Despite its reasonably uninspired identify, Supernatural is without doubt one of the extra distinctive indie horror titles accessible now thanks largely to its premise. Made by a single developer, Supernatural hopes to supply a singular form of horror expertise the place the sport actively reacts to the participant’s actions. For instance, the sport has a characteristic the place the participant can work together with the supernatural entity that they’re investigating by making use of their microphone. Couple that with a compelling thriller that the participant has to resolve and issues get much more attention-grabbing that ensures Supernatural isn’t just one other horror sport.
Let’s get just a few issues out of the best way: Supernatural follows within the footsteps of horror titles that revolve extra round investigation and stealth reasonably than providing up some motion set items within the vein of video games like Resident Evil. It’s additionally value noting that investigation is a giant a part of Supernatural, to the extent the place apart from being scared, you’ll be spending most of your time with the sport fixing puzzles to determine the mysteries behind the story.
Supernatural is a sport I can finest describe as a mixture of some extremely attention-grabbing concepts wrapped up in a bundle that may be extraordinarily interesting as many wouldn’t consider. Supernatural has loads of nice issues going for it, and a few of its extra investigative and puzzle-solving features are downright improbable. Sadly, the sport felt like a little bit of a let down as a result of, attempt as I would, I simply couldn’t get the sport to acknowledge my microphone.
This isn’t a small downside both. The reactivity of the sport to the participant’s voice via the microphone is a giant a part of the sport’s promoting level. With out this characteristic working correctly, Supernatural doesn’t actually have a lot in the best way of attention-grabbing issues that haven’t already been explored in titles like Phasmophobia. The truth that the sport permits gamers to have full-on conversations with a magical creature, with the additional step of the sport additionally reacting by including or subtracting frights relying on the way you sound has been a most wished characteristic for followers of the survival horror style, and it’s a disgrace that I couldn’t get it working with my setup.
Except for the stuff with the microphone points, Supernatural seems like a reliable puzzle horror sport. It options loads of frights by itself, thanks largely to its distinctive animations for the titular supernatural entity, in addition to a number of the hallucinations that gamers can face all through their time with the title.
Supernatural places gamers within the sneakers of Detective Wyatt, who has been tasked with determining the mysteries surrounding the disappearance of a housemaid. The sport largely revolves round gamers going from room to room to attempt to piece collectively simply what occurred there. This takes the type of hallucinations, frights, and even puzzles. There’s little in the best way of motion right here, with one memorable second being sadly spoiled by the sport’s trailer. As a substitute, you’ll spend most of your time creeping round the home attempting to comply with blood trails and work out puzzles.
“Supernatural seems like a reliable puzzle horror sport.”
Curiously, and this does include a warning for gamers that may not have the abdomen for a number of the sport’s violent features, Supernatural has loads of gore with copious quantities of blood in every single place. Whereas it by no means actually will get into identical ballpark as one thing like Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Supernatural definitely will get near providing up the identical degree of gore after which some.
A core theme of Supernatural appears to be Wyatt’s personal tenuous grasp on actuality. The truth that these hallucinations are taking place in any respect is a giant inform that the protagonist isn’t fairly feeling proper and a number of the interactions which can be doable with the entity are inclined to additional reinforce this interpretation of the sport’s story. This would possibly change, nonetheless, if you happen to occur to have a microphone with you whereas taking part in the sport. Supernatural brags about that includes distinctive gameplay any time you begin it up, and even claims to have three endings. Sadly, I may solely actually discover one within the time I used to be capable of spend with the sport.
Replayability additionally appears to be certainly one of Supernatural’s core tenets. Because it permits for a number of types of horror because of its interactivity, in addition to a number of endings, the sport’s comparatively quick run time is improbable for gamers. Every play time is clocked at between 2 and three hours, providing loads of incentive for gamers to revisit the sport to search out extra clues, and maybe, a greater ending for his or her character.
“Every play time is clocked at between 2 and three hours”
Whereas gameplay is a crucial a part of horror video games, the style tends to stay or die based mostly on its visuals and audio, and that is a facet the place Supernatural delivers in spades. Visually, the sport’s environments look downright beautiful, and a number of the gory tableaus it usually presents really feel nearly suave in the event that they didn’t look so disgusting. The one actual downer right here is the supernatural housemaid itself, which, whereas positive and scary from a distance, begins to veer off into the realm of comedy the nearer you get to them. Fortunately, the animations do an incredible job of doing the heavy lifting right here, and the creepy methods they generally transfer may be sufficient to make anybody really feel bizarre.
On the subject of audio, Supernatural as soon as once more hits it out of the park. Whereas there isn’t a lot of a soundtrack right here, what’s current does loads to reinforce the already creepy environment of the sport. As you discover the hallways of the home, you’ll usually hear voices of individuals and even objects being thrown round proper across the nook, solely to search out nobody there. These low-key spooky moments are then punctuated with an emphasis on the bass once you come face-to-face with the housemaid, who’s simply as more likely to toy with you with cryptic hints and imprecise instructions earlier than attempting to outright kill you.
The truth that Supernatural is a comparatively quick sport does it an incredible service, because you’ll by no means actually find yourself taking part in the sport lengthy sufficient for it to ever begin getting in your nerves or really feel tedious. The quick runtime signifies that Supernatural may be a good way to spend a night for followers of horror video games. Although, I personally had bother with getting one of many sport’s core options working, Supernatural is unquestionably value a search for followers of the style.
This sport was reviewed on PC.