Do you enjoy feeling scared? Do you enjoy feeling powerless against forces beyond your control? Do you have three friends that also enjoy experiencing said feelings? If you answered "yes" to each of these questions, then I have some fantastic news for you: The Blackout Club - a game that accurately simulates the horror of being a teenager - leaves early access July of this year.
Billed as a "first-person co-op horror game", The Blackout Club sees you and your most resilient, (hopefully) supportive friends stealthily navigating an especially f***ed up small town in an effort to uncover clues about the whereabouts of a missing peer. Aside from being a pertinent look at the power of friendship, The Blackout Club takes the premise of an unassuming and otherwise ordinary town and injects it with some concentrated spooks.
Every night, everyone in town gets out of bed and sleepwalks. In the morning, they wake up with no recollection of what happened or where they were.
As is ominously eluded to on the game's Steam page, some pretty messed up stuff happens after this town goes to sleep. Someone, or something, is compelling the seemingly unaware townsfolk to participate in some decidedly non-choice activities - including, but not limited to - cultish rituals and otherwise supernaturally-inclined shenanigans. To make matters even worse, nobody seems to remember the events from each preceding night, leading to a frustratingly endless cycle of unexplained phenomena that eventually leads to the disappearance of a local youth. It's at this point that The titular Blackout Club is formed, which consists of a few teenaged friends on a perilous mission to discover the truth and get to the bottom of the madness.
The Blackout Club shows a lot of promise. On the surface, it appears to be an inviting combination of Dishonored-esque stealth mechanics, an uncannily chilling atmosphere reminiscent of We Happy Few, and a slightly off-balance co-op difficulty similar to known enema-simulator, Dead By Daylight. As the player, stealth is your number one deterrent for potential trouble. Being a teenager, the not-so-friendly adults you'll come in contact with have a size/strength advantage, as well as a more refined understanding for tax preparation. However, there does appear to be more aggressive options in the form of tranquilizers and stun guns if it becomes absolutely necessary to use force.
While in early access, The Blackout Club has received frequent tweaks and fixes, as well as an update that allows for a fifth, player-controlled teen to "invade" your game and act in service of the bad guys. It's currently on sale for around $16 during the Steam Summer sale, so if you have any interest I would suggest picking up a copy before the game's official release next month.
