Scream 7: Hide & Scream Review (PC)

Thanks to Hide & Scream, an online interactive game that pays homage to Scream 7, I have learned a little something about myself. With regret, I have come to accept the bitter truth that, should I ever be the victim in a slasher flick, I would meet the tip of a knife in less than thirty seconds. Why? Well because, as much as I’d love to wax my own ego and say that I could, if push came to shove, cram myself into the snuggest of places and evade a massacre, I just can’t. Sadly, I’m a bit of a cliché, in that I’ll choose the bedroom without giving it a second thought. I’ll tuck myself beneath the sheets with my feet poking out, blissfully unaware that it’ll be the first place the killer will search. I’ll do that again and again, with the hopes that I won’t meet the same fate. Spoiler alert: the bedroom isn’t the haven you want it to be. Go figure.

In the heat of the moment, with just sixty seconds on the clock to find a hiding place in a cluttered house, I just so happen to choose all of the worst places. The bedroom, for example—a spot that, unsurprisingly, most of the human race has also chosen with little regard of the consequences. If I opt for that spot, I’ll receive the title card ‘cliché’ and a firm reminder that, as universally accepted as the bedroom is under the right circumstances, it is also, without a shadow of a doubt, the stupidest place for a game of hide and seek. A hope and prayer can often go a long way, though. Well, sometimes. When it comes to Hide & Scream, though, your greatest weakness is your inability to think outside of the box. It is random, but it also rewards you for creativity.

The idea behind Hide & Scream is simple: navigate a house with just sixty seconds on the clock, and find a spot to hide before Ghostface pops out to follow the breadcrumbs. During the hiding phase, you can search various crags and crevices for items—speed boosters, decoys, and point multipliers, for example—as well as explore the house before choosing your “secret spot” on the board. After that, it’s merely the case of watching the prolific killer prowl the area and waiting for a timer to run down. If you evade a grizzly execution, then you earn points and advance to a new stage. The timer resets, and the game begins again, only on a tougher difficulty level and with more time to wait before the police arrive to save you and those still alive. That, really, is Hide & Scream, in a nutshell: a schoolyard pastime with a sinister twist.

Mechanically, there isn’t anything major for you to learn here, as it is, in short, a point-and-click game that involves little more than a mouse and a single button prompt. If you’re not searching for items around the house, then you’re hiding somewhere to await the arrival of the killer. That’s really all there is to it. Again, nothing special, but behind its simple structure is, in all honesty, a surprisingly unnerving experience with a lot of replay value. It’s a little gimmicky, sure, but at least it captures the tension and the core characteristics of the movie saga. Plus, I’m willing to shell out a few additional bonus points for the iconic dialogue and signature quips.

Suffice it to say that, as far as content goes, Hide & Scream would certainly benefit from a few additional maps and a second gameplay mode to allow players to take to the role of Ghostface and hunt the victims for themselves. But, it is what it is. It’s a short voyage that remediates boredom for an hour or two. You can’t put a price on that, really.

Verdict

While Hide & Scream doesn’t offer much by way of technological innovation or audiovisual appeal, it does serve its purpose as a quick and easy time-wasting experience that helps to stoke the fire and hype around the beloved Scream franchise. Again, it could do with a few more maps and hiding spots. But then, even for a web browser game that doesn’t explore every nook and cranny of Woodsboro yet still manages to provide an addicting gameplay loop, I’d say that it warrants a quick romp or six. Besides, it’s a free-to-play game that doesn’t require any strenuous effort to play — and that speaks volumes, truly.

Although we’re still without a proper Scream video game on consoles and PC, Hide & Scream does at least do enough to scratch “that” itch for a short while. It isn’t perfect, but thanks to its simple design and annoyingly more-ish gameplay hook, it is a promo that you’ll want to subject yourself to time and time again.