Surgent Studios’ upcoming psychological horror game Dead Take puts players in the shoes of Chase, an actor trying to navigate the murky waters of Hollywood. After his fellow actor Vinny stops answering his phone, Chase must traverse a creepy mansion in Hollywood Hills in search of his friend. The mansion is filled with puzzles and clues as to what is really going on, forcing players to confront the dark truth behind Dead Take‘s story.
Game Rant recently spoke with Dead Take creative director Abubakar Salim about how the game takes the traditional escape room premise and completely flips it on its head. The game’s setting, a spooky mansion, is full of twists and turns as the core mystery is slowly unraveled by the player.
6:28
Related
8 Best Horror Games That Rely On Atmosphere
It’s hard to beat the following horror games in the spooky atmosphere department…
Dead Take’s Setting is An Unconventional Escape Room
The sprawling mansion in which Dead Take‘s gameplay takes place held a glamorous party the night before, which makes its eerily silent demeanor even more mysterious. Plenty of secrets will be hidden among the many rooms of the mansion, waiting for the player to uncover them. Salim likened the core gameplay experience to a sort of escape room; only, the player needs to get further into the mansion rather than to escape it. He explained,
”We were inspired to turn an escape room on its head by creating a game where your goal is to get further in, not out. As Chase, the main character in Dead Take, you’ll solve puzzles and splice together live action video clips to advance further into the mansion as you search for your friend Vinny, a fellow actor who attended a glitzy party at the mansion the night before and has stopped picking up the phone. The puzzles are all allegories of power and success—basically, the further you go, the more you learn about what artists do to get ahead.”
Dead Take Also Features a Strong Cast
Shining a light on the seedy underbelly of Hollywood is an intriguing prospect, making Dead Take‘s core premise all the more appealing. Throwing live-action footage into the mix only adds to the dynamic, particularly when the game features actors Ben Starr and Neil Newbon in the lead roles. The mansion will feature a range of puzzle-filled rooms and corridors, both big and small, as players immerse themselves in the atmosphere, the characters, the performance, and the costs of that performance. Salim continued,
”The deeper you go, the more the mansion unfolds. It was important to make it feel intuitive and fun to explore while also creating a strong sense of being watched. Tight corridors open suddenly to huge, open spaces to contribute to that overlooked feeling. As you unravel more and more secrets, you may realize that the mansion is telling you a story you don’t want to hear.”
While Surgent Studios has not yet given a release window for Dead Take, the information revealed so far should be enough to make fans of the genre sit up and take notice. Horror fans will no doubt be keeping an eye on the game’s development journey as news develops.
