Having watched A Quiet Place, A Quiet Place Part 2 and A Quiet Place: Day One you'd have thought I'd know something about the popular movie franchise's space-invader creatures, but I really don't. The only things you know about them are that they arrived during what appeared to be a meteor storm, are extremely fast, agile predators that hunt by sound, appear to have no eyes and are really bad swimmers.
The game, for the most part, is all about doing things quietly–so avoid kicking discarded cans, nudging oil drums or treading on twigs, leaves or broken glass. When opening a door or air vent hatch, or laying down a plank to cross a gap, do it gently... Anyone who has difficulty in creeping around in a crouch walk or simply using the analogue controls delicately will have problems with this game, and may as well stop reading now.
Playing as a young woman named Alex, if you make too much noise as you try to find your way through the levels, you will trigger the creature(s) and they will come looking for you. Move swiftly and silently away from the spot you made the noise and remain quiet and you might just survive–but it's unlikely. Pressing 'RB' (The Right Shoulder Button) makes Alex's vision "focus", and makes the creature glow red so it's easier to track its movements and keep it at a safe distance.
Of course, being hunted by an alien that appears to be blinder than a bat and relies on sound has one plus point, and that's that ambient sounds like running water, the wind rustling leaves or machine noise can mask your movements, and moving slowly also reduces noise. You can even tempt the creature to break objects or scenery for you if something is blocking your path. While some levels are very linear, experimentation as to what you can get away with is the key to finding your way through some, but expect to die a lot.
The game has a stress and breathing mechanic related to Alex's asthma. Stress caused by a close encounter, exertion from climbing or carrying a heavy object will cause Alex's breathing to labour, as will traversing a dusty area. You can combat your lung problems with pills or inhalers that are found along the way. Left untreated Alex will end up coughing, and you can guess what happens...
The game conjures up a good atmosphere with decent graphics and the creatures' terrifying presence is always a threat, and will give plenty of jump scares and tense sequences. Visually the only downers are when the monster occasionally glitches through scenery.
The game has various collectibles including Space Shuttle toys that will hit an emotional note with anyone who's seen the first Quiet Place movie. The designers periodically add new interactive items or game mechanics, such as moveable & throwable objects, bags of sand (to deaden sound), traps and ladders.
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead is best played in a darkened room for maximum atmosphere. On the hardest difficulty setting it's probably the toughest stealth game we've ever played. It's very tense, very sneaky, but very samey, with only a couple of sections where you have weapons (but boy are they fun!), and as I said earlier, if you have an impatient nature or just have trouble making slight movements with the controller, then this isn't the game for you.
Many thanks to Ep1tome, Stormind Games, Saber Interactive and PressEngine for the review code.