I quickly understood that this was simply a mechanism for telling me when Slenderman is getting closer, and it never became very effective. I managed to pick a few pages and it was not long until I got visual distortions and heard creepy sounds. The game was still spooky, but a far cry from what it had been. All of this meant that my sense of presence took a drastic drop a drop from which it never recovered. I had no idea why, it made no sense to my subjective narrative. It felt like I had been transported somewhere else entirely. Walking around I also quickly figured that I was supposed to collect eight notes scattered around the area. Instantly I had a real problem with the continuity.

I started the new map facing a canoe and some ranger cabin the environment did not seem to fit and the house I came from were nowhere to be seen. I walked through a gate and a new map loaded. The build-up was hitting with some force.Įventually I found my bearings and headed in the direction of the scream. I was honestly unsure if I could continue playing the game any longer. Normally, I am not very affected by horror games, but at this moment a chill literally ran down my spine. At this point a slight distortion appeared on my screen and a vague whisper was heard. Being unsure where to go I headed in the wrong direction and became lost in the wilderness. I exited the house and entered the woods. I did not want go outside, but felt that I had to. Approaching a window, a scream echoed through the night.

The slow pace combined with my expectations was making my imagination run wild. Numerous of these depicted a dark, slim figure. Having found a flashlight and a key I came across a room filled with weird sketches. At first it was just some weird graffiti and the tone of some texts, but as I progressed further things got worse. Walking around in the abandoned house, I found notes, news clippings and other things that hinted of normality. But among these were also signs that something was wrong. The game had planted an idea in my head and put me in a very suggestive state. Part of the trick was also that I knew there would be a Slenderman, but had no idea what shape it would take. It set up a notion of how things ought to be and gave something to contrast with later on. This was a very simple start, but also an extremely effective one.

Slenderman the arrival full story