The year was 1999.

Y2K was a thing that had people paranoid and to add to the fear a ’reality’ film released in cinemas that set the genre for many others to follow. The Blair Witch Project.

A fake low-budget ‘documentary’ that saw a group of film students visit the town of Burkittsville, Maryland to get to the bottom of the local Blair Witch legend.

Not only did this film fool A LOT of folk that saw it in to thinking it was an actual documentary – the film very quickly became a franchise.

Now adapted from the on-going legend we have a Blair Witch video game released on PlayStation 4.

Played out in first person the slow paced eerie game sets you back to 1994 where your character, Ellis Lynch – a former cop, follows the local police in search of a missing child in Blackhills Forest.

As a prequel, if you like, to the original The Blair Witch Project film, you with your dog at your side roam through the Burkittsville based forest picking up clues and venturing further and further in to the depth of endless and twisted foliage as darkness takes over…

Your dog is not only a companion, it is a tool and will help discover secrets and items aswell as threats, providing you reward him now and then.

A variety of commands are accessible via hot-keys on your controlpad for you to communicate, reprimand, treat and show affection to your furry friend.

Via an analogue cellphone (no smartphones in those days) and a walkie talkie you liberated from a police vehicle you do have comms to the outside world. Although as the game progresses comms do get a bit sketchy.

Your bag is your inventory where you will keep notes, items and dog treats.

Your environment appears to be open world. It’s not. Blair Witch (the game) is very linear. And justifiably so, as it would be easy for players to get themselves totally lost in the forest.

Blair Witch on PS4 is more a detective game than a horror game. While it does exceedingly well to set up a ‘alone in the forest’ vibe and utilising the microphone in the DualShock4 controlpad for sudden jumps (even if it is isn’t meant to scare you e.g. random radio static) gameplay does have you doing a crazy amount of first person walking.

Developed by Bloober Team,  Blair Witch (the game) could have done with a bit more attention on graphics aswell.

All in all, as a fan of the first film and the following sequels (and recent remake) I was pleased to see a video game that is highly playable and with an engaging narrative release.

I recommend Blair Witch (the game) certainly to fans of the franchise, but also to those that are keen for horror titles. If you have somehow not seen any of the films playing this one will likely set you on your path to do a marathon of Blair Witch movies.

The post Blair Witch (PlayStation 4) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

In 1999 the way we watched horrors changed.

Taking on the visceral and ‘reality’ formula the original ‘The Blair Witch Project’ film had viewers wondering whether what they witnessed was the real deal and opened the door for other franchises such as Paranormal Activity and Quarantine, to name a few.

This year the Witch legend from the county of Burkettsville (formerly Blair) returns as four friends, lead by a YouTuber known as Dark666 (real name Lane) and his girlfriend (Talia) seek out the house where in mid 19th Century a local called Rustin Parr killed eight children in the Attic (although some legends state Basement).

James Donahue, with his three friends;  Lisa Arlington, Ashley Bennett and Peter Jones is set on a mission to find James’ sister, Heather (from the original film) who 22 years ago vanished in the Black Woods but was spotted on amateur film footage of the mentioned Dark666.

James gets in touch with the YouTuber and from there the group head in to the unknown.

This time round the narrative goes some way to further explain the mystery of the Black Woods, why time isn’t fluid, why you will always end up at the same point when you try and leave and what the area of the Black Woods actually is where the tormented spirit of Elly Kedward (who was convicted by a local mob of being a Witch and tied to a tree – left to die by the elements) resides.

Naturally since the 1999 film technology had advanced so asides from one DV Cam there are a whole myriad of cameras that the group have, including the use of a Drone.

Blair Witch is their footage.

The film does exceedingly well by making viewers expect the unexpected and it does of course follow the same formula (with many similarities) to the original. Although a lot less ‘real’.

There are times in the movie where you’re on the edge of your seat as you are sure something is about to take place. It doesn’t, so you relax and then bam!

Blair Witch will give the unscare-able a good fright.

A direct sequel to the first ‘mockumentary’ but with differing Directors at the helm.

I do recommend schooling yourself up on the first film; The Blair Witch Project, as this will set the tone and give you a bit more backstory.

A definite watch for those that enjoy a good fright fest and, naturally, those that watched, loved and rewatched ‘The Blair Witch Project’. A deserved 5 Stars.