Developer: Digital Cybercherries
Platform: PC (Reviewed)
Genre: Simulation
Publisher: Digital Cybercherries
Don’t Scream Together is an online co-op jumpscare horror simulator. This game was developed and published by Digital Cybercherries. The game is the co-op version of the single-player game, Don’t Scream, which adds a layer of challenge when trying to survive with friends. This game is currently only available on Windows.
Don’t Scream Together follows in the footsteps of the original viral single-player game, where screaming in real life meant instant death in-game. Now, Don’t Scream Together is a co-op horror experience that literally cannot be played without a mic, and it has to stay on the entire time. Up to four players explore a massive pitch-black forest in 1993, with a VHS camcorder in their hands.
The premise of Don’t Scream Together is fairly simple: you need to survive till 8:00 AM to successfully finish a run. That means making the faintest noise possible, staying alert, and searching for relics and key locations. To unlock the true ending, your team needs to discover all relics and every major point of interest, which is way easier said than done. The game hears everything. Whispering might be your only form of communication, and sometimes it is smarter to stay completely silent and just follow someone’s flashlight.
Before starting the game, you are required to calibrate your microphone so it can pick up even a whisper. Once you are in the forest, there is a voice detection bar at the bottom right of the screen with a detection limit that is lower than half the bar. If you exceed the limit, you will trigger something coming after you, or just instantly die. The microphone in this game is highly sensitive to any sort of noise, let that be a sigh, a sneeze, or a tap on the microphone, and momentarily muting the mic could lead to the bar becoming red, which is no good! As for communication, we did find the voice chat a little rough. Even whispering at the perfect volume would sometimes cut out, so we had to guess what the other was saying. Eventually, we learning to stick together using pings and flashlight signals, which actually made surviving feel more realistic and chaotic.
This forest is much more than what meets the eye. You will find deserted farm houses, traps that will crush you, sinkholes, sadistic rituals, and odd-looking symbols scattered that get you into a searching and observing loop. Each location holds something towards the progression and the lore, which makes exploration rewarding. The atmosphere is daunting and unsettling, almost giving Slender vibes, and the VHS camcorder recording effect does not make the atmosphere any more pleasant. The VHS aesthetic is part of the gameplay, and it warns your team. Don’t Scream Together visuals go hand-in-hand with the audio design, as you will hear spooks that you may not see, or distant bells that will draw you closer to them.
The jump scares are brutal. Turning around to find a ghost girl right in your face is a whole heart attack. The random bear growls that turn into a chase are even worse. The camcorder flashlight is a blessing and a curse. It is essential for exploring, but it is quick to attract unwanted attention. A really interesting addition is the time mechanic: if your team stops moving, the in-game clock literally stops. So standing still in fear is not an option, especially if you want to survive as quickly as possible.
Don’t Scream Together comes with three different modes. The first is classic: if one person screams, the entire team dies. In the cursed mode, if someone screams, they come back as a Hunter and stalk the rest of the group. Both are fun, but cursed mode is 100 % worth trying as it gets intense.
My only issue with this game was that there seems to be a bug with audio output compatibility. I tend to use my wireless headphones for many of the games I play, but they would not work for Don’t Scream Together, no matter what I tried. I would hear a constant buzzing static sound, and when in-game, my friends’ audio would be corrupted. I found that not using my headphones and using my earphones allowed me to actually hear the right audio and my friend’s voice in-game, which was quite an odd bug/issue I had experienced. The same issue was had with one of the other players, so they had to switch to using different earphones. Additionally, there were some ‘bugs.’
Besides the little issues, I enjoyed this game as the atmosphere was thrilling, and the gameplay loop invites multiple runs with its semi-randomised setting that allows you to document the things needed to escape. The scares are absolutely horrifying, and some linger even when they have passed. Rather than just fighting against what lies within this forest, you’re trying to fight back against your instinctive response. For the price of the game, it is definitely worth it, with hopes for updates in the future for bug fixes.
We were provided with a few codes to play the game with friends. Two of the other players had the following to say about the game. First, Vroggo noted the following: “The graphics were really nice and totally set the vibe and atmosphere for the rest of the game, which helped with the execution of the jumpscares.
If the concept of the game was just built around exploring the world, finding meaning in the replayability, and the different locations around the map with a whole lot of jump scares along the way, then the game does a decent job at that.
The jumpscares were fun and effective for the first 45 minutes or so of the game, but the game did become stale some time after that. To basically sum up my experience of the game: my friends and I walked around the map, looked for the hidden glyphs, and tried to avoid the traps laid all over. So it was just that over and over again every time we all died or someone met the volume threshold.
My main complaint about the game was the mic calibrations. It was tricky finding the right setup so that the mic could pick up what we were saying while trying to whisper to each other. Due to this, a third of my experience was just being deaf to whatever my friends had to say.
Overall, the game is not my cup of tea. Although, for what it’s worth, it was a decent playthrough.”
Secondly, Moody said the following: “Don’t Scream Together was surprisingly fun, not because it was extremely scary, but because just breathing could end the game, which had resulted in several arguments throughout the game whilst playing with friends. The game cleverly tracks your voice, so even nervous yelps can ruin a long and perfect run, creating the constant pressure and a lot of memorable “don’t laugh, don’t scream!” moments with friends. I truly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend groups of friends to play together, though I do wish the game was optimised as starting a run took much longer than it should have due to mic and bug issues.”
If you are craving a tense co-op horror experience that literally punishes you for screaming, Don’t Scream Together is a must-try. Exploring the dark forest, uncovering creepy secrets, and trying to stay silent while something stalks you makes every second intense and hilarious in the worst way. Be sure to check out Don’t Scream Together, just try not to panic when you hear footsteps behind you!
Overall: 6/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
