After finding out that there is an upcoming first-person horror game that features the experience of exploring and proving an alien abduction, I had to give the free demo on Steam a playthrough. DEKLAZON really has an opportunity to make quite a unique experience with They Are Here as it is using the tools of modern horror game development to make a proper alien abduction game. After first seeing the underwhelming trailer and now that I have played the demo, I am concerned that this game might not meet its potential.
Gameplay
This demo is really short and basically just introduces you to what type of experience you can expect from the game. You arrive at the farm house for your planned interview with the family that saw aliens, but once you walk up to the door you find a note that tells you the family went out looking for their little girl that went missing. Solid groundwork to get things going while explaining why you are alone.
Here you have a chance to explore, find a couple items that are worth taking a picture of to start building up your evidence, and read a few notes to give a bit more back story. It isn’t until you reach the little girls room that things get real, real fast.
After reading an extra strange note that mentions some details about the aliens (tall, gray skin, dark eyes, talk unlike anything you’ve heard before) and finding a picture in the girls room, there is a loud rumbling before the power goes out. From here, you are left to your instincts on what to do next, which should be simply to get out of the house and back to your truck.
This section of the game was the best by far as you could hear them around you, but not see them. I didn’t know whether I was going to get caught or if it was all just an anxiety-building ploy. It led me to the living room where I got a short moment of peace, only to find a few more strange things from the family. After that, it was back to the car.
Leaving the house and heading outside felt like a relief, even after having visual contact with the aliens. Unfortunately, all the little jump scares and sightings felt so scripted and obvious; it just didn’t match the experience inside the house. Once you reach the truck, the demo comes to an end.
Expectations
This demo showed that this game has some potential, but it had a quick curve that took the experience from interesting to dull super quick. The worst part about this was that the part where it got dull was likely the part that was supposed to be the most intriguing. I can tell you now, the reason it wasn’t was because of the scripted feeling.
I don’t want to see my camera pulled over to where sighting is happening in a game, ever. If I miss out on a sighting, then I miss out. When you pull the camera, it gives a scripted feeling that ruins the moment. Let the player witness what they will witness and put more events in place than they can possibly catch. This will open the game up to having slightly different experiences for each player and pull away from any scripted sensation.
The reason the indoor segment was much scarier than the outdoor area also plays on the scripted feeling, but the fact that I was left to figure out where to go and what to do was nerveracking. It is nice to have a goal in a game, of course, but when the goal is simply “oh shit, powers out… danger is here. what will you do?” it leaves it up to the player to make the choices on what next. Just have an end goal location to reach and let the player get there how they will. Not knowing what was going to happen, if the aliens were inside the house or not, where the family was, or literally anything just heightened the whole experience.
Verdict
They Are Here can be great and the basics are definitely in place, but I really hope the developers stray away from all the constricting moments that the demo provided and start opening the game up to be simply experienced by the players. So far, both the trailer and demo were rather underwhelming. It’s a good thing they still have plenty of time to get the game in a much better state before launch. A tip I would give to the developer from here: Do Not Hesitate To Delay Launch Until 2023! Launch it right or the game will be a flop.
