It's been over 10 years since Slender: The Arrival struck fear into the hearts of horror fans when the game launched in 2013 as an expansion to 2012's Slender: The Eight Pages. Fans may no doubt recall the tense, psychological horror moments that Slender Man brought to a uniquely crafted horror experience as it stalked its victims, launching a dedicated fan following. Now in 2023, Slender Man returns to provide even more scares in Blue Isle Studio' 10th Anniversary update to Slender: The Arrival.
Before the recently released update, The Best War Games interviewed Brenden Frank, Co-Founder and Technical Director at Blue Isle Studios, about what it's like bringing the iconic Slender Man back for Slender: The Arrival's 10th Anniversary, known as one of the scariest video game characters of all time. Frank also talked about its updated visuals, a new story addition called S: The Lost Chapters, and more. The following transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q: What's it like bringing Slender: The Arrival back after 10 years for the anniversary update?
A: Incredible, the fan response has been amazing. We, as developers, have learned so much developing different types of games and are really excited to apply some of those lessons as we develop new content for the game.
Q: S: The Lost Chapters is described on the Slender: The Arrival website as a 'brand new type of horror.' Could you explain a bit more about what that means compared to the 2013 game and what the update adds to the horror game genre in general?
A: Unfortunately, we can’t go into detail on S: The Lost Chapters at this time. The game is under tight wraps, and until we’re ready to make bigger announcements, we intend to keep it that way.
Q: The new update is described as a visual overhaul of the 2013 game, but it also contains the new chapter. Why did you decide to continue the story of Slender Man with S: The Lost Chapters, and could tell us a little bit about it from a story and character perspective?
A: Unfortunately, we can’t go into detail on S: The Lost Chapters at this time. The new chapter on Slender: The Arrival was our opportunity to give the fans something new to be excited about with the remaster, as well as our opportunity to try out some new techniques we’ve learned over the years as game developers. We think fans will really like it.
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Q: One of the major changes in the update is the inclusion of co-op for the first time. Why did you decide to introduce a cooperative multiplayer mode?
A: Slender The Arrival has had a dedicated fanbase over the past 10 years, and we really feel like that fanbase would love to have a sandbox for their own creations within the mythos that is officially sanctioned by Slender Man creators. Currently, the game is only single-player, and we wanted to make sure that the creation sandbox included the ability for multiplayer experiences. In order to do that, it was important that we led the way with our very own multiplayer mode.
Q: Could you explain more about how co-op works, whether it is cross-play, and how many players can join in?
A: The co-op gameplay would be two-four players. Unfortunately, we are not ready to disclose details on our co-op gameplay specifics, but we do intend to make sure that it supports cross-play.
Q: How does playing co-operatively affect the build-up of tension and psychological, jump-scare horror gameplay that Slender Man is known for?
A: We think that players find safety in playing with their friends and that the opportunities for horror lie within gameplay elements that divide players and force them to be alone, even if for small periods of time.
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Q: How might the Slender Man react to teams of players from an AI perspective compared to the behavior players are familiar with from single-player?
A: We think there is a lot of room for the single-player AI to work in a multiplayer environment. There are a few considerations though, such as we would like all players viewing Slender Man to have him staring directly at him, not just the player he’s actively hunting. With that said – gameplay is still in its infancy, and it's possible our initial multiplayer mode will not rely heavily on Slender Man’s AI at all.
Q: Previously, players would mainly have to run or hide – could you explain how players might attempt to fight back against the Slender Man in the new update?
A: Unfortunately, we are not prepared to disclose those details. I will say, however, that you cannot truly fight off Slender Man, the best you can do is delay the inevitable.
Q: How has Unreal Engine 5.2 been beneficial in enhancing the game's visuals and experience for players?
Unreal Engine 5.2 really allowed us to push the visual fidelity of the title. You can see our talk at Unreal Fest, where we go into the specifics here:
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Q: Could you talk a bit more about the update's level design and what kinds of new regions players might explore?
A: We worked really hard to maintain the essence of the original title, choosing to “add” rather than “remake”. This is why we added a new chapter and have announced a 3 chapter DLC coming in 2024.
Q: Could you explain more about how the new cross-platform mod kit works and how it enables players to create and share their own single or multi-player Slender experiences?
A: We developed a cross-platform mod kit for one of our previous titles, Leap. In essence, a modder can download our editor from the Epic game store, and use the mod kit to create maps, modes, skins, or other modifications of choice. From there, they use our handy upload tool which uploads their mod to Curseforge, and our cloud cooker prepares packages that are compatible with all platforms. The game’s mod editor allows players to sync their published mod and play it in the game.
Q: How might players access the new update, such as those who might already own a copy of 2013's Slender: The Arrival on PC or otherwise?
A: The Slender: The Arrival Update launches October 18th on PS5 and Xbox Series X and Epic Game Store for $19.99. The Steam version will be updated on October 18th as well and the 2013 version will be moved to a legacy branch.
Q: There looks to be even more Slender Man stories to tell with the future DLC expansion planned containing three more chapters. Why did you decide to continue the story further and are you able to tell us a little bit more about what players can maybe expect from these future updates?
A: Unfortunately, we can’t comment on the specifics, but we will say that we feel the story is never truly fully told. If you’re familiar with Slender: The Arriva l, then you are aware that Slender Man’s impact widens further and further throughout the game as you learn of new characters that are all connected to experience and demise.
Q: Is there anything else you'd like to add?
A: We’re really excited to come back to Slender: The Arrival, and we’ve got big plans to keep this title going with everything players have been asking for.
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Slender: The Arrival is available now for Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The Slender: The Arrival 10th Anniversary update is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.