Some games make it very clear what the player needs to avoid/do right from the title. Don’t Starve is a typical example. This game requires players to eat and drink to survive. Don’t Scream is similar, but this game has an additional layer of challenge. This is a horror game, if the player screams in real life, they will have to play again from the beginning.
Steam page of Don’t Scream explains: “Players must calibrate their microphones during the game so that every whimper, startle, or even the slightest squeak is registered as a scream, increasing the challenge. ” The player can still speak softly, but noises that indicate a change in state such as “the slightest stunned gasp” are also considered failures. “Players can bypass audio recording to overcome fear, but that will reduce the thrill,” the developers said. “For an authentic horror experience, use your microphone. Friend.”
Don’t Scream aims to recreate a found-footage horror film like The Blair Witch Project, with a runtime of only 18 minutes instead of 81 minutes. Players will explore the spooky Pineview Forest with a camera and a timer that will start counting down as they move. The game will feature “dozens of scares” to test players’ courage along the way.
What will await players at the end of the 18-minute ride? Don’t Scream doesn’t appear to have a specific plot but is built around a lot of lore, so the game’s climax could be a final scare and a Steam achievement.
Don’t Scream is performed by two independent developer To be Joure & Joe. The game is expected to be released as early access coming October 27, and the developers plan to add more scares, lore expansions, etc. throughout early access.
