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Review

A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead Review

Not quite the adaptation we hoped for

I’ve always been a big fan of games, movies and TV shows with post-apocalyptic settings, so it’s likely no surprise that the A Quiet Place films are a favourite of mine. With the first two films, John Krasinski managed to do what few post-apocalyptic films have done and engage the audience in an emotional and tense viewing, while the third entry (A Quiet Place: Day One) didn’t quite hit the emotional highs but was still an enjoyable watch. Given the franchise’s success, it makes sense to expand the universe into the world of video games to give players a front row seat to surviving in the world and A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead does just that. But does Italian studio Stormind Games manage to capture the tension and emotion of the films with its first-person horror adaptation?

The Road Ahead is set around four months after the invasion and follows Alex as she endeavours to survive while finding a way out of Clinton, New Jersey (I think). The game’s early narrative beats attempt to draw the player in with relative success thanks to some poignant moments reminiscent of the films. I wouldn’t say I was entirely hooked emotionally, but it did give Alex a little more reasoning for surviving than simply existing. There are a couple of flashback sequences to the day of the invasion mixed in, including the game’s worst moment (a car chase sequence), that do give some backstory, but for the most part the game is set in the same time period. If you’ve seen Day One, you’ll have seen this story play out already, so much so that it wouldn’t surprise me if this was initially meant to be released closer to the film.

Can anyone hear me?

Given the trick to survival in A Quiet Place is to be as quiet as possible, you can likely guess the gameplay loop that The Road Ahead brings to the table. With her homemade phonometer, Alex will traverse various locations while making as little noise as possible. Every surface you walk on, door or drawer you open and item you use will create noise, and Alex’s phonometer will indicate how much environmental noise there is and how loud you are – so as long as you’re quieter than the environment, you’ll be okay. If you become too loud, you’ll usually hear warning and creature sounds that indicate you need to quieten it down, but if you continually make too much noise then you’ll be treated to an insta-death cutscene.

The unique part of the gameplay is that Alex is asthmatic, so you’ll need to manage her condition throughout the game. Thankfully, it seems that most people in the world suffer from the same malady, as there are puffers and pills everywhere, so you’ll rarely be without one. The status of your lungs is represented by a symbol in the top left and there are three stages. White means all is good, orange indicates a stable but deteriorating condition, while red means attention is needed as the screen starts to darken. Almost everything you do (aside from walking) affects your asthma. Climbing ladders, carrying planks, vaulting over ledges or being in close proximity to Death Angels will cause your condition to worsen. Using a puffer will result in a moment of excess noise, and when an asthma attack is triggered, you’ll need to complete a clunky QTE, so you’ll need to make sure the coast is clear before medicating.

As Alex makes her way to her destination, there will be times when you’ll need to avoid the Death Angels roaming the area you’re in. Initially this is simply a case of walking around to avoid them, but as the game progresses, Alex will discover that she can throw bricks or bottles to distract her pursuer and empty bags of sand to soften her footsteps. Annoyingly, even if you lure the creature to the other side of an area and you keep quiet, it will still find its way back to you.

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Getting up close and personal

To its credit, the early sequences do manage to create a good level of tension – I was always ensuring I was as quiet as possible, and when I was too loud, the sound warnings would cause my heart to race. But unfortunately, the longer you play, the more the mechanics work against the overall experience, and once you learn the rules of the game and the universe, you’re able to use them to your advantage, which practically kills the tension and leads to a rather tedious experience. Eventually I knew that if a Death Angel wasn’t in my area they were only a threat if I became too loud, which meant I could frequently trigger the warning sounds without any real fear of death. As the game wore on, the more the asthma mechanic became a nuisance to manage and felt like a gimmick, and completing the ‘plank puzzles’ always left me chuckling as the plank was dropped into place with no sound consequence.

Despite the gameplay issues, the world feels like a real place from the A Quiet Place universe, with notes strewn around the place and a general sense of panic. Visually, it’s got some nice fidelity and the Death Angels look great, but some of the locations do feel like studio sets rather than real places. With sound (or lack thereof) such an integral part of the universe, it’s no surprise that the minimalist soundscape nails the atmosphere, and I’d highly recommend playing with headphones.

Could be worse places to die

Final Thoughts

When the game makes you feel like you’re in the world of A Quiet Place being pursued by Death Angels, The Road Ahead is an immersive and tense time. It’s just a shame that the game’s mechanics and its 8–10-hour journey ultimately come at a cost to the tension and overall experience. As a result, fans of the franchise and the first-person horror genre will likely find more to like here than most, even with its budget price tag.

Reviewed on PS5 // Review code supplied by publisher

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A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead Review
Not So Silent Thrill
With some gameplay mechanics that ultimately work against the experience, A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead doesn’t manage to capture the tension that the world promises.
The Good
Some tense moments early on
Does make you feel like you're in the world of A Quiet Place
Sound design is on point
Budget price
The Bad
Gameplay mechanics ultimately hinder the experience
Tension is lost due to playtime
Story is predictable
6
Has A Crack
  • Stormind Games
  • Saber Interactive
  • PS5 / Xbox Series X|S / PC
  • October 18, 2024

A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead Review
Not So Silent Thrill
With some gameplay mechanics that ultimately work against the experience, A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead doesn’t manage to capture the tension that the world promises.
The Good
Some tense moments early on
Does make you feel like you’re in the world of A Quiet Place
Sound design is on point
Budget price
The Bad
Gameplay mechanics ultimately hinder the experience
Tension is lost due to playtime
Story is predictable
6
Has A Crack
Written By Zach Jackson

Despite a childhood playing survival horrors, point and clicks and beat ’em ups, these days Zach tries to convince people that Homefront: The Revolution is a good game while pining for a sequel to The Order: 1886 and a live-action Treasure Planet film. Carlton, Burnley FC & SJ Sharks fan. Get around him on Twitter @tightinthejorts

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