Exit 8 is better if you play the game first

There’s an interesting new video game adaptation to see in theaters — and no, It’s not that one. Exit 8based on the game of the same name, will hit the big screen on April 10, and is part of a burgeoning trend of horror films directly inspired by indie games and borderline horror on YouTube. (See: The sudden success of Iron lung and Coming Back rooms feature.) It’s also the rare adaptation where I highly recommend playing the game before See the movie. Doing so turns the surreal experience of the movie into something even more bizarre, and the good news is that playing the game is very easy.

The game is a weird project that needed to be modified in the first place. (Also to clarify: the game is called Exit 8While the movie is just… Exit 8.) It has no scenes or story, and barely any characters. Instead, it’s more about preparation. You play as an anonymous character trapped in a winding corridor in a Tokyo subway station, and the only way to escape is to follow a very strict set of rules, which includes detecting anomalies and returning if something seems out of the ordinary. It’s quite creepy, with moving posters and an unsettling businessman who seems unaware of your presence. As you play the game, scanning your surroundings for anomalies, you’ll become acutely aware of the entrance. After the show, I can tell you exactly how many lights are on the ceiling and what each poster looks like on the wall.

The film version adds a story around this skeleton of the idea, following a young man stuck in a hallway desperately trying to find a way out. You learn a little bit about what the episode actually means, and there are a few other characters trying to make sense of the setting, which adds a different kind of tension. You even discover that the silent businessman has a backstory. But as an adaptation, that’s one of the most fascinating things about it Exit 8 It is how clear the game is. The set is almost identical except for the new addition (who enters in one of the film’s scariest sequences), and the nameless protagonist must follow exactly the same set of rules as the game’s players.

What this means is that if you still have no gaming experience Exit 8 Fresh in your mind, watching the movie becomes very boring. First time I watched Exit 8 I couldn’t stop myself from searching the walls and ceiling, looking for oddities that I had seen in the game I had just played. It really helped me immerse myself in the setting. Watching the movie was like watching an elaborate game of “Let’s Play” — which was actually part of the intention. When I talked to Exit 8 Director Genki Kawamura last yearHe told me that he spent a lot of time watching YouTube to see how people played the game, which in turn helped influence how different characters in the film approached the puzzle.

He explained: “Everyone plays with the same rules and in the same space, but every player makes different mistakes, and they have different reactions to every failure.” “And I think because of that, the individual player personality comes to the surface.” He described his approach to adaptation Exit 8 As an attempt to create “a new cinematic experience that blurs the lines between video game and cinema”.

The best way to appreciate what he does is to play the game. Fortunately Exit 8 It is easily accessible: it only costs a few dollars, Available on a wide range of platforms (including mobile)has very simple gameplay, and lasts for about an hour, provided you don’t get stuck. That’s a small price to pay to better enjoy one of the year’s most interesting horror films.