Get ready for possibly the most authentic horror experience in A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead.
Oh, em gee, A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead has taken horror gaming to the next level. You may have watched the 1st and 2nd movies, but now you want to endure what the characters have been through as they’re facing a horde of terrifying and deadly creatures that only detect you with sound.
And, just like the movies, how do you escape from them? By being as quiet as possible. Sounds simple, right? Unfortunately, not. And you’ll definitely realize that as you play, your only chance of survival is silence.
As we’re approaching Halloween, to get into the vibes of experiencing fright nights until then, many of us are engaging in activities that have anything to do with horror – including playing games, of course.
We’ve already just gotten the remake of the iconic Silent Hill 2, as well as the isometric shooter Kill Knight – but we want more. This is where Saber Interactive and Stormind Games, the team behind the Batora: Lost Haven, bring us A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead, comes in. This is a very interesting one, with the game being based on the critically acclaimed franchise, which comes with a brand-new story.
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead tells the simple yet gripping tale of a young college student survivor named Alex Taylor who embarks on a frightening journey with her boyfriend, Martin, in a new post-apocalyptic world. All you have to do is help her quietly escape from the abundance of creatures starving for blood. This is where your survival instincts will be put to the test.
Set between the aftermath of events of the latest movie and this year’s release, Day One, and only a few months before the very first movie. Now, you won’t be seeing any of the characters from either film. Instead, you’re getting a narrative that’s so unique that you’ll realize how much it complements the franchise of A Quiet Place in a sense.
I enjoyed the inspiring, eye-catching, and touching story, but it was nerve-racking when I realized I was entering the ultimate fight for my life, where every move I made would be crucial. And yes, there will be jump scares—and plenty of them.
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead’s core gameplay is a first-person perspective centered on stealth and realism. For the majority of your time playing, you’ll have to sneak and hide your way through to avoid being just another victim – especially against nearby creatures.
It gets worse. Everywhere and everywhere you go will trigger a sound, and you have to be extremely careful. Even when you’re crawling, it doesn’t guarantee safety. You even have to open doors, drawers, locks, and so on quietly. To do that, you can move the door at any speed (preferably slowly) with the left analog and the X button to release.
Thankfully, the game has multiple methods for providing hints that your walking or crawling can be heard. The first one is the moving shoe icon, which is located at the bottom right of your screen and will only appear to signal when your movements are loud enough, cautioning you to slow down.
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead gifts you with some tools to help you avoid detection from the creatures. One of my favorites is the phenometer, a device that Alex made at the beginning of the game, which displays the noises that Alex is making in connection with the noises of the environment surrounding her.
Okay, let’s put it differently. Think of this as a contest as to who can be quieter between you and the environment. If you’re quieter, then you’ll have a lesser chance of being spotted by a nearby creature. The device has 2 meters; the environment and Alex’s sound bars. You’ll know you’re being quieter than the environment when your meter is lower. However, it’s not all that simple as you can stumble upon environmental problems.
Such as noisy surfaces and touchable objects such as cans and barrels – all of which can alert creatures if you don’t pass through them quietly enough. The only place you can somewhat make as much noise as you want is the safe rooms you’ll find as you progress the game because they’re all soundproof.
Remember a moment ago when I said that your only chance of survival in this game is silence? Well, that’s definitely true in the game. Unfortunately, this is also applicable in real life. A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead brings to you the unique microphone noise detection system, where creatures can also spot a player if they speak loud enough into their microphone. This means that just like the characters in A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead, the player must also be quiet.
This is one of my favorite features in A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead because it gives me a more authentic feeling as if I’m actually in the game myself. By the way, this feature is optional – and you can play the story without it if you want. But wouldn’t you want the ultimate horror experience?
And because you’ll be traveling a lot at night, as well as entering certain buildings, you’ll also be confronted by darkness, which is why you’ll have a trusted flashlight, which will aid you through dark places. However, you should use a flashlight sparingly, as it does consume power during usage. Thankfully, you’ll get good supplies of batteries in an abundance of locations, and you can recharge when needed.
There’s just one more thing. Alex happens to be asthmatic, and you’ll have to manage it accordingly to avoid detection and asthmatic attacks. This is by far A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead’s most difficult challenge to overcome, as it’s the most significant difference between life and death.
You have to deal with Alex’s stress levels properly to prevent attacks. Her attacks can be triggered by situations such as nearby creatures, lifting heavy objects, or even stumbling upon dusty environments. There’s a lung icon that’ll appear occasionally to help you pay more attention to her condition. You’ll know how and when to act with the three colored lung icons, White, Yellow, and Red, with poses as warnings for how close Alex is to an attack.
And how do you deal with asthma? Inhalers. Which you’ll need to manage Alex’s asthma. Luckily for you, inhalers are located in so many places, but some are more difficult to find. Also, as the story progresses, the inhalers become much more vital as you enter more complex and horrifying situations. So, the earlier, the better for her to start learning to balance her condition and survival skills.
Fortunately, there are easier ways to succeed in your escape. If you use the focus mechanic, you can spot nearby creatures and know where and when to move. It’s better to use this when there are tight situations. Unfortunately, this feature is only applicable if you play on the easiest difficulty.
Also, if the creature is literally looking for you, then you may hear some humming, followed by your screen being blurry. This is when it’s best not to move a muscle, even if you think you’re in a safe space. Here’s a trick that may help you – environmental sounds can protect any sound that you make. So, let’s say you’re walking on broken glass, and it sounds like running water will drown out (no pun intended) the noise you’re making.
A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead is an impressively authentic horror adventure, followed by an intense story that grabbed my attention from start to finish. Most movies that turn into games are usually underwhelming, but this game is one of the exceptions.
The only real negative would be a few bugs and glitches you may encounter, but nothing too serious to worry about. Although this is a fictional concept, it’s great that the game provided a very realistic experience for players to learn how to survive in such a devastating world. And you get to this surreal experience for only $29.99.
