The scary Daredevil simulator
Stifled
Right at the start, Stied drops you o the deep end. You wake up in a bed with no idea who you are or what you’re supposed to do. Exploring the house eases you into the game’s mechanics, where sound pushes back the ever-encroaching fog of darkness. You won’t get an immediate explanation as to why you suddenly can’t see or why you can miraculously navigate using echolocation.
You’re married? You’re going to a party with the wife? At least you think so, with the clues you nd scattered about, but you’re rarely told outright. If you’re looking for a cinematic experience with a strong story component, then I’m afraid Stifled isn’t the game for you. It forces you to eke out whatever bits of story you can find, making this better suited to those who prefer piecing clues together and coming up with their own theories.
Once the tutorial’s over, you’re taken to the aftermath of a car crash and left to fend for yourself. It’s here that the game goes into its distinctive visual style, a predominantly wireframe view seen in the screenshots and trailers. It’s very cool.
Now, you can play Stifled in a variety of ways: with just a PS4 controller, with a mic added into the mix, or with both the PlayStation VR and a mic. There’s a world of di erence between them
and I can’t recommend the PSVR route enough; it’s the only way to get the complete Sti ed experience.
Everything works through sound. Standing still quickly envelopes you in darkness, whereas movements generate sound waves that outline your surroundings for you. Nearby environmental cues, such as dripping water, cramped and don’t really allow experimentation, nor are there different ways to bypass these monsters. There’s usually only one right way to avoid them, and that often involves creating a distraction of some kind while you scramble in the opposite direction.
That’s pretty much how every encounter plays out, severely detracting from the