Granny (video game)
Granny is an Indie survival horror video game developed and published by DVloper. It is a spin-off to the Slendrina series. The game features an unnamed protagonist trapped in a house, needing to solve puzzles while avoiding the titular "Granny" to get out of the house in a time period of only five to six days.[1]
| Granny | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | DVloper |
| Publisher(s) | DVloper |
| Series | Slendrina |
| Engine | Unity |
| Platform(s) | Android iOS Microsoft Windows |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Survival horror, Thriller |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The game gained heavy traction following its release through various media platforms, such as YouTube, Twitch and others. The latest update the game received was on April 18, 2019.[2]
Sound is what Granny utilizes to her advantage against the player in the game, which means that if some sort of sound is made by the player, Granny gets alerted and moves towards the source of the sound and can either end with her knocking the player unconscious or losing sight of the player. The overall objective of the game is to escape the house by using clues, solving puzzles and to find various items that are present around the house.
Gameplay
The game takes place in an old house where the main character (the player) is trapped. The player must explore the house to find items that can help them escape the house in 5 days (6 if an optional puzzle is solved). Items include a hammer to pry out planks of wood, a pair of pliers, a shotgun and a crossbow to knock out Granny. The house currently has 6 floors, which include a garage and 2 attic areas. The player can only escape by removing the locks on the front door, or by repairing the car in the garage, the latter of which requires an additional set of items.
Granny – the antagonist – searches the house for the player. When a sound is made by the player (e.g dropping a vase), Granny will go towards where the sound was made. If spotted, Granny will run towards the player until she loses sight of him, and thereafter will place bear traps around the house to catch the player once she has lost sight of him/her. Granny's pace speed differs depending on the game's difficulty (easy, normal, hard, or extreme). On 'practice' mode, Granny is not present. This allows the player to freely roam and figure out how to escape the house. There is also a spindly brown spider in the top attic floor, which attacks the player if they get too close. The player will have to use a piece of meat to distract the spider or shoot it with the shotgun. The Nightmare Mode adds a bloodier texture to surfaces and retextures Granny's model as well as reskinning Granny's Bear Traps.
The player can hide under beds or in wardrobes, as long as Granny doesn't see the player hiding. If the player is caught, Granny swings her baseball bat at the player's head, which ends the current day. There is also an alternate jumpscare when Granny sees the player hiding under a bed and lunges down at the player. The player can also get knocked out by falling from the unstable flooring, the spindly spider in the attic, or by committing suicide by blowing themselves up with the gasoline can. If the player is caught on the last day, one of 4 "game over" cut-scenes play, including being eaten alive by Granny in the basement, getting run over by the car in the garage, having their head chopped off by the guillotine in the backyard, and falling onto a bear trap through the weak attic floor. The player can defend themselves from Granny by shooting her with the crossbow, making her walk over an freeze trap, trapping her in the sauna (located in the garage.) (This lasts for a period of fifteen seconds to two minutes, depending on the difficulty level.) If Granny is shot with the shotgun, an extra 30 seconds is added. (15 if the player is playing in Extreme Mode.)
The player also receives injuries during the period of time they are in the house. On the first day, the player has no injuries. On the second day, the player walks with a limp. On the third day, the limp becomes more severe. On the fourth day, the player's vision is splattered with drops of blood and the bed they wake up in has blood on it. From here on, the player sustains no more injuries. During the "game over" cut-scenes, the vision of the player will remain the same as it had on the previous day.
When the player manages to escape through the front door, Granny will stand behind him (unless on Practice difficulty, in which case she waits outside the open door) as the player runs. If the player does not put the teddy bear into the baby's crib in the attic before escaping, Granny will jump-scare the player by going right in front of the camera in order to look for him/her. If the player puts the teddy bear into the crib, Granny will sit on the front step holding the teddy bear in her left hand before turning around to watch the player run away, and is joined with her granddaughter Slendrina as the camera pans away. If the Player escapes with the car, then Granny will be right at the foot of the garage, watching the Player drive away. If you have escaped on practice, then Granny will not be there.And it will written on the main door that I will be back
Plot
The game's plot is unmentioned in the mobile version. In the PC version, the game starts off with a cut-scene of the player walking through the woods. The player finds Granny's house and is subsequently attacked by Granny. The player awakes in a bed, which starts the game properly. According to a note that is found inside the basement, the player is not the first person that Granny has trapped. It is unclear if the previous visitor escaped the house, but the note indicates that they were quite badly injured and aware that they had little chance of escaping.
Series continuation
Granny: Chapter Two[3][4][5]
A second game of the Granny series, named Granny: Chapter Two, was released on September 6, 2019.
Similar to the first installment, the player is once again trapped in a house similar to the previous house. In the first game, there was only Granny, her pet crow, rats, and her pet spider. In Granny: Chapter Two, there are more enemies to face while escaping the house. The list of enemies is Granny, Grandpa, Slendrina's baby, and the sewer monster. The player can choose a practice mode where Granny and Grandpa both are not home, a game where only Granny or only Grandpa is included or a game where the two of them are present in the house.
There are several new items in this game, such as the double-barrel shotgun, stun-gun, crowbar, grenades, and boat key. There are also two extra locks on the front door. The player can escape through the front door which is located on the first floor, by the boat in the sewer which is located in the basement, where the player woke up, or by the helicopter, the latter of which can only be reached only after the player has gained access to the security keys which is found around Grandpa's neck. When the player loses, Granny and Grandpa either feed the player to the sewer monster or use an ancient iron maiden to kill the player. When the player kills Slendrina's baby, the player will hear heartbeats in the background, Slendrina's moaning, and a ghostly head will appear floating above the baby's head, watching the players every move. Both, Granny and Grandpa, will also be angered by this. Granny retains her hearing qualities, as seen in the original game, but Grandpa, however, has limited hearing capabilities and will not be alerted by most sounds. The game was last updated on April 3, 2020 and was initially released to positive reviews from both critics and audiences alike.
Reception
The game became a viral hit on various media platforms. It is rated 4.2 out of 5 stars on the Google Play Store[6],4.4 out of 5 on the App Store[7], and 'Very positive' reviews on Steam. It has spawned several clones and games inspired by it, including Ice Scream, Grandpa, and Evil Officer. The Roblox game 'Piggy' is heavily inspired by Granny (and has become an internet meme and has spawned many fake apps on its own.). Criticism is mainly targeted at bugs, glitches, and a lack of a multiplayer mode.
References
- "Granny on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- EDT, Cammy Harbison On 3/13/19 at 3:12 PM (2019-03-13). "Here's how to find all the new stuff in Granny update 1.7". Newsweek. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- "Granny: Chapter Two - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
- "Granny". App Store. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
- "Granny: Chapter Two on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
- "Granny - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
- "Granny". App Store. Retrieved 2020-07-26.