Slender: The Eight Pages
Slender: The Eight Pages harkens back to the earlier days of viral internet sensations, yet still stands the test of time in terms of exemplifying how well randomization works in horror games and how great the mechanic is when wanting to instill a sense of persistent unluckiness on the player. In case you’re unaware, Slender tasks players with finding eight pages in a dark forest with nothing but a flashlight to act as their guide. The game is completed when the player finds all eight pages.
Upon starting each play session, the pages in Slender are randomized in ten possible locations. Though you can memorize each possible location, it’s quite impossible to know if the pages are indeed in the place you’re vying for. If you’re unlucky, you’ll turn up with nothing to show for your journey and inch ever so closer to an encounter with Slender Man and an instant game over. The fact that the game features no sound aside from the player’s footsteps, page rustling, and some static doesn’t help, especially when hearts are sent racing when given a brief glimpse of the long man in business attire.
