Blair Witch (video game)

Blair Witch
Developer(s)	Bloober Team
Publisher(s)	Lionsgate Games
Director(s)	Mateusz Lenart
Producer(s)	Szymon Erdmanski Amanda Kruse Michael Pagano Doom
Designer(s)	Pawel Niezabitowski
Programmer(s)	Mariusz Szaflik
Artist(s)	Damian Zukowski
Writer(s)	Barbara Kciuk Marcin Welnick Maciej Glomb
Composer(s)	Arkadiusz Reikowski
Series	Blair Witch
Engine	Unreal Engine 4
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows Xbox One PlayStation 4 Nintendo Switch Oculus Quest Amazon Luna
Release	Microsoft Windows, Xbox One WW: August 30, 2019 PlayStation 4 WW: December 3, 2019 Nintendo Switch WW: June 25, 2020 Oculus Quest & Quest 2 WW: October 29, 2020 Amazon Luna WW: October 7, 2021
Genre(s)	Survival horror
Mode(s)	Single-player

Blair Witch is a 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, Xbox One and Xbox Game Pass 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 was later ported to PlayStation 4 on December 3, 2019, Nintendo Switch on June 25, 2020, Oculus Quest & Quest 2 on October 29, 2020 and Amazon Luna on October 7, 2021.

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 single player first-person survival horror game. 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 defend 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.^[1]

Plot[]

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The game is set in 1996, two years after the events of the first film. Veteran and former police officer Ellis Lynch (voiced by Joseph May) alongside his police dog Bullet, travels to Black Hills Forest in Burkittsville, Maryland to join the search party for the missing 9-year-old Peter Shannon. He arrives and begins his search. Shortly after entering the forest, Ellis contacts search party leader Sheriff Emmet Lanning, who lets Ellis join the search despite questioning his mental fitness due to his recurring PTSD.

After finding Peter's hat and following his scent, Ellis and Bullet reach a campsite. Ellis finds a working camcorder before blacking out. He begins to recall previous points in his life before waking up inside the tent to find that night has fallen.

Ellis happens upon a red tape and after viewing it, realizes that he can manipulate reality around him, which he uses to find clues. Shortly after, he receives contact from Lanning, who tries to locate him. Lanning desperately told Ellis that the team never saw the campsite he described, and for him to stay put so they can rendezvous. He refuses, continuing to walk deeper into the thicket in fear of Bullet losing Peter's scent.

Ellis and Bullet eventually arrive at a crooked white tree with black vines, and they are stalked and attacked by several silhouetted creatures, but he scares them off with his flashlight. As they search the surrounding area, the duo finds what looks to be war trenches and a broken-down vehicle. He encounters another red tape that shows Peter's abduction by a mysterious figure. As Ellis and Bullet try to find another route, the broken-down truck transforms into Lanning's police truck. After instructed by an unknown voice through the radio, Ellis switches on the truck's headlights. A bright flash envelopes them and they find themselves the next morning.

Continuing their search, Bullet finds Lanning's body buried under forest debris; another tape shows Lanning's murder by Peter's abductor. Ellis follows Bullet back the way they came only to find that the riverbank they crossed is now dried up. While walking across the river, Bullet sniffs an old soldier's helmet. As their surroundings are slowly altered into a battlefield, Ellis and Bullet proceed to run to escape gunshots until they came upon a large tree. Ellis follows Bullet through the hollow tree trunk whilst hearing mysterious whispers of a woman before losing consciousness again.

It is revealed through his nightmare that Ellis, as an officer, fatally shot Peter's brother while responding to a robbery call; he becomes obsessed with saving Peter as a means of amending it. Awakening, he finds himself in front of the campsite, now far more deteriorated. He inexplicably finds various dog tags belonging to his previous military squad. He, alongside Bullet, finds more clues to investigate a lumber mill deep in the forest.

On the way, Ellis finds parts of the forest burning, with rubbles reminiscent of the site of his failed mission scattered throughout with strange forces digging through the pile of dead leaves. He suffers a powerful hallucination of how he felt responsible for the death of his military squad, who were all killed during the mission. Arriving at the mills' outpost, he uses the recorder to restart the boiler to power and ride a minecart. Crossing a bridge, Ellis calls his ex-wife Jess one more time before losing the signal, who insists he return, but he refuses.

At the mill, Ellis finds the corpse of missing lumberer Todd Mackinnon, murdered with a circular saw by the abductor. He confronts the abductor, a disheveled man named Carver, who asks if he sees "her". He accuses mocks and knocks Ellis out, stating that Peter must die because 'such is "her" will'. Ellis awakens as Carver drags him back to the new completely decayed campsite. Under Carver's instructions, he uses the camcorder to locate the white tree, which he uses alongside a deer's skin to make the witch's sign. Carver urged him to survive by submitting and directs him to shoot Bullet; outraged, he refuses. Bullet runs off and is later found wounded. Ellis carries him only to find himself walking in circles.

Ellis passes out to find Bullet missing. After losing and regaining consciousness several times, he's confronted by Carver, who taunts him with Bullet's supposed death. He wakes up at the now-flooded campsite in a rainstorm. He sees and enters a dilapidated house, following clues through numerous doorways and passages leading to the basement. Visions of the past reveal the cause of Ellis' PTSD; he accidentally killed a native girl while hiding from enemy forces during a combat mission. This shocks him enough, causing his negligence in warning his squad of danger, resulting in their deaths; the concealed face seen throughout the game was the girl's face.

Mysterious voices alongside creatures inside the house continue to taunts Ellis. In a fit of rage, he aggressively makes his way into the basement. Entering it, he finds Peter is nowhere and goes through a secret trapdoor that teleports him outside to Carver. Multiple endings are available.

Depending on the player's actions throughout the game, he either kills Carver or lets Carver kill him, refusing to allow the presence to take him over. Based on how well he was treated, Bullet could end up alive and well. If he ends up killing Carver, he will find himself into the next Carver, causing Bullet to leave the forest in fear and sadness. If he lets Carver kill him, Bullet will either move on or stays by his side. The outcomes also vary; It can either reveal that Lanning's body was never found or was recovered and buried with top honors, either Todd Mackinnon's remains were found nearly beyond identification or recovered by his family to be buried, and Peter's fate can either be unknown, revealed to be 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.^[2] 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.^[3] The game was developed using Unreal Engine 4.^[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."^[5] 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.^[6]

Release[]

Blair Witch was announced at E3 2019. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox One on August 30, 2019.^[7] At Gamescom 2019, Blair Witch was added to Xbox Game Pass along with several other titles.^[8][9]

Reception[]

Blair Witch received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.^[10][11] 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.^[20] 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."^[17] Jeff Cork of Game Informer stated similar pros, but criticised the enemy encounters and its inconsistency.^[15] 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."^[14]

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."^[21] 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."^[22]

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.^[19] 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.^[16] 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."^[18]

Accolades[]

Despite mixed reviews, the game was nominated for "Xbox Game of the Year" at the 2019 Golden Joystick Awards,^[23] and for "Use of Sound, New IP" at the NAVGTR Awards.^[24]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website