June 21, 2019 by Paul Curtin
While 2016’s third Blair Witch film was panned by critics and moviegoers, the developers at Bloober aren’t giving up on the franchise and hoping to put the fictional town of Blair, Maryland back on the map with their upcoming survival horror game.
As the creators of Layers of Fear and Observer, the team at Bloober are no stranger to psychological horror. Both of their first-person narrative games have been well-received by critics and players, making them a great choice for rebooting the Blair Witch series in modern video game form.
Similar to the now-canceled Silent Hills reboot, the first trailer for Blair Witch seems to be hinting at some sort time-repeating mechanic where players will relive the same cycle over-and-over as they try to solve the supernatural mystery and escape from the woods.
As teased in the trailer, the developers are using a video camera mechanic taken from the original found footage film, which is sure to make creepy moments in the dark even scarier (just as we’ve seen other games like Outlast do in the past).
But unlike Outlast and Layers of Fear, the developers explained at this year’s E3 that players won’t always be running away from what’s chasing them in the dark; and this time, players will actually be able to fight enemies with a flashlight mechanic similar to the Alan Wake series.
The twist here is that the main protagonist also has a pet dog who will accompany him throughout the game. An interesting mechanic and something that’s rarely seen in horror games due to most scares coming from the dread of being alone in the dark.
With dogs in games and movies being all the rage right now (see John Wick 3), it will be interesting if adding a pet will payoff and if the developers can find a way to use man’s best friend to create an even more horrific experience. Bloober has already confirmed that you can pet the dog, but what happens after that is likely not a joyful and happy experience.
Blair Witch is set for release on August 30, 2019 for PC and Xbox One.
