Slender: The Arrival

played it drunk on my birthday at night while streaming to a mate as i was progressively getting more and more on edge and then i got jumpscared so hard i nearly shit myself and uninstalled. reinstalling months later to do the same thing, the games awesome

A spooky rural sightseeing in which you are pursued by a used-cars salesman from the wrong side of Carcosa..
It is the spooky season once more, and what better way to celebrate the coming of Samhain than to play spooky games with a nice cup of tea in the old homestead. First out is this remastered yet unplayed diamond in the rough. The titular Slenderman is a character that originates from a good old creepypasta and is more or less an amalgamation of generic creepy stuff gone rogue. As a concept this is pretty solid. With its smeared facelessness, a suit that screams post-capitalism and an affinity for being just out of view, the Slenderman is an exemplar of how the pursuit of money ruins everything nice in the world.. Or maybe I'm reading too much into this..
The game is more or less a fleshed out walking simulator with just a pinch of spooky horror game added to the dish. A series of mysterious disappearances, a creepy otherworldly character showing up as a portent of disaster and a plethora of mysterious mysteries to unravel during our rampant race towards an impending doom. Now the walking part is fine, and the ambiance and atmosphere in this game is really good, turning what could have been a boring stroll into a nightmarish romp through eerie landscapes, dilapidated buildings and desolated mines. The thing that makes it “more” of a game is the presence of antagonists that are out for your sanity/blood/soul, and part of the psychology of fear are really great, even if it is just the good old sensitization/jumpscare loop that is quite common in these types of games. I ran through it once and tried it out on hardcore only to back out again when I realized the main character turned from a decently conditioned human being into a chain smoking asthmatic as a means of upping the challenge. My recommendation, play it on easy/normal and do yourself a favor, the game does not get better from an even slower pacing.
In the end this is a horror game I recommend, especially on a spooky autumnal sale. The focus is mainly on the psychological bits with quite a few jumpscares along the way which suits me fine. Be aware that it is not a lengthy game, but it has a good story told through collected notes and visual storytelling, and should you need to you can always boot up a chapter to find the missing pieces to complete the puzzle.

Short but thrilling horror experience that perfectly blends classic gameplay with a modern visual overhaul. The light jumpscares are enough to keep your heart rate up, but never feel cheap or overwhelming, making it accessible even for casual horror players.
One of its strongest points is the nostalgic gameplay loop of collecting pages while being stalked by the ever-creepy Slender Man. It’s simple, yet effective, and still captures the tension that made the original so iconic. The story is more intriguing than you’d expect from a game in this genre, mysterious and unsettling, with enough lore sprinkled in to keep you curious throughout.
Major props go to the developers for sticking with this project. Instead of rebranding it with a flashy “remake” label, they committed to updating the original with beautifully enhanced graphics and technical improvements. It’s rare to see such dedication, and it shows just how passionate they are about their game and community.

100% Achievement Review: A quick review based on my experience completing all the (available) achievements.
Title: Slender: The Arrival
Summary: Horror puzzle game
Personal notes: I played this originally on Xbox and thought I would give the 10 year anniversary update a go. You probably already know the story of the Slender-man and if you somehow don't, I would recommend going in blind. This game has some aspects reminiscent to other Slender games and some brand new ones. I won't delve into the story too much though as I don't want to spoil the experience. I will applaud how much extra content the developers have introduced over the years. The updated graphics are quite well done and only add to this already scary experience. With this in mind, AI is still very frustrating to deal with in some scenarios. I would also like to mention that a couple of the achievements are very buggy such as Insta-killed or I Escaped. I had to retry those many times with different strategies from YouTube. If this wasn't the case the difficulty would be lower but as it stands it's quite frustrating. Overall though it's a fun short horror game. Would grab on sale.
Time it took to complete: 8hrs
Most difficult achievement(s):
- Fearless (Beat the game on "Hardcore" difficulty)
- Speed Runner 1/2/3 (Various speed run achievements)
- The Collector 1/2 (Find all scrapbook items/numbered letters)
Difficulty rating:
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 6/10
Overall rating:
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 6/10

I remember playing this game back in 2014. I was a little kid but damn, this game was so scary to me. I remember thinking that Slenderman was real and that he was going to kill me and my whole family LMAO. Good times. But yeah, this game is decent for people who aren't biased from nostalgic reasons.

I may be too late to review the game, but for anyone who hasn't played it yet. I would highly recommend playing it. The story of the game is great and the graphics are even better. I finished it yesterday and would play it again without hesitation.
My brother gave me the game because I couldn't afford it, but it's definitely worth the price.

Have always loved this game, Crazy to think that even with all the hype that used to surround Slenderman the only quality pieces of media we really got from his character was this game and the Marble Hornets YouTube series.