Canceled Paranormal Activity Game Returns As Free Horror Experience
You Can Now Play The Mortuary Assistant Dev's Canceled Paranormal Activity Game For Free
The next P.T. might have just arrived.
Over the past couple of years, solo indie horror developer Brian Clarke, better known as DarkStone Digital, worked alongside Paramount on a Paranormal Activity game, which could've been the franchise's first proper video game adaptation in nearly two decades. However, the project was abruptly canceled this May after Paramount rejected DarkStone Digital and publisher DreadXP's request for additional development time.
Fortunately, that wasn't the end of this game's story. Clarke has now launched Playable Archive, a reworked version of the canceled Paranormal Activity: Threshold that, of course, removes all references to the Paranormal Activity franchise. The title is very reminiscent of Hideo Kojima's canceled Silent Hills project, P.T. (short for "Playable Teaser"), a free game released in 2014 before being delisted from the PlayStation Store in 2015 after the project was canceled.
Playable Archive is only about 30-60 minutes long and has no save system, so you'll have to complete it in one sitting. It's designed in a found-footage horror style and follows a classic horror premise: a young couple simply looking to renovate their home discover a strange object, only to pay the price for tampering with it.
"It's been a long time since I've released something new, and those following my work know that the project I had been working on for the past few years, set to be my next major title, was canceled. After putting so much of myself into it and a wonderful reception at PAX earlier this year, I have to admit, I was feeling burnt out, and I imagined the project would simply sit on a shelf forever. A forgotten relic of development that sat in darkness while I built up a plan for a new project.
However, recently DreadXP reached out to me and floated the idea of maybe releasing what I had. It felt like a good way of laying the project to rest instead of remaining a lingering ghost. So, I worked to adjust the project where needed and polished up the edges to release the work I had done. I'm sad to say that a good deal of work was still left on the cutting room floor, but I'm proud of what I am able to share and that it is going to see the light of day in some form. Today, I am so happy to shadow-drop Playable Archive in time for Halloween for FREE!"