Supernatural Review (PC)

Visage. Home Sweet Home. MADiSON. Blair Witch. OXIDE Room 104. What do all of these things have in common? An unbreakable desire to replicate the basic bone structure of the ever-famous P.T., of course. Oh, and the same desire to clone a slender woman—Margaret, usually—who, for some historical reason, has an undying passion for slaughtering innocent civilians for the sake of, I don’t know, satisfying some century-old grudge against the world and anything with a beating heart. Well, as it turns out, there’s another one of these projects knocking about, and it just so happens to be sporting all of the same bells and whistles as its adversaries: slender woman, eerily vacant home, and a barrel of rotting flesh, to boot. And if you think that’s cutting it a bit close to the likes of its ilk, then wait till you see Supernatural in its entirety.

At first glance, it’s easy to discard Supernatural as just another soulless imitation of another universe, and to be fair, I’d be lying if said that I didn’t feel the same about it as I first stepped foot into its borders. From the outside looking in, it came across as a rather generic fever dream—a dream that I, like so many others, had already subjected myself to in countless other scenarios across an enormous range of platforms. But then, oddly desperate to prove myself wrong, I entered that dream, and I allowed it to whisk me away into its spiraling darkness for the short haul, if only to offer it the opportunity to tell me otherwise. Conceptually, it had all of the familiar trappings of a cliche-riddled horror, but deep down, it had something else to share, and I was hell-bent on figuring out what on earth it was. 

Into the Abyss

Supernatural is a first-person psychological horror, one in which players fill the boots of a celebrated detective, whose career choices have since ushered him into a terrifying case pertaining to the untimely disappearance of a former housemaid, Mrs. Susan. As the acclaimed detective, you are invited to plunge deep into the roots of an old home—a location in which unsettling truths wallow in the depths of an allusive series of secrets. The question you’re aiming to answer is simple: what happened to Mrs. Susan, and why now of all times are you beginning to unravel sinister apparitions of the subject in question? There’s a disturbing presence in this old residence, and the housemaid, of all people, is the one who’s manifesting it. Go figure.

Like a lot of survival-horror games that accommodate a host of signature tropes, Supernatural blends a solid mixture of logical puzzles with the occasional combat encounter. What’s more, it also takes full advantage of another type of mechanic—the microphone, which you must utilize during your investigation in order to not only communicate with the apparitions before you, but to develop a safety net that prevents you from having any, shall we say, accidents. And it’s with this small tool that you also have the power to steer the narrative, too; in fact, the game offers out multiple endings, with each one relying on one of several factors over the course of the steps that you take along the way. In other words, making noise is, whether you like it or not, the equivalent of ringing the death knell.

Ignorance Is Bliss

Given the fact that the act of increasing decibels is a surefire way of signing your own death warrant, it seems that the only way for you to progress in Supernatural, really, is to keep your volume in check, and the words in your arsenal limited. But that isn’t to say that you can’t speak at all; on the contrary, the power of speech does actually carry a rather beneficial influence over the whole world. For example, if you fail to keep a lid on the volume, or simply refrain from holding back any unwanted screams or chants, then chances are you’ll wind up with a scarier outcome—an outcome that, if you’re lucky, could result in a d better ending, weirdly enough. It’s the not knowing when or where to intervene, that’s the problem. Still, I can’t say that it doesn’t know how to keep you on your toes.

Aside from the fact that audio interference is the common theme of the game, Supernatural does also divulge some interesting puzzles and other seasonal tidbits, too. Granted, neither of these things are out of the ordinary—operate a camera here or there; and have a good old rummage through several points of interest, etcetera etcetera—but when combined with the other key mechanics and features, they do manage to complement one another surprisingly well. And the good thing about all of this is that, even though the journey as a whole isn’t the lengthiest in terms of gameplay, there’s still a lot of unpredictability to it. To say that it’s a different story with each new turn, however, wouldn’t be entirely true — but it certainly comes close.

Cameras & Corridors

As I mentioned earlier, Supernatural isn’t the longest game on the market; in fact, if you’re one for romping through the motions in a short amount of time, then it probably won’t take you any longer than ninety or so minutes to complete. Again, this depends on a lot of factors, such as how you approach certain obstacles, or how you choose to interpret the sounds and other unnatural phenomena that flesh out the world. Even still, it isn’t something that’ll take you multiple sittings to shovel through. It’s a darn good thing that there are several endings to unlock, then. It’s also a good thing that it provides a generous amount of replay value, too. Sure, it’s short, but I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t want to rerun the same course after beating it the first time.

In spite of its lack of depth and longevity, the game itself does manage to make the most out of its short time with a lot of genuinely interesting components—a creepily tormented soundtrack and unsettling animations, being two of the primary features that maintain a permanent fixture throughout the entire campaign. Sure, its enemy design, being none other than the slender woman who we touched base on earlier, isn’t anything we haven’t seen numerous times before, but that doesn’t change the fact that, when it comes to amplifying the scare factor, it still checks all of the right boxes and produces enough nightmare fuel to generate an atmospheric experience. Again, it’s a short story, but at no point would I say that it makes an undying effort to overstay its welcome — which is a relief, in ways.

Verdict

Supernatural set out to accomplish a single goal: to recreate the ambiance of a cult classic and add its own flair to its general infrastructure. To that end, I feel as if it has succeeded in numerous ways, and I’m inclined to believe that, as far as Silent Hills-like adaptions travel, it’s arguably one of the better ones to celebrate. So it isn’t anything special, or even anything that reeks of originality, for that matter — but that doesn’t mean it’s without its own sense of character and charm. The fact that it integrates horror elements with a microphone—a tool that clearly seems to be making its rounds in the survival-horror scene as of late—again, makes it all the more intriguing to watch unfold, too.

I won’t pretend that everything in its casket is perfect, because there are still several elements that lack the same basic functionality—the combat, for example, is still a little wooden and without the same level of detail or fluidity as its mechanical counterparts. Aside from a few minor issues here or there, though, Supernatural is still a fantastic piece of art, and one that possesses all of the seasonal extracts of a great horror story that’s complete with all of the finer trimmings. It’s a good-looking game, too; in fact, the world design is, although somewhat textbook and a little limited in depth, absolutely bursting with plenty of solid color schemes and set pieces. Add the fact that it also includes a wealth of interactive puzzles and a whole barrel of jump scares, and you’ve got all of the right ingredients for a memorable adventure, for sure.