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Players assume the role of Ellis, an ex-cop who's accompanied by the dog (named Bullet) while searching for a boy who's gone missing in infamous Black Hills Forest. Bullet is not just there for companionship; he also plays a major role in shaping Blair Witch's story and gameplay, he can be commanded to stay, seek and heel, be reprimanded and fed treats.
Bullet can also hold his own, even when not directed. His barks indicate whether or not he is in the middle of his life. What impresses most, though, is just how authentic he feels. Bullet's body and facial animations are incredibly realistic, while his presence feels more organic than a game mechanic's implementation.
Bullet is not only clever inclusion. The game's new, original story unfolds in 1996 – two years after the first film's characters went missing just outside of Burkittsville, Md. Given the time period, players have access to some sweet, decade-specific technology. In addition to an old-school Nokia-like cellphone, Ellis uses an 8mm camcorder, capable of playing tapes discovered throughout the game.
On top of providing some unsettling "found footage," the tapes can be manipulated to alter the world around you. One such example seen in the demo involved breaching a locked door by pausing a video that contained footage of the same door ajar. The device may also be used in night-vision mode, providing some extra illumination, and the ability to catch things that might otherwise be unseen.
While 30-or-so minutes with the game did not provide nearly enough time with these promising systems, they did hint at the potential and both the navigated and consumed.
The demo did offer a lengthier look at Blair Witch's setting and some of the secrets and scares it holds. The preview took a deep place in the woods, but the presentation was more than dirt paths and pretty foliage. Chasing Bullet through a swamp, boarding an old railroad car and cautiously searching for a good deal of decrepit interiors to fill a month's worth of nightmares filled with a good deal of the playthrough. More than just distinct environments, however, How the tree has been cut out, and the way Mother Nature has been aggressively overtaken the railroad tracks were highlights.
Of course, ogling the sights too long on the end of an ancient curse. While the demo was more moody and atmospheric than full-on frightening, it did show ample potential to raise a few goosebumps. An encounter with a shadowy creature in the woods is a bit too fast and chaotic to be effectively scary, but witnessing the forest violently twisted and contort – while Ellis and Bullet hightailed it from an unknown threat – definitely nudged everyone a bit closer to the edge of their seats.
Blair Witch is also peppered with the series' creepy calling cards, from mysterious, wood-carved talismans to walls covered in tiny handprints. There's also the matter of a typewriter message involving "… a man carrying the pelt of a skinned human."
Although it was only a brief jaunt in The Black Hills Forest, the polished presentation and the oozing atmosphere is enough to leave one to return to the woods. Genuine frights were in limited supply, but Blair Witch Buried on the mysterious outskirts of Burkittsville on Aug. 30.
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