The sequel to Slender now bigger and better
Slender: The Arrival is the sequel to the free to play horror smash hit Slender which went viral in 2012. For Halloween 2013, the original Blue Island Studios version of Slender The Arrival was enhanced by the developers at Midnight City to create an even better game with more depth. Note that unlike the original, Slender: The Arrival is not free but is available for a modest fee from the Steam store.
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A far more detailed and involving version of Slender
Both Slender and Slender: The Arrival are based on the obscure myth that somewhere out there, there is a tall thin, faceless freak called "Slenderman" who not only abducts people (mainly children it seems), but mashes people's brains telepathically with his mind when he gets near. It might sound like madness, but it's a myth that's become increasingly popular over the years with low budget horror films like The Blair Witch Project loosely based on it.
Slender was one of the first games to be based on it and went on to become a phenomenon in 2012, inspiring several spin-offs and countless "Watch how scared I get playing Slender at midnight while wearing an adult diaper" YouTube videos.
As soon as you start Slender: The Arrival, its clear that its a more polished game than the original which is to be expected. Slender: The Arrival has a far more cinematic presentation and all round gameplay than the original Slender although the basic gameplay remains the same. In this Midnight City revision of Slender: The Arrival the basic premise of the original Slender (i.e. collect eight pages saying creepy, cryptic things like, "Don't look, it takes you", "He's out there" and "He's got massive limbs") has been revised.
There's now a much bigger game to explore, better graphics and a new "creature" to be scared of although what it is isn't exactly clear (Slenderman's tall-thin rabied dog maybe?). The ambient music has been jacked-up to be more cinematic and atmospheric and there's just more all round general depth to the game and things to puzzle you such as an abandoned House, Quarry, Garden and much more. Slenderman is actually much harder to encounter in Slender: The Arrival though because you have to complete a series of tasks before you even come within an inch of his wispy thighs.
Simple keyboard controls
To control your character, the keyboard controls are pretty much the same as Slender:
Look around - Move your mouse Move forward - Up key Backward - Down key Left - Left key Right - Right key Zoom in - Q Zoom out - E Run - Hold shift key while moving Grab note - Left click Turn Flashlight On/Off - Right click
Note that from the beginning, you don't have a Flashlight. You have to find it first before the adventure really begins (hint: it's in the abandoned house). There are plenty of notes to pick-up although they're more useful than in Slender. All of them tie into the plot which centers around the disappearance of your companion Kate and a child.
Slender: The Arrival is overall a much better game than the original Slender but with the same easy to play gameplay. There's far more to explore and investigate than the original and it's much more interesting than just walking around finding random notes while avoiding the sick lanky phenomenon that is Slenderman. The ambient noise can sometimes drive you mad - it often buzzes for ages with the odd scream or sound of footsteps here and there but on the whole it's better than the original.
