The cast and crew behind Host made a terrifying "real-time, live-action" video game
Hey, do you like being absolutely terrified and anxious at the same time? Do you want to not be able to sleep for the near future? Then boy, do we have a video game for you. Host became one of the most talked-about indie films made in the Covid-19 pandemic, showing that low-budget movies can actually be scary as hell if made right. Now the cast and one of the writers behind Host are working on a real-time, live-action horror game, titled Ghosts. The game will be playable on Nintendo Switch and Playstation, and comes out in 2022.
The game is written and directed by Host co-writer Jed Shepard and features the film’s stars Haley Bishop, Jemma Moore, Emma Louise Webb, Radina Drandova, and Caroline Ward. Here’s the plot given in the game’s Kickstarter page:
“You play a TV producer, operating the outside broadcast van for a failing cable channel called FrighTV. Their flagship show is GHOSTS. It’s the only thing people want to watch on the channel anymore. A show that in its heyday captured millions of viewers on a major channel. Viewers were glued to their screens as the presenter with a team of eager ghost hunters explored haunted locations around the country.
Over the years, GHOSTS ratings began to drop which ultimately resulted in the show being dropped by the network and languishing on various freeview channels until it was purchased by FrighTV and re-branded for re-launch in 2022. The channel is littered with terrible adverts and trailers for movies you’ve never heard of and never want to watch.
As the cast explore the location, you not only need to worry about their safety, the noises you hear around the van and the strange neighbours, there’s also the urban legend of THE LONG LADY. Sightings of THE LONG LADY on this very street have chilled the bones of residents for decades. She appears in times of tragedy, looking through the windows of houses on the street. It’s said that if you look directly at her face, you die. Curtain salesmen do gangbusters here.”
So, this time, it’s a bit more Blair Witch Project-y, but still very terrifying. We know you’re likely wondering about the “real-time” part. To make things even scarier, the game will only be playable at 10 p.m. in your local time zone. The site says that “if you load up the game before 10 p.m. you’ll be met with a classic test card. If you can crack the ‘test’ you will have access to an unlockable pre-watershed version where you can breathe and save your progress, but once you hit 10pm all bets are off!” So if you don’t pass the test, you’re screwed. There is no pause button. You’ll be fully immersed in the game. Ghosts detects if you haven’t been playing, ending your gaming session. That also means that every character in the game will automatically be killed off. So this is not the time to live-tweet or text your friends. Lives are on the line, people! So, will you be brave enough to try it out?