Passing Pineview Forest

68%
Game Brain Score Based on 898 reviews
  • music
  • atmosphere
  • gameplay
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Passing Pineview Forest is a free mini-prequel set in the universe of Pineview Drive. Behind the abandoned house on Pineview Drive lies ominous Pineview Forest. The dark, foreboding forest trail leading directly to the Pineview property must be explored – but your every move and reaction is being watched. You must stay calm during your walk – or else IT will take you! To survive you will need stea…

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

68%
Audience ScoreBased on 898 reviews
music26 positive mentions
story11 negative mentions
  • The game creates a genuinely creepy atmosphere with effective sound design that enhances the horror experience.
  • It's free to play, making it accessible for anyone looking for a short horror experience.
  • The jump scare at the end is well-executed and can catch players off guard.
  • The gameplay is very linear and repetitive, with little to no interaction or objectives beyond walking down a path.
  • The flashlight mechanic is poorly designed, as it only illuminates the ground, making navigation difficult.
  • The game can crash frequently, leading to frustration and a lack of replayability.
  • music112 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric and eerie qualities, effectively enhancing the sense of tension and fear throughout the experience. While many players appreciate the unsettling sound design and ambient tracks that contribute to the game's horror elements, some criticize the music for being overly loud or repetitive, occasionally obscuring important sound cues. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a key component of the game's ability to evoke chills and create a haunting atmosphere, despite some mixed feelings about its execution.

    • “The music is atmospheric and the visuals do a good job of putting you on that lonely, freaky, all-alone path.”
    • “Spooky atmosphere and a variety of sinister music will surely send chills down your spine.”
    • “Outstanding music, unsettling sound design, and an accomplished atmosphere of stirring minimalistic terror.”
    • “The general aesthetics are not half bad (not gonna lie) but the music is just too much.”
    • “The music, even though it's commonly used as a form of jump scare, is quite foreboding and was probably the biggest cause of chills in the game.”
    • “Let's be honest, if you were actually walking in a forest there wouldn't be any scary music playing in the background.”
  • atmosphere97 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its eerie and immersive qualities, effectively utilizing sound design and minimalistic visuals to create a tense and unsettling experience. However, some players feel that the atmosphere is undermined by a lack of engaging gameplay and meaningful events, leading to a sense of monotony despite the initial creepiness. Overall, while the atmospheric elements are strong, they often overshadow the gameplay, leaving some players wanting more interaction and depth.

    • “The atmosphere is simply overwhelming!”
    • “Outstanding music, unsettling sound design, and an accomplished atmosphere of stirring minimalistic terror.”
    • “It's spooky, atmospheric as hell, and genuinely tense (if only because you don't want to have to repeat the first twenty minutes all over again if you die two minutes from the end).”
    • “With the environment looking all similar with little change, and the atmosphere not really giving a spooky vibe.”
    • “I willfully disregarded an otherwise ominous soundtrack and disquieting background noises, deeming them a cheap way to create an eerie atmosphere.”
    • “It felt very bland and I just wasn't feeling the whole atmosphere of it.”
  • gameplay50 mentions

    The gameplay of the game is generally described as simplistic and linear, often leading to tedious experiences with minimal challenge or engagement. Players noted a lack of clear mechanics and repetitive elements, which detracted from the horror atmosphere, although some appreciated the immersive setting. Overall, while the game offers a free horror experience, it suffers from bugs and a lack of depth in gameplay mechanics, making it less appealing for those seeking a more complex gaming experience.

    • “The gameplay consists of the player walking down a linear path through Pineview Forest, occasionally walking past statues and houses, some of which are even explorable.”
    • “Its a fairly creepy game, a nice world, simple gameplay.”
    • “Now for the gameplay itself, it has a great horror atmosphere, set in the forest; I can feel the horror atmosphere was really intense.”
    • “The game doesn't really tell its mechanics: if you hear a sound, turn off your flashlight and stop moving; otherwise, you could die instantly and then have to replay the game from the beginning.”
    • “The gameplay itself is rather tedious, to say the least.”
    • “Where the game really falls flat is in its gameplay.”
  • graphics50 mentions

    The graphics of the game are generally described as average to decent, with some reviewers noting appealing visuals and a good art style, particularly in the forest setting. However, many emphasize that the game's atmosphere and sound design are more effective in creating tension than the graphics themselves, which can suffer from issues like poor object rendering and limited settings. Overall, while the graphics are not groundbreaking, they are considered satisfactory for a free indie horror game, with some potential for improvement.

    • “The forest graphics are exceedingly good, but more than that, the game itself has a highly effective and engaging use of sound to create tension, suspense, and fear.”
    • “This game was really nice, the music was wonderful and the graphics were top notch.”
    • “Amazing game, beautiful graphics and extremely scary!”
    • “The graphics are nothing too special; you will want to use as little of your flashlight as possible, so you won't really see the environments.”
    • “Poor distant object rendering, a grey film over all the visuals, object clipping, etc.”
    • “Graphic is not very good, nothing scary at all, no clue how to avoid death.”
  • story30 mentions

    The game's story is largely criticized for its absence, with many users noting that it lacks any meaningful plot or background, reducing the experience to a monotonous walking simulator. Players express disappointment over the lack of interaction and narrative depth, suggesting that the game would benefit significantly from a coherent storyline to enhance engagement and immersion. Overall, the consensus is that the game feels empty and unfulfilling due to its minimal storytelling elements.

    • “Silent Hill 2 had a good story.”
    • “Moral of the story... life in general is a lot more scary than this one, pop the lights on, look in the mirror and say this is my life while looking directly into your own eyes... now that's scary.”
    • “Also, the game makes you just curious enough to wonder what if this game had a story and what would be the reason behind these abandoned houses and why nobody now lives in them.”
    • “There's no story, just a straightforward jumpscare game.”
    • “No real 'story' or background throughout gameplay.”
    • “It's nothing but walking; there's no real story behind why you're there or who the hell you encountered.”
  • humor9 mentions

    Players find the game's humor to be a mix of unexpected comedic moments and absurd sound effects, such as the frequent "hell's kitchen" noise and a squeaky toy sound that feels out of place. Many enjoy the juxtaposition of fear and laughter, often sharing experiences of being scared yet amused during gameplay. However, some critiques mention that certain elements, like nonsensical laughing noises, detract from the overall experience.

    • “This game plays that hell's kitchen noise nearly every 10 seconds and it's damn hilarious when you die.”
    • “Funny thing - the first time playing I didn't even get what you are supposed to be scared of and won the boring way.”
    • “On that note, I have to say the squeaky toy sound felt completely out of place and actually made me laugh the first time I heard it.”
    • “I didn't go far enough to say something sensible, but when you see that there aren't many 'living' (or not) things that can attack you, and suddenly while watching a house you hear steps outside... it's not funny.”
    • “The attempts at humor feel forced and often fall flat, making the experience more awkward than entertaining.”
    • “I expected some lighthearted moments, but the jokes were either too cheesy or just didn't land at all.”
  • optimization7 mentions

    Overall, user reviews indicate mixed feelings about the game's optimization. While some players report smooth performance without frame drops, others experience significant issues, including freezing and poor performance on mid-range systems, suggesting that the game may not be well-optimized for all hardware configurations.

    • “The optimization and performance are great; the textures are nice, and I didn't experience any significant issues.”
    • “Despite some performance issues, the game runs well on my system with medium video and texture quality settings.”
    • “The optimization/performance seems questionable; I use a GTX 970, but it doesn't seem like it would run great on lesser systems.”
    • “Some performance issues - the game froze multiple times on only 'medium' video and texture quality settings on my computer.”
    • “In terms of performance, I have had no frame drops or stutters.”
  • stability6 mentions

    The game suffers from significant stability issues, including numerous bugs and glitches that detract from the experience, such as audio problems and navigation obstacles. While some players find the atmosphere engaging, the overall instability has led to frustration, making it hard to recommend despite its free status.

    • “Very, very buggy; Slender: The Arrival is so much better!”
    • “I'm not sure what was trying to be conveyed here, but entering a house and not being able to cross the last step at the top was just... buggy.”
    • “Glitches... even though this is a free game, it's not worth your time.”
  • grinding5 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, often requiring multiple attempts to progress, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite this, some still appreciate the horror elements and consider the game worth playing, especially given its free availability.

    • “Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
    • “The grind is satisfying and offers a real sense of progression.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “There's no story, there's no gameplay, and for a mind-numbingly tedious couple of minutes to finish, there is one very cheap jump scare.”
    • “The gameplay itself is rather tedious, to say the least.”
  • replayability3 mentions

    The game offers minimal replayability, with most players completing it in about 12-30 minutes and finding little incentive to play again due to predictable mechanics and a lack of varied content. Once players learn how to navigate the challenges, the experience becomes too easy and repetitive.

    • “The game lasted me 30 minutes and apart from the one playthrough, there is no replay value.”
    • “You're going to spend about what I did... about 12-15 minutes playing through it, and it has basically no replayability.”
    • “The 'antagonist' is a bit cheap, so as a gameplay mechanic it doesn't really work that well. It's really easy to avoid the 'antagonist' once you know what to do, making the replay value pretty much non-existent.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game significantly enhances the overall experience, immersing players in the environment and evoking a strong sense of connection to the setting. Reviewers appreciate the balanced emotional influence that enriches gameplay without overwhelming it.

    • “It really added to the entire experience and made me feel as though I were in the forest.”
    • “Just the right amount of emotional influence.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The monetization approach of the game is appreciated, as it offers a free horror mini-game without intrusive ads, encouraging players to try it out.

    • “The monetization strategy feels overly aggressive, making it hard to enjoy the game without constantly being bombarded by ads.”
    • “I understand the need for revenue, but the in-game purchases are so expensive that it ruins the overall experience.”
    • “It's frustrating that to unlock certain features, you have to pay extra, which feels like a cash grab rather than a fair monetization model.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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