I’ve played a few great survival horror games in the last year or so. Some have been great in giving me a game where I can build shelters while waiting for the blood moon to rise and raise armies of zombies with the scent of blood in the air (7 Days to Die), others have been rather simplistic in their design, but a fantastic leisure game (Minecraft), while others catered for my love of Dinosaurs, allowing me to build and live among them while taming them (ARK Survival Evolved).

And yet, none of them send shivers of terror crawling up my spine like the upcoming Green Hell. Now in Early Access mode on Steam, for a ridiculously low price of R130 / $19.99 / £15.49 (click here for your region’s pricelist), I’ve been testing and trying the game out thanks for being provided with a review code from the developer’s agents. And I must say, this game is ultra realistic and terrifying at the best of times. I started playing it on my gaming laptop, but when I realised I needed a monster of a machine to play it at its best, switched to my PC rig.

I will have a preview of the game up soon, but I wanted to share with you the development of the game so far, what you can expect in time to come, and my overall feeling of the game so far. And who knows, I may have failed to get permission from Techland to write a Dying Light novel, but maybe I will succeed with permission for a Green Hell novel.

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GAME ANNOUNCEMENT – 16 May 2018

Green Hell announced as a first-person, psychological survival simulator set in the uncharted depths of the sweltering Amazon rainforest. Clinging to life, the player is set on a journey of durability as the effects of solitude wear heavy not only on the body but also the mind. How long can you survive against the dangers of the unknown?

When I first the trailer, I thought that the voice acting and graphics reminds me of Dying Light. And when I saw who the development team consisted of, I was not surprised. Creepy Jar, an independent studio, is made up of ex-Techland Warsaw team members (Dying Light, Dead Island, Nail’d). The same guys that brought us the horrifying games that we so loved.

The following key features we also announced:

• Realistic Survival Simulator – Green Hell puts great focus on realism in both its world building and gameplay. Everything that is crafted or built is necessary for survival, and was consulted on with experts. The Amazon is not a typical forest; threats are literally crawling under your skin.
• Psychological Thriller – Waking up in the middle of the Amazon with no recollection of how you got there or how you’ll get out, the hardest battle you’ll face is the fight against yourself and your weaknesses and fears.
• Fully Alive Amazon Rainforest – Every effort has gone into recreating the lush world of the Amazon in painstaking detail. An exotic and dangerous place, this jungle is filled with many hazards beyond predators including toxic plants, illnesses and infections, all waiting to bring the player to their demise.
• Body Inspection – Dangers lurk around every bend but they also live under your very skin. Paramount to your survival is checking your body for parasites, infections, and wounds. Take care or suffer the consequences.

 

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SURVIVAL SERIES TEASERS – 28 JUNE 2018

While Creepy Jar continued development of the game, they did what is best for a fans in expectation: they released teasers. Not wanting to leave fans in the dark, they prepared the Green Hell Survival Series highlighting some of the friends, foes, dangers, and locales you’ll come across in the deepest parts of the Amazon rain forest. From the terrifying Goliath Birdeater Spider to the secretive Yabahuaca Tribe, there are many mysteries to discover in Green Hell’s lush world.

Here are the images shared with us as press relations for the Survival Series.

 

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EARLY ACCESS DATE ANNOUNCED – 24 JULY 2018

We finally received an Early Access trailer and release date for 29 August 2018. We were informed that upon the Early Access release, players would be able to dive into a full one half of the final map, encounter five dangerous and hostile creatures, and learn how to inspect their bodies for all kinds of wounds, infections, and parasitic nasties. Not only that, they would be able to get a sneak peek into the Story Mode with a fully voiced over tutorial introduction.

Beginning its journey with a huge amount of content, Green Hell players could also look forward to updates containing new tribal enemies, cool new death animations, a water update introducing diving and fishing, and even more languages beyond the initial offerings of English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.

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EARLY ACCESS – 29 AUGUST 2018

Having signed up for a code for Green Hell, I was extremely excited when I received my Early Access code on 29 August 2018. Although Story Mode wasn’t available yet, there was an introductory survival mode that gave us a taste of what Story Mode would look like.

And the voice acting is incredible. It has the same quality as Dying Light, with the Amazon forest looking absolutely stunning. There may have been a few hiccups at the start, such as the game crashing a few times, but that was dealt with swiftly with a few fixes. The gameplay itself was remarkable, better than any open world survival game I have played so far. And I am hungry for more.

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UPDATE ROADMAP – 19 SEPTEMBER 2018

With only a few weeks that passed, there was already enough feedback from the community that a roadmap for updates could be presented. The roadmap look at animal and water updates, combat updates with new enemies and weapon systems, mud construction, and finally the Story Mode and Co-op gameplay.

The developer also shared these words with us:

We understand that many Early Access games are left in limbo with updates that are few and far between. Inspired by our players and community, we are striving to make timely updates that matter, but never at the cost of quality to the game. Taking into account the massive amount of feedback and all the inspiration provided by the community, the full story mode is moving slightly forward to give us the time we need to implement as many suggestions as possible.

From day one, Creepy Jar has endeavoured to make the best experience possible for our players with the focus being an engrossing, challenging single player game. True to our word, the push to 1.0 will see many requested features come to light but there was one constant request that we could no longer ignore. After polishing Green Hell to be a truly captivating single player game, we will work to deliver a properly instituted co-op mode.

The Creepy Jar Development Team

And here is the full roadmap:

Autumn 2018

Animals Update

• New animals
• New building types
• New plants
• New challenge scenario: Hunter

Water Update

• New map area
• New water animals
• Swimming and diving
• Fishing
• Fish Traps
• New water plants
• New challenge scenario: Angler

Winter 2018/19

Combat Update

• New human enemy
• Armor system
• Human traps
• AI behaviors
• AI damage system
• New challenge scenario

Mud Building Update

• Mud constructions
• Forging
• New items and crafts
• New challenge scenario

Story Mode Update

• Full story mode
• New map areas
• New human enemy
• New challenge scenario

Spring 2019

Co-Op Mode Update

• Green Hell’s most requested feature, cooperative mode!

 

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ANIMAL UPDATE – 10 October 2018

Creepy Jar continued to work diligently on their open-world survival simulator by releasing the Animal Update. The Animal Update brought so much more to the game than just additional creepy crawlies to the Early Access title with new medicinal plants and herbs, modular shelter options, and even a new challenge.

There was also the ability to create your own shelter which offered a safe haven from the hazards of the outside world and new remedies that could be found among the plants and herbs of the lush rain forest foliage.

Here are all the new features and additions below brought by the Animal update:

Animal Update Additions

NEW ANIMALS

• Two Armadillo Species
• Bats
• Brazilian Wandering Spider
• Puma
• Toucan
• Tapir
• Red-Footed Tortoise
• Caiman Lizard

NEW PLANTS & HERBS

• Discover new medicinal cures for your illnesses

NEW SURVIVAL CONSTRUCTIONS

• Food Dryer – Preserve your food to last longer
• Lumber Stand – Keep your camp tidy with storage for the wood you collect

NEW MODULAR SHELTERS

• Configure your undefined shelter layout with the modular construction system
• Learn more about the modular construction system in this video!

NEW ‘HUNTER’ CHALLENGE

• 10 different species, 10 different hunts to complete your challenge

Focusing on listening to their community while constantly looking to improve the Green Hell experience, Creepy Jar had also made a massive number of changes and fixes which you can find in the detailed changelog on Steam.

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WATER UPDATE – 6 DECEMBER 2018

Creepy Jar ended 2018 with a brand new Water Update. The Water Update brought with it new animals, an entirely new area on the map, fishing, and even new difficulty modes! If you’ve wanted to simply focus on building your camp and enjoying your stay in the jungle, now you could!

They also released a new trailer for the update:

Dive into the Green Hell Water Update and experience more of the Amazon rain forest than ever. Explore the expanded map, but keep a wary eye out for the Black Caiman whose jaws can rip you in two before you can blink! Learn how to craft fishing rods and catch fish for food, or even take a dip into their waters and swim with them. These features, and many more make the Water Update Green Hell’s biggest update yet.

Here are all the new features and additions below;

Water Update Additions

NEW ANIMALS

• Angelfish
• Discus Fish
• Black Caiman
• Mystery Snail
• Prawn
• Red Crab

NEW FEATURES

• New Map Area
• Swimming & Diving
• Fishing & Fishing Rods
• New Loading Screens
• Death Reason Added to Death Screen
• New Fish Trap
• New Prawn Trap
• New Fishing Rod Trap
• New ‘Fisherman Challenge’

REBALANCED DIFFICULTY LEVELS

• A Walk in the Park – Peaceful mode with no hostile attacks. You can still choose to walk into danger yourself, though! Recommended for players who want to focus on building and exploring in the Amazon.
• Welcome to the Jungle – A balanced survival experience. Recommended for all players.
• Green Hell – You like pain. Enemies are more hostile, and sanity penalties are increased. Recommended for survival experts!

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WHAT 2019 WILL BRING

Continuing to improve upon the game while keeping a keen eye on the requests of their community, Creepy Jar now moves onto developing the third update of the Roadmap, the Combat Update. An announcement of this will be made soon in 2019.

I am excited to finally see the Story Mode, as well as Co-op mode. I am also desperately hoping to see a PS4 release of the game, although no mention has been made of that just yet. When the game is release, expect a full, passionate review of the game from me, having been part of the testing process since the start. I will also be release more news of the game more frequently now since I am now more involved in playing the game.

For a look at what’s coming down the line for Green Hell, take a look at the Green Hell Roadmap.

Let me know in the comments if you have played Early Access of Green Hell.