Slender Man and his minions don’t mind warping directly behind you and causing instant game over. While a lucky player can dash through in about 20 minutes, it’ll probably take most people a few hours thanks to the unfair nature of the enemies. The fact that I got tired of it during a game this short shows just how repetitive The Arrival is. It feels like being asked to finish a Where’s Waldo book while your house burns down around you. Whether it’s pieces of paper in a forest or generators in a mine, you’re repeating the exact same actions in every part of The Arrival. Like its predecessor, the vast majority of The Arrival essentially boils down to finding a certain number of objects while an increasingly dangerous enemy stalks you. While I appreciate the lengths that developer Blue Isle went to flesh things out, The Arrival relies far too heavily on the rudimentary game mechanics of the original, which was only ever meant to last for a few minutes. These parts, at least, are done pretty well. Like all great horror games, Slender is best served in a dark room with a pair of headphones. Boards creak, children whisper, and there are some truly terrifying moments that wouldn’t exist without the impeccable use of audio. Some impressive sound design surrounds you with an ambient soundtrack and jarring noises, and it really adds to the already creepy atmosphere. Trekking through autumnal forests and rummaging through homes that actually feel lived in make the world of Slender an interesting environment. Some of the better-lit areas look genuinely great. Instead of a dark forest, you’ll wander through abandoned homes, creepy mines, and sunbaked hillsides. The world he haunts is larger and denser, as well. You can't fight him, only run from him, and that in of itself makes him more frightening than most game monsters. Though his iconic design may be simple, I still got freaked out every time I spotted his silhouette in the distance. The Slender Man himself still stalks you with the same terrifying persistence he has in the original, exuding a menacing presence that evolves throughout the story in some unexpected ways. Most importantly, The Arrival remembers that the core of any good horror lies in its boogeyman.

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