360 platform ( Xbox Live Arcade ), PlayStation 3 ( PlayStation Network ), Wii U ( Nintendo eShop ), as well as for mobile devices and computers with the Linux operating system. October 28, 2013 the game was released on the digital distribution service Steam ^[3] with new content.

On December 1, 2012, Blue Isle Studios announced its partnership with the THAC TV team (their Marble Hornets YouTube channel is known for its horror videos). Joseph Delage, Tim Sutton and Troy Wagner wrote the script for the game ^[4] . Three weeks later, the game trailer ^{[5] was released} .

On February 9, 2013, a public free beta version of the game was released for players who pre-ordered Slender: The Arrival . The cost of the final version of the game was also named - $ 10 ^[6] .

Slender: The Arrival received mixed reviews from journalists. The game was praised for its soundtrack and intense atmosphere, but criticized for its short, not as long as expected, story and repetitive gameplay. The game received a score of 70.56% on GameRankings and 68 points out of 100 possible on Metacritic ^{[7] [8]} .

Журнал «The Escapist» оценил игру в 4,5 звезды из 5 ^[14] . VVGtv дал игре 8,8 баллов, хваля графику игры, звук, геймплей (за исключением нескольких элементов), но критикует короткую сюжетную линию ^[17] . GameSpot оценил проект в 8,5 баллов, назвав её «одной из самых страшных игр за последнее время» ^[9] .

Критик из «VideoGamer» Энди Хэмилтон был разочарован игрой Slender: The Arrival , и оценил её в 4 балла из 10 возможных ^[11] . Журналист из сайта «The Metro» подверг критике игровой процесс, заявив, что «в первой игре Slender: The Eight Pages было мало реального геймплея; это продолжение не делает ничего, чтобы его разнообразить» ^[18] .

Игра заняла третье место в номинации «Ужасы года» (2013) журнала « Игромания » ^[19] .

• Official site