4 
0 Hide and seek takes a turn in Forecursed by William Van Herck. In this action survivor you can play with up to twelve players across a range of maps and try to survive as your friend hunts you down to pass on the curse. We got the chance to get a couple of TC friends together to try out early access.
Hide and seek just because a whole lot whackier
You can currently grab Forecursed in Early Access from Steam for £8.50. Let’s take a look.
Gameplay
Forecursed is madness from the get go. Even just loading into the player hub you can waste time flinging yourself across the hanger or dip into the jail to test the curse out. It’s a nice little training ground that you can back and forth in with other people in the lobby to figure out the controls. That’s not necessary however as the controls are simple and easy to pick up. At TC we loaded straight into a game without any preparation and figured it out as we went.
Playing as the curse means that you can move faster and crawl around to sneak up on the other survivors. Also, you are equipped with a pounce that allows you to travel even further across the map. As you hold down right click the further you can jump which helps the ‘seeker’ traverse the map after ‘hiders’ have activated lifts and set out traps. As a survivor, you simply have to avoid being caught. There are cabinets around the map that you can open by lifting your visor and scanning your eyes which will gift you health kits, weapons and traps that you can use to keep yourself alive.
This game doesn’t end at death either. Even though you’ve lost, you can still help the curse kill the other players in your lobby. Rather than staring at a game over screen, you can choose from a range of ghouls that unlock after different lengths of time pass. These range from small spider like creatures to massive golems that can get in the way.
Ghouls
The ghouls are one of my favourite parts of the game. It definitely made it less annoying to be the first player dead. As soon as I got the ‘you died’ screen, I was ready to turn into the balloon which launches at players and blinds them, making it harder to escape.
Each different ghoul has its own unique ability which cater to every type of play style. The golem is the easiest to spot because of it’s massive size, meanwhile the stinging fly can appear from a distance and cause your fear to rise, disorienting you.
Maps & Settings
There are currently three maps available – the factory, the mines and the station. We tried out each of them and ended up spending most of our time in the Station. This map was a little bit different because it was tiny and added the element of being hit by trains (which happened more than I would like to admit.) We messed with a few of the settings in the hub such as lowering gravity and changing which weapons would spawn until we were flying around the map like idiots trying to hit each other with rakes. I really hope that there are more maps added like this in the future because it was just chaos and with even more players it will definitely be even more hilarious.
Graphics & Audio
The design for Forecursed are reminiscent of old school PS1 games with clunky designs that don’t have much depth, and it’s perfect. Some of the character models look at bit goofy but it ties in perfectly with the vibe of the game. Despite the retro design it still made me jump, especially when I was just minding my own business and suddenly found myself being eaten.
The audio plays into understanding the game, especially for the cursed player. If you crouch and standstill you can hear the heartbeat which will be really helpful on bigger maps when you have less players. This game does a really good job at building atmosphere whilst also being so chaotic that you sometimes don’t know what’s going on.
Longevity
This game is endless fun. I really mean hours upon hours of fun. It reached a point where we really did have stop otherwise I’ll be up to the early hours of the morning. Regardless of your group size, there is always something you can do to turn this game into something ridiculous which will make you want to play more. I really can’t wait to try out the small map with our gravity settings with way more people because I can just imagine the hell that is going to be. This is worth way more than the price point that it’s set at for the amount of fun that I had playing.
Final Thoughts
This game has been a breath of fresh air to play amongst other co-op horror games. It keeps the spooky jump scares but adds hilarity to a chaotic game of hide and seek. When you add the modifiers in it takes it a step further and allows for so much game customisation that you never feel like you’re playing the same game. As mentioned, this game is worth more than the low price point it’s currently sat at and it is the best addition to anyone’s library regardless of their favourite genre.
As the game is in early access, I can’t give it the Thumb Culture Platinum Award not least because this a preview rather than a review. But I know this game is only going to get better from here. So watch this space!
Team TC Thoughts
This game is amazing, find out below what the other TC members of the TC team thought.
Stu’s Thoughts
Forecursed is the best kind of hide and seek. Taking on the curse just to be able to pounce across the map is joyous. I highly recommend playing with the modifiers just to see how crazy the game can be. Playing with the TC members and flying around like superman gave me laughter that I’ve not experienced in a long time. You really need to get on board with this game. The only downside it currently has is that the game only has a few maps for you to enjoy.
Nathan’s Thoughts
For a solo developer. This game has huge potential. It really is mindless, belly laughing fun. What is refreshing is even when killed death is not the end as you can return as a ghoul of your choice to haunt the remaining players. There are only 3 maps and 1 game mode so far. The best being the train map as it has the added element of the environment being able to kill you. Hopefully future maps will increase on this feature.
Gameplay mechanics are simple but effective. Meaning anyone can pick it up and play without a steep learning curve. Oh and for added hysterics. Turn on those modifiers!
Really looking forward to seeing where this developer takes Forecursed. If it’s well supported with new maps, game modes and ghouls. I can see it being a staple for those game nights with your mates.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this preview.
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