➤ Who's Afraid of Don't Knock Twice? 🎮

One blow to wake her from her bed, two blows to raise her from the dead. With these very uncomfortable words, Don't Knock Twice, a film that arrived in Spain in the middle of summer with the title Don't Knock on That Door, was presented to the world. Played by Katee Sackhoff of Battlestar Galactica, the film belongs as you may have guessed to the horror genre, even before Resident Evil 7 among the most popular for the use of virtual reality in videogames. The guys at Wales Interactive, the Soul Axiom development team, had the task of taking us personally into the nightmare of an urban legend linked to a demonic witch, available today for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Even if you don't have a headset, you can still play Don't Knock Twice - but is it worth it?

Heel-heel!

The plot of Don't Knock Twice revolves around the search for her daughter by a mother, devoured by guilt for having been the cause of the forced removal of the young woman which occurred some time before. If you have seen the film you will surely know more about it than we do, since in the video game there are not too many preambles before putting us where the whole story takes place. In possession of very few elements that push us to do so, we therefore begin to explore the house where Don't Knock Twice is set, as per the tradition of the horror genre enclosed within the sinister walls of an old house, located this time in Wales. If in the film the director Caradog W. James tried to insert the conflictual relationship between mother and daughter at the center of the story, in the videogame Don't Knock Twice this element remains only hinted at, leaving the player to possibly deepen the question. Going around the witch's house, it is in fact possible to find various types of documents that tell us something more about both the personal history of Jess and Chloe, and the entity with which they have to do. The goal is of course to make us feel involved in the adventure experienced by the two women, always one step after the other while the monster on duty enjoys playing with both. With such a classic setting, something more should have been done in terms of narrative elements: as it is, the game prevents you from successfully engaging in the part., asking us to trust the much-phoned "mother and daughter versus supernatural creature" to have a scary virtual reality experience. As we are about to see, unfortunately, Don't Knock Twice fails from this point of view as well.

PlayStation 4 Trophies

Trophy hunters can find something for themselves with Don't Knock Twice. In fact, the game offers a total of twenty-nine objectives, one of which is Platinum, five Gold, fourteen Silver and nine Bronze. Their nature naturally starts from the completion of the various "chapters" of which the story is composed, to move on to some collectibles and other types of hidden elements. To get all the Trophies, you will have to complete the game at least a couple of times.

I'm the big bad wolf!

The demonic creature that haunts the protagonists of Don't Knock Twice manages to be a scarecrow only in the initial phase, especially since the player still has no idea what to expect. The game soon sets the record straight by serving the first of the so-called "jump scare", that is, the unexpected events that the horror genre has always been full of. An expedient to scare not necessarily bad, but which must not be abused: unfortunately, this is what Wales Interactive does, thus trying to put fear on those who find themselves with a helmet on their head. There is no doubt that in an immersive environment like that of virtual reality the classic jump takes on a completely different effect, but to be credible it needs to be supported by other dynamics that make the experience truly terrifying. Unfortunately, this does not happen in Don't Knock Twice, where after the first few minutes of the game everything becomes telephoned: the presence that we constantly feel behind us no longer scares us., just as we know very well where the next door slamming or the lightning coming through the window will be waiting for us. The absence of noteworthy puzzles also makes Don't Knock Twice a purely exploratory experience, as does the fact that the witch never actually tries to make an attempt on our life - except by blowing up the coronaries. Depending on the time dedicated to dwelling on the elements that are gradually found, the duration is around two hours and a little something.

Virtual freedom

Although Don't Knock Twice is a game conceived for virtual reality, Wales Interactive has dedicated part of its efforts also to the use without viewers. In the latter case, the control system is quite classic, while when you go to experience the story in the very first person, things change depending on the game platform. On PC, Oculus and HTC Vive controllers are supported, while on PlayStation 4 there is almost total freedom for the choice of game system. If you are in possession of the DualShock 4 only, the interface binds to the latter, also adapting to the use of a single Move or a couple if you have two. The movement takes place via teleportation, a choice that allows the most delicate stomachs to be a little more serene, even if at the expense of the involvement guaranteed by the linear movement. On PlayStation 4 the graphics appear without infamy and without praise, traditionally losing something if PlayStation VR is used. We don't know whether or not there are support differences between the base PlayStation 4 and the Pro model, however, Don't Knock Twice was spun on for this review.

Comment

Tested version PlayStation 4 Digital Delivery Steam, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store Price 19,99 € / 12,49 € Resources4Gaming.com

4.5

Readers (4)

5.5

Your vote

Don't Knock Twice lazily tries to scare the gamer, succeeding only minimally. The abuse of "jump scare" without supporting elements soon makes the experience predictable and difficult to complete: not because of its difficulty, but because of an absence of stimuli that is felt also from a narrative point of view. Recommended only if you are looking for a few jumps on the chair, and a little more.