Through the Woods is an upcoming survival horror game from Norwegian based developer Antagonist in which you play as a Karen Dahl, as she recounts to police her search for her missing son Filip who was kidnapped by a mythical creature called Old Erik.
Through the Woods happens to be Antagonist’s first game, and although it’s only in alpha, Through the Woods looks and plays like a finished product.
Through The Woods begins with a woman, Karen Dahl, being questioned by investigators regarding the whereabouts of her missing young son Filip. When Karen starts telling the investigators her story, she is deep in the Norwegian wilderness as she begins her search for Filip. Karen tells the investigators that she witnessed Old Erik take Filip and that’s why she begins searching the forest in hopes of getting her son back.
Old Erik is, in Norwegian folklore, one of many names used in place of the names Satan and the Devil. Wow this just got very dark very quickly. Along your search, Old Erik keeps leaving reflectors in the form of green teddy bears that act as a tether to keep you on the right path.
The atmosphere of Through the Woods is pretty amazing and the visuals are complemented nicely by the sound effects. The voice acting of Through the Woods has a lot going for it and really helps to set the urgent tone of finding your missing child, as well as portraying the skepticism of the investigators who aren’t ready to believe such a far fetched tale.
Through The Woods features sprint gameplay as you’ve come to expect in games these days. However, one addition to the series is the ability to crouch and turn off your flashlight. Those two key features lead me to believe that Through the Woods will incorporate stealth gameplay in some form when the game is finished.
In the beginning of Through the Woods there’s a lot of walking involved without any real action to speak of. Eventually I did get scared though. I was under the assumption that there was nothing in the Norwegian forest that could hurt me, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. While taking a leisurely stroll through the woods I could hear some strange noises, but I just chocked it up to the sounds of the forest. It was only when the noise grew louder to the point I couldn’t ignore that I turned around and was quickly killed by a giant troll from Norwegian folklore.
The demo comes to an end when you reach a cave, presumably Old Erik’s lair, that’s littered with children’s baby dolls, toy cars and blankets. When Karen reaches the end of the cave, she finds her son Filip’s jacket that his father gave him for Christmas lying on the cave floor. As Karen begins to go into a panic, the screen fades to black and the title flashes on the screen.
I personally can’t wait to check out the full game when Through the Woods is completed. Right now Antagonist is doing a Kickstarter for Through the Woods, so if you want to play the demo and get a copy of the game once it’s released, all you have to do is make a donation.
Check out the alpha demo for Through the Woods below:
Watch live video from hiLounge on Twitch
