Games based on a popular movie or TV show have always been a mixed bag in quality, butA Quiet Place: The Road Aheadlargely bucks the trend of lackluster movie tie-in releases, and if you’re a fan of the franchise,this game is worth a playthrough,even if it’s by no means a groundbreaking horror title.
Largely set around 100 - 130 days after the creatures first attacked Earth, the game has quite a basic storyline.You play as Alexas she tries to navigate the world as quietly as possible, surviving tragedy after tragedy and traveling from point A to B with some very basic story goals.
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead
Despite flashbacks trying to give Alex a backstory and motivation to keep going, Alex is a pretty one-dimensional character. She’s not unlikeable, but she’s also not very memorable. In a game like this though,it’s gameplay that’s supposed to suck you inmore than the plot and characters, and it does a pretty good job here.
Staying Quiet Is Immersive, If Not Sometimes Irritating
As you work through the series of creepy and atmospheric areas the game has to offer, you’re hounded by the alien creatures we all know and love from theQuiet Placemovies. Just like in the films, they react to sound, which in the context of the game meansutilizing natural sounds like waterfalls to cover your steps, avoiding broken glass, and even laying downsand to soften your footsteps.
All of these gameplay features, along with things like throwing bottles and bricks to create distractions, are nice gamified ways to stay faithful to the movies' premise. If you’re the sort of person who winces when a door creaks inA Quiet Place,or who holds their breath along with on-screen characters when trying to be quiet, this game is definitely for you. Accidentally knocking a paint can or opening a vent too loudly by accident caused real panic in me for the first couple of hours of the game, andthe AI of the creatures is generally pretty good in listening to you without it being too tough to escape certain situations.
It’s Been 6 Years Since A Quiet Place, Can We Admit The Truth About The Spaceship Kid’s Death?
Although it’s been six years, it’s time to admit that John Krasinski and Emily Blunt’s characters are to blame for their son’s death in A Quiet Place.
I did play some of the game withthe Microphone Noise Detection featureon, in which your mic (here my PS5 DualSense) will pick up real-world noise the in-game monsters can hear, but this got old pretty quickly.This is a great feature for streamers or for playing with friends,but if you’re playing this game while sick like I was and need to sneeze, you’re in for a bad time. This felt like a bit of a gimmick, albeit a fun one in short bursts, and I switched this off after testing it out for an hour or so.
A Quiet Place’s Creatures Are Smart, But Not Smart Enough
Accidental Humor Ruins Immersion
As alluded to,the AI of the creatures is pretty good, but it’s not flawless. More than a few times I had some nonsense from them, including a time where I threw a bottle and - for some reason - the monster came straight for me instead of following the noise of the smash. I also had more than a few occasions of a creature jumping directly on top of me, simply because I was unknowingly in the predetermined pathway of it.
At a few points, the game just became tedious and a slog,leaning too heavily on the same mechanics over and over- short bursts is definitely the way to play.The Road Aheadtries to pace out its threats and mechanics to keep you interested as you progress. Later mechanics, like not moving, are introduced so that gameplay doesn’t get too stale, though it’s a mixed bag in success here.
WhereThe Road Aheadreally struggles though is in keep the creatures scary.Once you’re a couple of hours in and you’ve had a few deaths, themonsters just stop being so terrifying- especially when you’ve seen some of their questionable animations in the daylight areas. This generally makes it hard for the game to maintain its initial sense of fear you get in the first couple of hours, despite the new mechanics and challenges later added.
The World Is Well-Designed, But Exploration Is Lacking
Why Am I Risking My Life Here?
One great pro ofA Quiet Place: The Road Aheadis its approachability -this is definitely a game for movie fans who maybe aren’t so well-versed in games. Paths are laid out in a way where it’s almost impossible to get lost, and there’s lots of signposting when it comes to where to go or what to do next. This was great to see in a movie tie-in game, as it means that you don’t need to be a seasoned video game expert to join in.
With that said, the linearity of design,along with the lack of rewards, makes exploration pointless. When I play horror games, I’m a scavenger. I like to explore everything and collect all the resources I can find. This is almost a requirement of the horror genre now, and for good reason. Forcing yourself into darkened rooms and terrifying caves to find a health item you might really need later is rewarding, while also pushing your fear to new heights.
A Quiet Place Complete Timeline Explained
As the franchise continues to expand, A Quiet Place’s timeline becomes more explored. We break down the movie’s complete, chronological timeline.
A Quiet Place: The Road Aheaddoesn’t encourage exploration other than through finding notes, which I quickly got bored of collecting since they didn’t really add much to the experience at hand. Unfortunately,the game doesn’t let you stack up items. While you can collect inhalers, items like pills are used upon collection, and flares and batteries can’t be collected if you’re at capacity already. When I was stocked up with items,I had no real reason to risk exploring new areas, which was a bit of a shame for a horror game.
Asthma, Panic & Exertion
Some Neat Ideas That Needed A Little More Time In The Oven
One of the mechanics I was most interested in with the game was how the asthma and panic systems would work. While panic isn’t really a new mechanic for horror games, combining that with asthma is an interesting idea, though it was one that wasn’t fully executed as well as it could be.Alex’s ability to breathe is impacted by exertion like running, climbing, and laying down sand, as well as dust, and panic.
This could have really been stretched to some interesting depths, like having to decide if it’s really worth dragging a sandbag to keep your footsteps quiet, or if the risk of an asthma attack is too great.Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite get to those heights of decision-making. Resources like inhalers and pills are fairly easy to come by, and most areas with exertion or panic points for Alex have the required pills nearby. While it was interesting to consider Alex’s asthma when running or moving, it felt quite surface-level overall.
Despite Some Flaws
A Quiet Place: The Road Aheadis, despite its issues, a good game if you’re a casual player with a big passion for the franchise. Being able to immerse yourself in such a dangerous world is really fun, and its stealth and sound mechanics make for an experience that’s as close as we’ll ever get to living in the movie universe itself (which is probably for the best). If you’re a seasoned horror game fan just looking for a new scary game, this might not quite scratch the same itch on the Standard difficulty -you might want to scale it up a notch for a real scary challenge.
While the story is forgettable and the gameplay can get repetitive,A Quiet Place: The Road Aheadis a surprisingly nice treat for fans of the franchise. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel for horror games when it comes to the hide-and-seek genre, but it does have some nice mechanics. Playing with your mic on has its merits and challenges, and the game does attempt to keep you interested as Alex faces new areas and challenges. Avoiding the full AAA price point was a smart move for the game - for the $30 price tag,A Quiet Place: The Road Aheadhas just enough to charm.
Reviewed On PlayStation 5
A game code was provided toScreen Rantfor the purposes of this review.
