Propnight

Last updated
Propnight
Propnight cover.jpg
Developer(s) Fntastic
Publisher(s) Mytona
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release
  • WW: December 1, 2021
Genre(s) Survival horror
Mode(s) Multiplayer

Propnight was an online asymmetric multiplayer survival horror game with Prop Hunt -style mechanics [1] developed by Fntastic and published by Mytona. In the game, four players have the ability to turn into objects in order to evade the fifth player, a killer who is taken to catch and prevent their escape. An open beta period on Steam lasted between October 15 and October 18, 2021 before the game's full release on December 1, 2021. The game was shut down on January 22, 2024.

Contents

Story

The game's plot is left deliberately mysterious, with the only detail given outside of the game being that "In a small provincial town, teenagers continue to disappear mysteriously." [2] In an interview, Anna Vasilieva, the communication director of Fntastic, explained that Propnight "has its own mysterious lore, and we happily thought of a lot of little things that can be noticed while playing the game. I would not want to take away from the players the pleasure of building theories and guessing about everything for themselves." [3]

Gameplay

Propnight is four-versus-one asymmetrical horror game. [4] Four players play as Survivors, with the fifth player playing as the Killer. Survivors can transform into nearby props in the environment such as chairs, pots, and more in order to hide from the killer. [5] The Survivors' objective is for at least one Survivor to escape the map. To do so, the Survivors must repair 5 of the 7 machines placed across the map, which in turn opens the map's exit. [6] The Killer's objective is either to kill all 4 survivors, or prevent their escape. To catch a Survivor, the killer must knock them down, then place them on a chair, where they will die if not rescued by another Survivor. Each survivor can only be rescued in this way twice; the survivor will die instantly if the survivor is placed on the chair a third time. [7]

Development

Propnight was developed using the Unreal game engine. [8] After an open beta period which ran between October 15 and October 18, 2021, [9] the game was released through Steam on November 30, 2021.[ citation needed ] On December 22, 2023, Fntastic ceased operations and announced that Propnight's servers would shut down on January 22, 2024. [10]

It has support for 15 languages, including English, French, Italian, German, Spanish (Spain), Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Latin America), Polish, Russian, Swedish, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, and Japanese for the interface and subtitles.

Reception

Aron Poter of NME [13] wrote that while Propnight's premise "takes a while to get used to", he described it as "a fun spin on the established concept that knows how to make the action tense, challenging, and never without several hysterical moments thanks to the core prop copying mechanic [14]

Some reviewers also criticised the game's various technical issues at launch. Rhett Roxl of Sirius Gaming in particular criticised the game's "very poor" implementation of motion blur and its inconsistent framerate, which according to him, "worsens immensely during intense moments." [15]

See also

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References

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  2. "Propnight on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  3. ""We Hit the People's Hearts" - Exclusive Interview with the Propnight Developers - Technosteria". technosteria.com. 2021-11-18. Archived from the original on 2021-12-02. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  4. Tack, Daniel. "Games You May Have Missed In 2021: Propnight". Game Informer. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  5. Zak, Robert (2021-12-04). "Propnight is like Dead by Daylight but you can disguise yourself as a pumpkin". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  6. Purslow, Matt (15 October 2021). "Propnight Is a New Multiplayer Horror That Crosses Dead By Daylight With Goosebumps". IGN. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  7. MacGregor, India (11 December 2021). "All Characters in Propnight horror survivor game". Pro Game Guides. Archived from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  8. "Propnight Public Test (App 1743770) - SteamDB". SteamDB. 2022-02-10. Archived from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  9. Purslow, Matt (2021-10-16). "Propnight Is a New Multiplayer Horror That Crosses Dead By Daylight With Goosebumps". IGN. Archived from the original on 2021-11-27. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  10. playpropnight. "Propnight announcement". pbs.twimg.com. Archived from the original on 2023-12-30.
  11. "Propnight Review - Copycat Killer Cuts Its Own Path". MMOGames.com. Archived from the original on 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
  12. "'Propnight' review: A ludicrous yet effective spin on asymmetrical horror". NME . 10 December 2021. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  13. "NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News". NME. Archived from the original on 2007-06-05. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  14. "'Propnight' review: A ludicrous yet effective spin on asymmetrical horror". NME. 2021-12-10. Archived from the original on 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  15. Roxl, Rhett (22 December 2021). "Propnight - Review". Sirius Gaming. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2022.