In 2002, M. Night Shyamalan released his sci-fi horror filmSigns, depicting an alien invasion of Earth from the perspective of a Pennsylvanian preacher/farmer and his family.Signswas a smash hit at the box office and earned high praise from critics for its unnerving, surprisingly grounded portrayal of an alien invasion. Now it seemsSignsis directly inspiring a brand-new survival-horror game with similar themes,Greyhill Incidentby Refugium Games.
Greyhill Incidentis a survival-horror game about an alien invasion. LikeSigns, it is set in rural USA, showing how the common person would contend with a threat like this. It’s clear by theGreyhill Incidenttrailers that the game is taking inspiration fromSigns, with nods to the movie readily apparent. This is most obvious at the end of thelatestGreyhill Incidenttrailer, where the player character hears strange sounds from their radio that mimics similar noises fromSigns, and with the character Bob “The Lunatic” Baker, who wears a tinfoil hat much like Joaquin Phoenix’s character in the film. There are other similarities betweenGreyhill IncidentandSigns, though fans will have to wait for the game launches in spring 2023 to know the extent of them.
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Greyhill Incidentappears to be more fantastical in its portrayal of an alien invasion, however.Signsdidn’t really show all that much of the aliens during its runtime, outside the climactic showdown. However, it seemsGreyhill Incidentwill feature multiple encounters with the hostile “Grey” aliens, with players having to run and hide from them or attack them head-on with a revolver. The trailer also shows a hugeUFOin the process of abducting someone from their home, mutilated cattle, and more.
WhileGreyhill Incidentis clearly inspired bySigns, it also appears to be taking a page out ofOutlast’s book, at least when it comes to its general presentation.Greyhill Incidenthas a similar visual style toOutlast, and while the player character is not using a camera with night vision, the game world is still washed with an eerie green glow thanks to the UFOs. But while theOutlastgamesmake it difficult, if not outright impossible in most cases, for players to fight back against the threats that are coming for them,Greyhill Incidentwill let players shoot the aliens.
There haven’t been manyalien invasion-themed horror gamesin recent years, soGreyhill Incidenthas the opportunity to carve itself a nice niche in the sci-fi horror space. Fans will find out next year if it lives up to the high bars set by its inspirations.
