Propnight Explained

Propnight
Developer:Fntastic
Publisher:Mytona
Platforms:Microsoft Windows
Genre:Survival horror
Modes: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.

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. 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[11] 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[12]

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."[13]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Major Propnight Update Adds Building And More Next Week. 2022-02-11. 2022-02-20. TechRaptor. Joseph. Allen. 2023-03-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20230307095511/https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/major-propnight-update-adds-building-and-more-next-week. live.
  2. Web site: Propnight on Steam . store.steampowered.com . 16 June 2022 . en . 24 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230324025402/https://store.steampowered.com/app/1549180/Propnight/ . live .
  3. Web site: 2021-11-18 . "We Hit the People's Hearts" - Exclusive Interview with the Propnight Developers - Technosteria . 2022-03-30 . technosteria.com . en-US . 2021-12-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211202070507/https://technosteria.com/we-hit-the-peoples-hearts-exclusive-interview-with-the-propnight-developers/ . live .
  4. Tack . Daniel . Games You May Have Missed In 2021: Propnight . https://web.archive.org/web/20211228000305/https://www.gameinformer.com/2021/12/27/games-you-may-have-missed-in-2021-propnight . dead . December 28, 2021 . Game Informer . 30 March 2022 . en.
  5. News: Zak . Robert . 2021-12-04 . Propnight is like Dead by Daylight but you can disguise yourself as a pumpkin . PC Gamer . live . 2022-02-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230307095511/https://www.pcgamer.com/propnight-is-like-dead-by-daylight-but-you-can-disguise-yourself-as-a-pumpkin/ . 2023-03-07.
  6. Web site: Purslow . Matt . Propnight Is a New Multiplayer Horror That Crosses Dead By Daylight With Goosebumps . IGN . 30 March 2022 . en . 15 October 2021 . 27 November 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211127051912/https://www.ign.com/articles/propnight-dead-by-daylight-prop-hunt-preview . live .
  7. Web site: MacGregor . India . All Characters in Propnight horror survivor game . Pro Game Guides . 30 March 2022 . en . 11 December 2021 . 9 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221009054653/https://progameguides.com/propnight/all-characters-in-propnight-horror-survivor-game/ . live .
  8. Web site: Propnight Public Test (App 1743770) - SteamDB. 2022-02-20. 2022-02-10. SteamDB. 2022-10-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20221009073114/https://steamdb.info/app/1743770/. live.
  9. News: Propnight Is a New Multiplayer Horror That Crosses Dead By Daylight With Goosebumps. Matt. Purslow. 2021-10-16. 2022-02-20. IGN. 2021-11-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20211127051912/https://www.ign.com/articles/propnight-dead-by-daylight-prop-hunt-preview. live.
  10. Web site: Propnight announcement . pbs.twimg.com . playpropnight . https://web.archive.org/web/20231230194634/https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GB8ETqMakAAfrdx?format=jpg . 2023-12-30.
  11. Web site: NME Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News . 2022-03-30 . NME . en-GB . 2007-06-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070605222115/http://www.nme.com/ . live .
  12. Web site: 2021-12-10 . 'Propnight' review: A ludicrous yet effective spin on asymmetrical horror . 2022-03-30 . NME . en-GB . 2023-03-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230307095517/https://www.nme.com/reviews/game-reviews/propnight-review-3116073 . live .
  13. Web site: Roxl . Rhett . Propnight - Review . Sirius Gaming . 16 June 2022 . 22 December 2021 . 30 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230330200721/https://sirusgaming.com/propnight-review/ . live .