Scare Your Friends In Hide And Shriek Today

Those of you who would like a few more jump scares and general creepiness in your life in preparation for Halloween may want to check out Funcom's latest, Hide and Shriek, as it just launched today. The game pits two mostly-invisible players against each other in a battle to see who can scare each other the most. Each player collects orbs and runes, bringing the orbs back to their ever-moving altar and using the runes to cast spells that lay traps for their opponent or perhaps allow them to see their opponent temporarily. Different actions award different amounts of points, with bringing an orb back to your altar granting you 10,000 points and scaring the other player granting you 2000. Every match takes place within the same school, which contains many a reference to The Secret World, but the classrooms are randomized.

It's a novel attempt at a small competitive game that does something different. The game does include a ladder, but I'm not convinced that it will have a prominent competitive scene. Instead, I would think of it as a game that you play casually with friends or jump into for a game or two before jumping back out.

Game Director Romain Amiel had the following to say about the announcement.

There is something that happens when you know it’s not the game that’s controlling the jump scares, it’s actually another player. That unpredictability is what fuels the intensity in the game, and when you combine that with trying to stay hidden and not being spotted by the other player, it makes for a really involved game experience.

Hide and Shriek is available now on Steam for $5.99, temporarily discounted to $4.79 for the week of release. If you would like a better look at how the game plays, be sure to watch Kat and I go head-to-head in the spooky game in the video embedded below.