Blair Witch (video game)

Blair Witch is a

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

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 forest creatures (resembling the one from the second film) attack the player and will bark when they are close by. The player can defend 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

In 1996, two years after

Multiple endings and outcomes occur from Ellis' actions. If Bullet is treated well, he survives the events, but will die if he is mistreated. If he kills Carver, Lanning, or Mackinnon, he completes his transformation into Carver and Bullet leaves in fear, causing a time loop. If he lets Carver mortally wound him, Carver ceases to exist, finally breaking the cycle. He dies with Bullet either leaving him or staying with him at his last moments, with his body later found by Jess and the search party. Lanning and Mackinnon's bodies will either remain missing or be recovered, while Peter is either missing, found dead, or found alive and safely brought back to his family.

Development

Blair Witch was developed by

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][12][13]} 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 does not have a complex tale, in addition calling the story twists as predictable.^[17] Jeff Cork of Game Informer echoed 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 become 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 created an ominous, intimidating forest that looks haunted, but noted that occasionally can be frustrating when navigating and becoming lost in it.^[21] Eurogamer's Viki Blake highlighted the visuals and the masterful use of sound when creating the scares and the set-pieces as memorable.^[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, but was critical of the dog's "flimsy" AI.^[19] Jason Faulkner of GameRevolution 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 called this narrative tool as excellent that keeps the game on the edge.^[18]

Accolades

Despite mixed reviews, the game was nominated for "Xbox Game of the Year" at the

External links

• Official website