Don't Knock Twice (PlayStation 4) Review

The game designers of Don't Knock Twice did not have a substantial budget to work with. They did not even really have the rights to use the likenesses of the actors from the film their project is based from (probably). Much of the issues that would have normally plagued a low budget horror film tie-in are circumvented thanks to the developers realizing that in horror, less is more. As someone who has never seen the original film of Don't Knock Twice, rest assured that this game is self-contained and has all the vital information within it to comprehend the story.

Without spoiling too much, the story involves a strained relationship with the protagonist and her daughter and the summoning of a Slavic demonic entity known as the Baba Yaga. The Baba Yaga can be best described as some kind of a hideous old crone or hag, possibly a witch of some kind, and during the course of the game, her appearance is kept to a minimum, so when she does show up it doesn't lose impact.

The story and gameplay are done in Gone Home/P.T. style, where all the information and clues are told through environmental storytelling and by examining interesting objects, or reading notes or letters. There is not much dialogue to hear at all and pretty much all the information is inferred or read. Even when characters do communicate, it's via a text message. The core gameplay revolves around navigating a large mansion, which has only one bathroom, and solving some somewhat easy puzzles, which will yield one of the six artefacts to complete a satanic ritual.

That is all there really is to this in the briefest of terms. There are some scripted scares here and there to make the experience have some tension, but this is where Don't Knock Twice starts to falter in its design. Much like Gone Home, this is more of a walking sim than a real survival horror, and while presence of the Baba Yaga is palpable, it never makes good on any of her threats and just pops up once in a while to remind everyone that it exists. Baba Yaga even makes empty threats by writing in blood on the wall that she is "coming to get you!" Alas, there is no lose state ever, and when it becomes apparent early on that the worst thing that can happen is a cheap jump scare, all tension is completely deflated.

Even though the Baba Yaga is not much of a threat, Don't Knock Twice still manages to be a competent puzzle-exploration game with some spooky atmosphere. The visuals are mostly solid all around and the lighting effects are believable. Using candles to light the way works as a meta game in a way to make navigation more manageable in the inky darkness of the house. Controls are a little unusual in that the trigger button is the pick up and drop function, while the shoulder button is the "use" operation. It won't be too uncommon to have muscle memory betray and people find themselves dropping key items by accident. The puzzles that are present would be interesting if it weren't for the fact that the clues the game provides spell out the solution in the most blatant manner imaginable.

The atmosphere can also be a bit hit or miss, too, since it swings between hauntingly subtle to smacking the player over the head with silly haunted house style changing portraits. The best moments are when something has changed and it isn't obvious until a few minutes after it has happened. It's the kind of slow scare that creeps into the subconscious and can be pondered.

There is a VR mode for anyone with a PSVR headset to partake in, but sadly it is very poorly implemented. The VR mode is extremely limiting and is restricted to a teleport movement style only, with no option for free movement. Even worse, there is no option for smooth rotation at all, and users are stuck with a very disorientating snap 30-degree movement that is mapped to the Square and Circle buttons. The PC version of Don't Knock Twice has options for more free movement, so it is very disappointing that the PlayStation 4 version completely lacks any options to make the VR experience palatable for anyone who is serious about virtual reality gaming.