Sshhhh….
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead is a single-player horror adventure game inspired by the critically acclaimed blockbuster movie franchise that highlights a unique survivor story after an invasion of deadly creatures. In this exclusive spin-off, experience the journey of a young woman who must endure a treacherous apocalypse in the midst of interpersonal family conflicts, all while coming to terms with her own inner fears.
I have yet to watch any of the “A Quiet Place” films, but understand the concept so was intrigued to see how it would translate into a videogame. Games based on films have had mixed responses over the years, but because this isn’t based on a particular film and is just set as a standalone story within the Quite Place universe, I had high hopes for it. But could it reach them?
The one horror game that I still cannot force myself through is Alien Isolation. Constantly being stalked by the Xenomorph and being cautious of your movements and sounds was far too intense for me. Plus if you had Kinect plugged in, it acts as a microphone that would draw the Xenomorph to you…a feature that has returned here in The Road Ahead. Thankfully it’s optional.
Don’t get me wrong, I like the idea…it just isn’t feasible for me to be in a deadly silent room, which kind of raises a point the game makes…how would you survive being quiet in a world where that can’t be possible? You literally have to watch every step you make, be careful to skip over puddles or walk very slowly through them. Try not to knock any cans over, careful not to walk too loudly on gravel paths and so on. You do have a tool that helps measure your noise along with the overall background noise, so you know if you’re being louder than it or not.
It does become a bit chaotic switching between a flashlight (that always needs batteries) and the phonometer (the sound tool I mentioned), especially when a huge chunk of the game is dark. So you’ll need to proceed very cautiously, but the game can help a bit by giving you waypoints on where to go and even sound or visual cues for when the monster is near. Luckily, the monster is blind, so as long as you are quiet…you should be able to navigate around it.
You also need to keep your character calm as they have asthma attacks and scary moments will trigger them. This can be incredibly frustrating, plus you’ll need to keep finding inhalers and time breathing properly to calm down. You can make it a bit easier with accessibility options, but it does ruin the immersion somewhat if you do that.
It still doesn’t make it any less terrifying. Especially in close quarters or if you have to get round it while trapped in a room, it’s ridiculously quick so running will only get you killed. You are constantly on edge apart from when you are in soundproof areas, which are rare. I was able to make my way through this one, but damn it was stressful…in a good way.
The story is pretty good and I thought the production values were impressive. Voice-acting is believable, visuals are superb and the framerate is consistent throughout. The soundtrack is also very well done, plus I didn’t come across any bugs during my playthrough.
The Verdict
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead is up there as one of the most intense horror games out there. You are constantly watching over your shoulder, keeping track of every movement you make, every sound you make and will do everything you can to avoid loud noises. I haven’t felt this on edge playing a horror game since Alien Isolation and that speaks volumes. I won’t be quiet about this, don’t let this one slip you by…