A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead, an upcoming first-person survival horror title from Stormind Games and Saber Interactive, aims to adapt the world of the titular film series for the gaming medium. TheA Quiet Placefranchise, which got its start with the 2018 John Krasinski-directed movie of the same name, tells the tales of ordinary individuals who try to survive in a post-apocalyptic world that’s been overrun by a dangerous alien species after a meteorite strike. Canonically referred to as Death Angels, these violent, quick-footed aliens cannot see, but have hypersensitive hearing skills to make up for it, and are prone to killing any animal or human that makes an audible noise in the vicinity around them. They serve as the primary antagonists of theA Quiet Placefilms andA Quiet Place: The Road Ahead.
AlthoughA Quiet Place: The Road Aheadis set in the same timeline as the movies, the game features an entirely new cast of characters. Gamers play as a college student named Alex Taylor, who suffers from asthma and makes noise every time she uses her inhaler to breathe. She, with the help of her boyfriend, Martin, has to fend off alien threats in order to survive. In terms of gameplay,The Road Aheadis similar to other survival horror titles likeAmnesia: The Dark DescentorOutlastin that it is primarily centered around stealth and doesn’t contain much combat. However, unlike those games,The Road Aheadinnovates in one key area by featuring a microphone detection mechanic.
Using Microphones, Players Can Get Caught By Death Angels if They’re Too Loud in Real Life
InA Quiet Place: The Road Ahead, players can choose to connect or turn on a microphone on their system of choice to use the title’s optional noise detection mechanic. With this feature enabled, every sound that they make in real life will have a direct impact in-game. The more noisy a gamer is in the real world, the greater the chance that they alert the Death Angels and lead their player character to a swift and untimely death. to give an idea of how this microphone detection works,Saber Interactive recently released a live-action trailer forThe Road Aheadthat shows this mechanic in action.
As inventive as this feature may be,A Quiet Place: The Road Aheadadmittedly isn’t the firsthorror game to use players' microphonesin some capacity. A few other titles in the genre have done similar things in the past. The 2020 ghost-hunting multiplayer horror gamePhasmophobia, for instance, uses microphones not only for voice chat, but for speaking with apparitions, as well. 2017’sStifled, meanwhile, incorporates mic detection mechanics as a form of echolocation so that players can navigate their way in dark areas.
What makes the use of a microphone inA Quiet Place: The Road Aheadreally special, though, is that the feature in question perfectly fits the context of the title. After all, the word ‘quiet’ is literally in the game’s name. Since the premise ofThe Road Aheadcenters around the all-hearing Death Angels, who will rip apart anyone who dares to make a noise, utilizing microphone noise detection in the title seems like a great idea. Having to stay quiet, both in-game and in real life, will likely makeThe Road Aheada more immersive experiencethan the usual horror game.
It’s worth acknowledging thatA Quiet Place: The Road Aheadis one of the first big-name horror titlesin the genre to incorporate microphones into gameplay. While this gimmick has been used in past games, the majority of them have been created by indie developers and may not be well-known, hence why the feature hasn’t really caught on in mainstream gaming. IfA Quiet Place: The Road Aheadis able to handle this microphone detection mechanic properly, then it may set a trend in the horror game genre with the help of its brand power.
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead
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A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead is a single-player horror adventure game inspired by the critically acclaimed blockbuster movie franchise that highlights a unique survivor story after an invasion of deadly creatures. In this exclusive spin-off, experience the journey of a young woman who must endure a treacherous apocalypse in the midst of interpersonal family conflicts, all while coming to terms with her own inner fears.Unnerving Atmosphere – Experience absolute terror as you strive for silence when hiding from, and sneaking by, horrific creatures who hunt using only sound.Untold Story – Embark on a dramatic adventure inspired by the A Quiet Place movie franchise as a young survivor trying to navigate the new, eerily tranquil, post-apocalyptic landscape.Uncanny Ingenuity – Discover your own path through the world by observing your environment and leveraging the tools in your surroundings.
