Through the Woods

About Through the Woods

Through the Woods is a third-person horror adventure by Antagonist, a small studio founded in Oslo in 2014. It came out on PC in October 2016 and on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in May 2018; the Xbox store lists it for Xbox Series X|S as well.

It tells the story of a mother and her missing son. Through reactive narration you hear the mother retell what happened around his disappearance while you play her path: a terrified woman who has forced herself into a terrible place for the sole purpose of finding him.

The forest lies on the western shores of Norway and draws heavily on Norse mythology, Norwegian folk tales, art and nature. The makers wanted to capture the forest as they saw it as children, with all the fear and mystery of roaming it alone. Light and darkness are used to make places deceptive, and in the dark of the woods the sound design becomes a core mechanic.

The store calls it an experience of loneliness and loss in a terrifying place. It suits players who like story-led folklore horror with a single character alone at night, in the line of Blair Witch or the Hellblade games' Norse myth.

How to play Through the Woods

1. Buy it on Steam or GOG for Windows, on the PlayStation Store for PS4 or on the Xbox store for Xbox One and Series X|S.
2. Follow the mother into the forest in third person.
3. Listen to her narration as she retells the night her son disappeared.
4. Use light and darkness, and listen closely, to find your way through the woods.

Tips

• Play with headphones: the store says sound becomes a core mechanic in the dark of the forest.
• Light and dark can deceive you; look again before you trust what you see.
• Listen to the narration, which reacts to where you go and what you find.

Questions