➤ White Night, review 🎮

Last year was particularly thriving and engaging for survival horror fans, who, between the return of Shinji Mikami with his The Evil Within, the excellent Alien: Isolation by The Creative Assembly, the announcement of the new Silent Hill introduced by the terrifying teaser PT and, last but not least, various pearls of the independent undergrowth, have been able to test once again obsolete "old school" dynamics, buried in recent years by a commercial action drift that has claimed illustrious victims (who said Dead Space? ). 2015 in this light could be remembered as an even better year for survival horror; just think that he debuted with the "HD Remaster" version of the original chapter of Resident Evil and the good Dying Light. In the coming months, many other titles "kissed" by terror will follow, such as the awaited exclusive Until Dawn for PlayStation 4. Just the masterpiece of Shinji Mikami, the pioneering Alone in The Dark and other disturbing classics like Amnesia, Outlast, Clock Tower and even the visually stunning The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is inspired White Night, the first work of the independent OSome Studio team (which ended up under the protective wings of Activision) which, thanks to its extremely personal graphic and artistic style, has won prizes and podiums in several videogame kermesse. White Night, just landed on Steam at a cost of 14,99 euros, is generating a lot of interest thanks to the tasty trailers that accompany its promotion; we have analyzed it thoroughly and these are our impressions.

Lots of lights and some shadows in the fascinating first work of OSome Studio

M'illumino d'immense

Generally the technical component of a work is the last of the pieces that critics put under the microscope, nevertheless there are some products that need a different "treatment", especially when the graphic element and artistic flair intimately permeate the gameplay , becoming a fundamental part of the play experience and not acting as a simple factor that feeds the visual impact. White Night, as you may have noticed from the screeshots that dot our article, is entirely made in black and white, in very strong contrast between them, where the absence of gray scales gives the OSome Studio production the charm of a noir comic in motion.

The only color present in the game is the yellow of some specific and faint lights, such as the ephemeral fire of matches, indispensable tools that the cryptic protagonist must necessarily have with him, in order not to succumb to the twisted nightmare in which he is swallowed. We are faced with a survival horror that, due to the peculiar shots of the camera, fixed or semi-fixed, recalls the mechanics appreciated in the very first Resident Evil and Clock Tower, however in it there is no action component, but only an exploratory soul, which results in the need to solve environmental enigmas and puzzles, as well as collecting objects and interesting collectibles. The title is set in America in the late 30s, immediately after the period of Prohibition and the so-called Great Depression, whose key themes converge in the splendid and disturbing plot that characterizes the work of OSome Studio. It all begins with a mysterious car accident, which will lead the battered protagonist inside the classic corrupt and haunted mansion, a mansion that hides a shameful and anguished family history among its elegant rooms, now in ruins.

The details of the story unfold by exploring the building and collecting the diaries of the protagonists involved, a real journey with no return into absolute and disturbing human madness, catalyzed by the economic crisis, illness and abject personal interests. It should be emphasized that the script, elegant, deep and mature, is masterfully written, and the texts, rich in citations and cultural references, have nothing to envy to those of first-rate theatrical and cinematographic works, involving the player in a whirlwind of sensations out of the ordinary. The evil that winds among the written notes, to be read as you would a good book, reveals itself in the form of ghostly female figures that haunt the rooms of the house: there is no way to face them openly, and at the first contact you is hopelessly killed. The only solution to stem the problem, when accessible, is the electric light, tied hand in glove with the puzzles that permeate the entire gaming experience. The black and white colors, in fact, not only enhance the pleasant visual impact of White Night, but are constantly at the service of the gameplay, a real tool with which the developers play in each sequence. During the exploratory phases, the matches represent the backbone of the survival experience, since they can be transported at most twelve at a time and they run out rather quickly, condemning the protagonist to madness - and therefore to game over - if he does not have them. .

To proceed in the adventure, clearly story driven, it is therefore necessary to weigh your moves, decide whether to take risks and advance into the next room or go back to the nearest save point. The latter, like Resident Evil typewriters, are represented by specific armchairs, where instead of ink ribbons it is necessary to light a candle and waste the equipped match. To be fully enjoyed, White Night should be sipped calmly letting yourself be involved in the plot, collecting and reading as many texts as possible in the mansion: in this way, the six chapters that make up the adventure, can also be completed in eight or more hours, in based on the player's skill with puzzles. There is no doubt, however, that a hasty and deleterious "speed run" can literally destroy the longevity of the French opera.

The darkness around the corner

While on the one hand one is literally ensnared by the delightful script, by the play of light and shadow that conceal the disturbing truths of the ghostly abode, on the other hand it cannot be denied that White Night, unfortunately, suffers from some problems that affect its full enjoyment. . First of all, the movements of the protagonist, influenced by the shots, work exactly like in the old classics of the genre, and the inputs given are not always fluid and responsive, sometimes generating confusion when in the presence of ghosts: not infrequently the daring escapes end badly at due to hidden obstacles or continuous changes of shot, which simultaneously change the direction of travel.

The main problem, however, lies in the inaccurate arrangement of the save points, sometimes too far from each other, and the sudden deaths caused by the control system not always accurate, or by ghosts impossible to see due to the camera, force you to replay entire sequences, breaking the narrative rhythm and the accumulated tension. Another not negligible detail, due to the peculiar graphic style, is represented by the fact that it is not always easy to understand which objects are of interest, moreover the collectible documents, such as books and notes, remain in the scenario even after having collected them, and sometimes we loses among those consulted and not. Only old cameras are removed from the scenery when collected. However, it must be said that after a couple of hours of play you get used to these imperfect dynamics, and White Night flows quite smoothly until its natural conclusion. Unfortunately there are also a couple of very rare "lethal" bugs that force you to start the adventure all over again, but the developers are working to solve the delicate problem. From a purely technical point of view, the title suffers from a little aliasing and the polygonal models are not particularly detailed, while there are only two graphic options that can be changed, namely V-sync and anti-aliasing filter. Despite its limitations, White Night is always fascinating to watch, as well as wonderful to listen to, thanks to well-sampled sound effects and a delightful soundtrack., which bounces between jazz and classical piano music, even with sung songs. The quality of the texts, translated into Spanish, far exceeds the current average quality.

PC System Requirements

Test Setup

Operating system: Windows 8.1
Processor: Intel Core i7-4790 3,60 GHz
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Video Card: Msi Geforce GTX 980

Minimum requirements

Operating system: Windows Vista
Processore: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 2.60 GHz
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Scheda video: Geforce GTS 250 or Radeon HD 4770
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Hard Disk: 2 GB of space
Scheda audio: DirectX® 9.0c or later compatible sound device

Comment

Tested version PC Windows Digital Delivery Steam Price 14,99 € Resources4Gaming.com

8.0

Readers (13)

7.2

Your vote

Having recently made a comeback, thanks to the boost of excellent Triple A productions and independent works, the varied panorama of survival horror is enriched with a very interesting new exponent, with a charismatic graphic style at the service of gameplay, a masterful script and a splendid column sound. Too bad that the first work of OSome Studio presents some flaws in the rescue mechanics and in the control system, sometimes not very responsive: when you are concerned more with the reaction to inputs than with the surrounding world, there is no doubt that there is some problem. The positive factors, however, absolutely prevail over the rest, also because with a little practice it is possible to overcome the most angular dynamics. Ultimately, Withe Night is an immersive experience that all lovers of the genre should try.