Simon Bradshaw

If you don't like being encouraged to scare yourself witless, you may not enjoy Slender.

As games go, there is not that much to it. You are in a forest at night. A perimeter fence stops you from wandering too far, and there are paths to follow and the odd clearing, although you can walk through the trees if you wish. You have a torch, but its battery life is very limited. As you walk around, you find structures and vehicles looming out of the mist. On some of them, there are crude hand-drawn notes telling you about the Slender Man.

Oh, and the Slender Man is looking for you. The more notes you collect, the more closely he follows. If he catches you... game over, as they say.

It's a simple idea, but the execution is superb. The use of slowly mounting background noise and effects, combined with sudden stings if you catch sight of your pursuer, is surprisingly effective. Slender is best played in a dark room, where you can best immerse yourself in the feeling that you are being hunted through a near pitch-black forest by something that is attracted by the sight of your torch.

I think if I'd had this to play when I was 12 I would never have gone on a night hike with the scouts ever again.