Blair Witch (video game)
Blair Witch is a psychological survival horror video game developed by Bloober Team based on the Blair Witch series of horror films. It was published by Lionsgate Games for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 30, 2019. The game is set two years after the events of the 1999 film The Blair Witch Project, which takes place in 1994. The game follows former police officer Ellis Lynch as he joins the search in Black Hills Forest for a missing boy.
The game focuses on survival horror mechanics and stealth and is played from a first person perspective, requiring the player to use items such as a camera, cellphone, flashlight or Ellis' dog, Bullet, to track and follow the trail of missing nine-year old Peter Shannon while fending off shadowy creatures. Along the way, players will find strange wooden dolls, photographs and cassette tapes and will also be tasked with solving puzzles. Like the film, it integrates the found-footage subgenre with the gameplay and story, often through the use of cassette tapes.
Blair Witch received mixed reviews with critics praising its atmosphere, graphics, sound design and the use of a dog companion, but criticised its gameplay design and perceived difficulty.
Gameplay
As with previous Bloober Team games, Blair Witch is a first-person survival horror game and is a single player campaign. The player controls former police officer and veteran Ellis Lynch who joins a search party for a missing boy in the Black Hills forest in Burkittsville, Maryland.The game plays out in a semi-open world, making players explore different parts of the areas which can sometimes lead to abandoned structures, campsites or little crevices that only Bullet can access. Along the way, they will find items such as wooden dolls, polaroids of missing people, dog tags and psychiatrist notes which are stored in the backpack. Also stored in the backpack are dog treats which can be fed to Bullet. Sometimes, areas can be blocked off by a log or a door and are only accessible by solving a puzzle or by collecting several items that opens or operates for example, a steam donkey. It may also require the player to find cassette tapes. There are two types; red and blue. The red tape allows players to manipulate and rewind time to move objects that have been locked or moved in place, while the blue tape tells more of the story. These tapes can be accessed via the camcorder.
While in the forest, Ellis will reminisce about his past through the use of several devices; a cell phone and a walkie-talkie. Whenever a call is received, the player can choose to accept or reject. This decision chosen will directly affect the game's conclusion as well. Messages and voicemails will also pop up occasionally, players can access them in the menu. Also in the phone's menu are the popular 2D games Snake and Astro Blaster which can be played at any point of the playthrough.
A major element of gameplay is Ellis' dog, Bullet. The player is able to interact with the dog through a command menu. There are five commands, "Stay", "Stay close", "Reprimand, "Pet" and "Seek". The latter serves as an integral part of gameplay, as items found throughout allow Bullet to track the scent of certain objects or the general direction of where to go. During combat, Bullet serves as an indicator when shadowy creatures attack the player and will bark when they are close by, the player can fend for themselves by shining their flashlight towards the creatures. Another feature with Bullet, is the psychological state of Ellis. It is crucial for the player to keep Bullet close to them at all times, as being separated from him for some time can affect the state of the character. The game's ending is dependent on the relationship between the player and the dog, accounting for the actions the player has done.
The game roughly takes up to six hours to complete, with a possibility of four endings and an additional secret ending.
Plot
The game is set in 1996, two years after the events of the first film, Ellis Lynch, a former police officer and a veteran, travels to the Black Hills Forest to join the search party for a missing boy, nine-year old Peter Shannon. He brings with him his pet dog, Bullet. While driving towards the Forest, he receives a call from his ex-wife, Jess. When he arrives at the forest, he takes his flashlight, acquires a Walkie-Talkie, and begins his search. Shortly after entering the forest, Ellis decides that he should call Sheriff Lanning, who is also on the search for the missing child. Lanning questions Ellis on whether he is in the condition to join the search.After communicating with Lanning, Ellis ventures with Bullet through a small area of the forest in day time. Ellis finds a hat from which Bullet is able to follow Peter's scent. As the sky gets darker, Ellis and Bullet make their way through the forest, eventually reaching a campsite. Ellis discovers a camcorder placed on a rock; he picks the camcorder up and checks it, before blacking out. Ellis begins to dream, recalling previous points in his life. When Ellis finally awakens, it is shown that he had fallen asleep in the tent and it has gotten significantly darker outside.
Ellis remembers the camcorder from before he blacked out and happens upon a red tape. Ellis begins to view the tape and realizes that he can make certain objects from the tape appear or move in reality. Ellis successfully rewinds the red tape and a small toy police car appears on the ground. Shortly after, Lanning calls Ellis. Ellis begins trying to explain the red tape and what happened, but Lanning reveals that they didn't find such a campsite. Lanning tells Ellis to stay where he is so they can all meet up and follow Bullet. Ellis tells him that he can't wait for them to catch up and disconnects.
Ellis and Bullet eventually arrive at a crooked tree with black vines and white branches. They are unexpectedly stalked and attacked by several silhouetted monsters shrouded in leaves and twigs, with Bullet aiding Ellis as he scares them off with his flashlight. Ellis and Bullet begin searching the surrounding area. Ellis finds what looks to be war trenches and a broken down vehicle. As he searches the vehicle, he finds a red tape which shows that Peter was abducted. As Ellis and Bullet are heading back to find another route, the broken-down truck from before is now Lanning's truck. Ellis gets in the truck and switches on the headlights. A bright flash envelopes everything around Ellis and he steps out of the truck to find that it seems to be the next morning.
Continuing on his search, Bullet finds a pile of leaves and branches and begins digging and whimpering. Ellis discovers Lanning's body, and a tape showing that Lanning was murdered by Peter's abductor. Ellis follows Bullet back the way they came only to find that the river they crossed is now dried up. While walking across the river, Bullet begins to sniff at something, an old soldier's helmet. Ellis begins examining it and is told to run. While running, Ellis hears gunshots and dogs barking and sees flashes of light are coming from all around them until they come to a very large tree with an opening in the trunk. Ellis begins to follow Bullet through the tree hearing a voice saying "Come to me, Ellis." He finally gets to an opening, but he falls down and begins to crawl until he passes out again and begins dreaming.
The nightmare shows that Ellis, as an officer, shot Peter's brother while responding to a robbery call, severely injuring him; he becomes obsessed with saving Peter as a means of amending that. Awakening, he finds himself in front of the campsite, which seems far more older and overgrown. He inexplicably finds various dog tags belonging to his team. Using Bullet and his camera he finds a patch belonging to the lumber mill, where Lanning was investigating.
On the way there, Ellis finds a burning part of the forest filled with rubble and remains of buildings reminiscent of the site of his failed mission, avoiding a strange force digging through the piles of leaves. He suffers a powerful hallucination of how he felt responsible for the death of his military squad, who were killed during a mission. Arriving at the mills' outpost, he uses the recorder to restart the boiler to power a mine cart. The two ride it as the leaf-dwelling creature follows. Crossing a bridge, Ellis calls Jess one more time before connection is lost, where he alludes to the strange happenings of the woods. She insists he return, but he refuses.
At the mill, he investigates to find the partially bisected corpse of a worker, who was murdered with the equipment by the kidnapper. He comes face to face with the man himself, a mysterious man named Carver, who asks if he sees "her". He accuses Ellis of being weak, knocking him out while stating that Peter must die, such is "her" will. After another flashback, he awakens as Carver brings him back near the camp, who tells him he was like him, weak and pathetic, but found new purpose, saying he was set free the moment he started listening. Grabbing his recorder, he sees that it shows invisible painted marks around him. He finds the camp is now completely decayed, and gets radio messages from Carver; Ellis gives one final message to Jess. He uses the camera to find the white tree, which he removes several twigs, finding that the tree "bleeds" a strange black sap. Using the skin of a deer Carver killed, he makes the sign of the witch. The scent leads Bullet to a small opening under a tree, but a screech is followed as he runs out in fright. Carver tells him of how the only way to survive is to submit, and leads him to a gun to kill Bullet with but Ellis refuses. When Bullet runs off, he's later found wounded. Ellis carries him, only to find himself in a loop with many messages telling him to give it up.
Ellis passes out to find Bullet missing, with voices whispering to him. Attacked by a mysterious creature, he wakes in a cave made of branches, using his flashlight to scare off apparitions. Waking and passing out again, he's confronted by Carver, who mocks him, revealing that he killed Bullet, stating that it's time. He wakes up at the campsite once more, this time in a rainstorm and a very different location. He sees and enters a house, following clues leading to the basement, finding the house seemingly filled with multiple passages and doorways. He has more visions of his past, revealing that the deaths of his comrades due to his negligence was caused by his shock and guilt of incidentally causing the death of a native girl while hiding from enemy forces, resulting in him not noticing their approach and therefore not warning them of the danger; the concealed face he's seen throughout was hers.
Ellis goes through the halls, with the voice's presence becoming more unbearable, all while he avoids shining the light at a monster that becomes enraged when illuminated. At some point, he's thrown into a rage, aggressively making his way into the basement, much to his confusion. Entering it, he finds Peter is nowhere, and goes through a secret trapdoor to the outside. Depending on the ending, he either kills Carver, or lets him kill him, refusing to allow the presence to take him over as a weakened Carver dies anyway. Bullet is revealed to be alive, and the ending depends on how well he's treated. If he ends up killing Carver, he suddenly finds he has transformed into him; Bullet leaves the forest either in fear or sadness. If he lets Carver kill him, Bullet either moves on or stays by his side.
The ending cutscene varies and depends on players completing certain requirements; the endings can either reveal that Lanning's body was never found or was recovered and buried with top honors, the lumberer Todd Mackinnon was found nearly beyond identification or recovered by his family to be buried, and Peter's fate can be unknown or revealed that he was ultimately murdered at Carver's hands or safely found by the authorities and returned to his family unscathed.
Development
Blair Witch was developed by Bloober Team who are known for their psychological horror video games, Layers of Fear and Observer. The idea of developing the game was conceived by Lionsgate who had purchased the rights in 2003 from Artisan Entertainment and were interested in doing a Blair Witch game after liking the work that Bloober had done on Layers of Fear. Building on the foundation of their previous titles, Blair Witch was idealised as a semi open-world game with vast improvements to allow players to explore and fully immerse themselves. According to writer Maciej Glomb, Lionsgate had given the team free range to work on an original story that was set in the same universe as the films with guidelines set by the studio. This allowed the team to work on character development and the story while also focusing on the psychological aspects of the game. The game was developed using Unreal Engine 4.The setting of the game was designed to follow the 1999 film, with the landscape of the Black Hills Forest. As writer Barbara Kciuk explains, "For us, open spaces are not only a challenge but also an opportunity...a forest setting gives you completely new tools to play with. Players can never be sure what lurks in the darkness." For inspiration, the team sought out video games such as Firewatch, Alan Wake and Outlast and films that re-defined the found-footage genre which include REC and Paranormal Activity.
Release
Blair Witch was announced at E3 2019. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One on August 30, 2019. At Gamescom 2019, Blair Witch was added to Xbox Game Pass along with several other titles.Reception
Blair Witch received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Alex Spencer of PC Gamer called Blair Witch "An interesting horror game that never manages to escape the shadow of its ‘90s inspiration." but criticised it for not developing some of the mechanics further. Writing for GameSpot, Alessandro Barbosa praised the game's atmosphere and sound design but was critical saying that "Blair Witch doesn't tell a complex tale, and its twists are drawn out over such a long time that it's easy to see them coming way before they have any chance to land impactfully." Jeff Cork of Game Informer stated similar pros, but criticised the enemy encounters and its inconsistency. Destructoid's Patrick Hancock commented that "Blair Witch sufficiently blends regular scares with psychological horror", but noted the abundant amount of jump scares that, over the course of the game, became "too annoying and noticeable."The game's atmosphere and sound design were highlighted positively with Polygon editor Cass Marshall calling the atmosphere of the forest "satisfying", and said that "Developer Bloober Team has created an ominous, intimidating forest that already looks haunted. The woods can be tricky to navigate, though; I’m constantly running into invisible walls, looking for paths, and generally being uncertain about where I am." Eurogamer's Viki Blake highlighted the visuals and the masterful use of sound and said that "Blair Witch is nonetheless packed with a number of successful scares and memorable set-pieces that draw admirably on the franchise's lore."
The characters received generally positive reviews. T.J. Hafer, writing for IGN, stated that the dog made the experience much more bearable and was useful for tracking down important items. He also said that "...he’s a welcome companion traipsing through the dark, oppressive underbrush and gave me a way to bring down my real world heart rate with some nice ear scratches after particularly stressful segments". However, Hafer was critical of the dog's flimsy AI. Jason Faulkner of Game Revolution called Bullet's inclusion as "under-utilised", with his most significant usage being directing the player towards enemies during combat. Alyssa Mercante of GamesRadar+ pointed out the character of Ellis Lynch, commenting on the relationship between Ellis and Bullet and the clever use of mental problems and stating that "It's a brilliant narrative tool, one that constantly keeps you on edge."
Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of Zero Punctuation ranked the game as the Fourth Worst Game of 2019.