REVIEW : Propnight (PC)
I’m currently hunkered down, bent over a machine, attempting to flee a dark encampment with a team of three other survivors – and it’s easy to feel like we’ve all been here before. Is it a terrifying monster stalking us? Tick. Regular skill checks are being requested of me during this repair? You’re aware of it. But then, just when everything seems too normal, something amazing happens. The screen darkens, the music rises, and I’m… fine? Why does the huge thing walk straight by me, 3 feet beneath them? Because I am no longer a petulant adolescent. I’ve just become a rubber chicken. Thank you very much!
It may appear to be a basic routine, and to some part it is, but these smart and, frankly, humorously stupid sequences are typical in Propnight. And, while it’s easy to dismiss Fantastic’s stripped-down take as just another of those games – styled after Friday the 13th and Dead by Daylight – Fantastic’s pared-down take manages to feel distinct by rewriting the popular asymmetrical horror rulebook in one key way: you can transform into almost anything.
This horror-meets-Prop Hunt notion takes some getting used to at first. This is primarily because mastering all four maps accessible at launch is critical to understanding what things you can assume the form of and how to best hide in your surroundings using each. Even the most inattentive assassins are unlikely to be fooled by a bottle of wine laying on a tractor. However, the more you play and learn the physics of how each item may travel, the more effective you’ll be as a survivor. You might even come out alive.
It also helps that any prop you can assume is always highlighted in an orange glow. It only takes one button push to morph, and before you know it, you’re hopping about the map at a much faster pace than your human feet could take you. Propnight’s subtle creativity is aided by the variety of different-sized objects. For instance, a single pebble weighs far less than, say, a hay bale. In the heat of battle, though, with the monster on your tail, you may have few options. Cut to you fleeing across a field of wheat as a not-so-sly scarecrow. In this way, the game may be a tremendous source of organic comedy, relieving a lot of the anxiety you feel while attempting to fix the prop machinery required to escape.
All five playable survivors are supposed to be weak, as expected, but each begins with a unique skill. From a rudimentary medkit to a camera capable of temporarily blinding your stalker, you are never truly defenceless – especially because your most effective concealing tool is the environment. It should come as no surprise that outwitting the killer and escaping is always better when played with friends rather than random. Having said that, I’ve never had a problem finding a game in a week or so since Propnight’s release, and because most players are already aware of the 4-v-1 configuration, you never have to seek far for a challenge.
So, how are the murderers? They’re just as important as the Prop Hunt concept itself, after all, accounting for half of the potential fun when you want to terrify some shady kids. Whereas Dead by Daylight began fully original and then included the likes of Ghostface and Pyramid Head through various licencing arrangements, Propnight lacks all of that and so feels purer in comparison. The five playable killers all riff on established clichés that any horror fan will recognise, but this works in the game’s favour.
Propnight’s assassins aren’t restricted to the skills and powers we’d expect from some of Hollywood’s best. Rather, each character’s terror factor is effectively turned up to 11 in the early bouts, before you realise what each one is capable of. Fortunately, all are enjoyable to use and provide just enough differentiation to allow gamers to pick their hunting approach. You might like Igor the chainsaw-wielding bunny’s ability to have revs sound off on the other side of the map to acquire an advantage over survivors. However, the ghost granny’s ability to temporarily become invisible and lay knife traps may be more appealing to you. Overall, despite the modest number of maps available, there is plenty of space for experimentation.
Learning to spot hiding survivors as a killer is a very different type of play, but both methods need you to become very familiar with each site. If you’re a survivor, you could think you’re secure because you’re just another plush toy among many, but if you’re dealing with a killer who knows the exact number, you’ll be (quite literally) filled. Propnight’s preference for a flight over fight techniques makes for some dramatic and unexpectedly deep cat-and-mouse bouts in which both teams must try to fool each other.
Unfortunately, as imaginative as the setup and fun to play Propnight can be, its Steam debut hasn’t been without its fair share of technical hiccups. Whether it’s survivors being able to fix prop machines from an impossible distance (in some places) or the item screen lingering around and blocking my view for the duration of some matches, your chances of winning may be denied due to flaws other than your own. Is it bothersome? Of all, most battles run smoothly enough, and Fantastic, despite being a small indie business, has already put out several fixes. Glitches aside, some murderers, such as the gleeful Imposter, feel nearly too powerful, so maybe the devs can address balancing next. Is Propnight the most unique and refined asymmetrical horror experience available? Not. However, it is a delightful variation on an established subject that knows how to keep the action tense, tough, and never without a few hysterical moments thanks to the basic prop copying mechanic. It’s not difficult to see this being a solid 4-v-1 alternative for players looking for something familiar yet fresh if more maps, killers, and survivor skills are added over time
