The trailer for new found-footage style horror game Don’t Scream has landed.
In the game the player’s goal is do precisely what its title states, because if you do scream when scared, the game ends.
Inspired by ’90s found footage film horrors including The Blair Witch Project, Don’t Scream challenges the player to explore the fictional Pineview Forest for 18 minutes. However, time only passes when the player moves and through “dozens of dynamic scares” (no two playthroughs will be the same).
Check out the trailer for the upcoming game below.
What sets Don’t Scream apart from other found-footage horror games is that the player’s microphone must be calibrated to register any sounds that the player makes in real life.
“A mere squeak or quiet gasp should be flagged as a scream,” said developer Joure & Joe, but the team of two developers clarified that speaking softly should not trigger the game to end, making it possible for streamers to play with their audience.
Developed in Unreal Engine 5, Don’t Scream is expected to enter early access on Steam on October 27. Early access offers Joure & Joe the opportunity to learn from fan feedback to ensure that the game is as scary as possible and has depth as well as breadth.
The full version of the game will include a range of events from jump scares to ones that aim to “get under your skin” as well as a backstory on what happened to Pineview Forest. New locations, optional challenges, Steam achievements and trading cards will also be added, as will localisation, controller support and performance tweaks.
Don’t Scream will stay the same price after it is finalised, too. The developer said: “We’re not in this to get rich; we’re here to deliver a terrifying horror experience!”
The inclusion of players’ real voices in games has been seen in titles including Phasmaphobia, In Silence and Demonologist, but these have used voices as mechanics to interact with the game world.
In other gaming news, Starfield’s lead quest designer is now working on Wyrdsong, a role-playing game from a team of former Fallout developers.