Blair Witch

Overview

Blair Witch is a horror themed adventure game developed and published by Bloober Team for PC and Xbox One.

Gameplay

Blair Witch is played from a first-person perspective and includes elements of exploration, puzzle-solving, stealth, and light combat. A dog companion accompanies the player throughout the game and can be used to retrieve items, lead the player toward objectives, and warn about nearby danger.

Paranormal activity occurs frequently in the game, altering pathways and creating unexpected loops in the environment. The player carries a video camera that can be used to view tapes found in the forest. The state of the environment reflects what has happened in the tapes and can be altered by rewinding and pausing before and after certain events. For example, a fallen tree can be lifted by viewing a tape of its fall and pausing before it comes down.

Occasionally, the player will encounter paranormal monsters that can be defeated by shining the flashlight at them. Others cannot be defeated and must be avoided instead.

Story

Set in 1996, Blair Witch tells the story of a former police officer and military veteran named Ellis who joins the search for a missing boy in the Black Hills Forest in Burkittsville, Maryland. Ellis has a poor reputation among the other police officers, who scoff at his joining the search. To appease them, Ellis follows behind to double check areas the other officers have searched.

Shortly into the search, Ellis and his dog, Bullet, find the missing boy's hat. Bullet follows the scent, which leads them to more of the boy's lost items. Ellis begins experiencing increasingly bizarre visions, noises, and changes to the environment. He also finds video tapes proving that the boy, Peter, was kidnapped by a mysterious man. While trying to follow Peter's trail, Ellis and Bullet find the mutilated corpse of the Sheriff, Ellis' main point of contact in the search. A tape is soon discovered afterwards showing the murder.

Eventually the trail leads Ellis and Bullet to an old sawmill, where they encounter the suspect, named Carver. Carver knocks Ellis unconscious and drags him deeper into the woods. When Ellis wakes, Carver begins speaking to him over a walkie talkie, giving him directions on where to go to find the boy. Ellis' visions worsen, affecting his sanity. It is revealed that Ellis had served in combat in the military, and had accidentally led the soldiers under his command to an ambush that got several of them killed. Ellis' post-traumatic stress disorder begins manifesting in the forest as gunfire, burning cars, and shouting soldiers.

Ellis finds a tape showing the boy being taken into the basement of the house and finds said house. Inside he is assaulted by visions of his past, by monsters, and by the voice of the witch herself, who encourages Ellis to give in to his rage at Carver and at those who have doubted him. Depending on the player's actions, there are numerous endings that bring to a conclusion the fates of Carver, the boy, Ellis, and Bullet.

System Requirements

PC

External Links

• Blair Witch Official Site