Night Book

An interesting look at what the future of interactive movies could bring about, Night Book is a spine-chilling thriller with occult elements that will make you sleep with your lights on for a while. As experimental as they come, the mixture of film and video games achieved here is something to behold.

Those looking for a traditional horror game might be repelled by Night Book’s minimal gameplay. However, those looking for a captivating narrative experience and an all-around spooky ambiance might found more than they bargained for in this unique gaming experience.

A New Approach to Gaming

The global COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way in which the video games industry does things. Night Book’s developers, Good Gate Media and Wales Interactive, made the best out of a terrible situation and delivered this unique piece of narrative adventure.

Filmed remotely during the lockdown, Night Book is a fascinating thriller that sees an online interpreter dealing with forces far beyond her comprehension. Now, she must do everything she can to cast a demon away from her home, before it’s too late.

The claustrophobic fears of working from home are presented in this game in the shape of a paranormal entity that threatens the lives of more than one of the game’s characters. You control Loralyn, a young pregnant woman working from home who also has to take care of her mentally unstable father.

Players are presented with Loralyn’s computer, where most of the action takes place. If you’ve ever played Telling Lies before, then you must already know where Night Book’s gameplay is going.

Files and Videos

We’d love to talk about Night Book’s visuals – the thing is, they are video files of real actors’ performances. The developers’ earlier game, Five Dates, featured a similar gameplay structure. In a way, we’ve seen what Night Book has to offer before, only that this might be one of the best implementations of the formula to date.

The FMVs are well filmed and the acting quality is pretty good. While the structure of the game and the concept that everything takes place as seen through the lens of a webcam limits what can be done from a photography standpoint, it’s more than serviceable for this kind of modern thriller.

Choose Your Path

Every decision you make will change the ending you get in Night Book. With the lives of Loralyn, her baby, her dad, and her fiance at stake, there’s much that can be lost by making the wrong decisions here.

With its branching story, Night Book manages to stay fresh even after repeated playthroughs. However, the limited gameplay and core mechanics remain the same, so your mileage may vary on subsequent runs depending on how much you liked the game the first time around.

In the end, the experimental nature of Night Book’s narrative is both its blessing and its curse. It’s difficult to categorize this as your everyday video game, but it’s clear that the developers of this title set out to create an experience that was unlike any other, and they clearly succeeded.

Pros:

• Good acting
• Competent camera work
• Interesting plot

Cons:

• Minimal gameplay
• Little replay value
• Subsequent playthroughs can be very repetitive