DEATHWATCHERS [Early Impressions]
DEATHWATCHERS is a game for those with a keen sense of sight and a good memory. It’s a survival horror game where you search for anomalies that haunt the location of your choice. It was developed and published by SWAIN GAMES. This game requires the brain of someone who likes puzzles and strategy, so it's not quite the game for me. But, it is certainly a unique experience, one that I have not played before. After a complex and in-depth (thankfully optional) tutorial, you can jump right into the game and figure things out as you go.
You have to bring certain items with you that you can choose beforehand, you must budget and strategize on what needs to be bought and taken with you. And you shouldn’t just bring a bunch of everything because you will lose these items after your run, potentially wasting all the money you have. You can get items such as; flood lights, thermal cameras, regular cameras, flashlights, audio microphones, recorders, and more. Every item has a specific purpose.
When reaching the haunted house you are tasked with wandering around and setting up equipment that will allow you to catch and notice anomalies within the house. You can use a scanner to automatically clock these anomalies or you can put them in manually in your electronic journal. I will say, that I wish the electronic checklist was shared between all the different players. As of right now, everyone has different checklists even if you are to scan the anomaly. So, it can get a bit confusing if you are to miscount. I recommend having a dedicated person deal with the checklist themself. I also wish it was a bit easier and faster to scan anomalies. I would try to scan anything and everything and I was only able to clock around two anomalies. But, I had seen and attempted to scan many portals and words that appeared on the walls.
DEATHWATCHERS is an interesting experience that I would recommend as long as you have a group of friends to play with. This is one of those games that I don’t see being nearly as fun by yourself. Keep in mind that the game is still in Early Access so things not working the exact way you want them to may be changed in the future. I am excited to see where DEATHWATCHERS leads.