u/SnooPeripherals5812

S-Tier: The best of the best

Granny

I'm honestly comfortable saying that Granny 1 is THE best DVloper game. A top-tier atmosphere; environmental storytelling; horror that manages to be subtle and raw at the same time; fun puzzles; nice-feeling controls; still getting updated. I began playing in 1.3.2 and I still do.

Granny: Chapter Two

Pretty much the same reasons as Granny, as it manages to be very similar to its predecessor but with a different layout, different escapes, and a new enemy.

The Child of Slendrina

I explained what I like about this game in my Slendrina games tierlist;. In short; different enemies for different floors, an insight into the daily life of Slendrina and her family, and Slendrina's diary, the most significant piece of lore yet.

A-Tier: Very good

Slendrina: The Cellar

I know the first Slendrina game exists (more about it later), but I always considered The Cellar as the true first Slendrina game. While it is mechanically more simple, I praise it for its excellent atmosphere. Something about the cellar environment is just scarier than the others. After all, sometimes less is more, right?

House of Slendrina

This and Slendrina (the first one) are the only ones that, in my opinion, share the same vibe as The Cellar - pitch black environment, no chasers, and unnerving piano music. It makes for a really creepy atmosphere. Additionally it gave us a picture of Slendrina, Slenderman and Slendrina's Mom (her name isn't Angelene btw) when they were normal, which is a cool little reward for beating the game.

Slendrina: Asylum

To me this game shares a lot of qualities with The Child of Slendrina; the only reason I'm putting it lower is because the map, while larger, is just slightly less interesting. Still a great game.

Slendrina: The Cellar 2

I originally rated this game lower in my Slendrina games tierlist, but after rethinking, I decided to put it on A instead. This one is a bit more action-oriented, but I think it's well executed. Running from two different threats sounds annoying (and to be fair, sometimes it is), but they're easy enough to outrun. I love the mechanic of turning off the flashlight so you don't get spotted; this should have returned in other Slendrina games.

I forgot to mention this last time, but another thing I like about this game is the environmental storytelling; for example, there's a room with a gravestone that says "SLENDRINA", along with a crib, presumably for her child. We will never know what was truly going on in that cellar, and that's what makes DVloper games so interesting: he never TELLS us anything directly. He gives hints and leaves the rest to our imagination.

The Twins

This game is almost the same quality as Granny and Granny: Chapter Two because it shares a lot of qualities from both. It's the same cat-and-mouse type gameplay: run around a house solving puzzles while avoiding threats that react to noise, except instead of days, you have a healthbar, and you can even craft an item to heal up if you'd like. The only reason I don't put it in S is because personally, I just don't think the setting and the story are as interesting as the universe of Granny and Slendrina. I also prefer Granny's more realistic graphics over The Twins' pseudo cartoon style, but these aren't big problems at all and the gameplay is what matters most. Therefore, A-Tier.

B-Tier: Decent

Granny 3

The third part is just not really as interesting as its predecessors - it doesn't have that vibe that the other two games give. Graphically it's the best, no doubt, and it's the only one where the house actually looks like a house from the outside, so props for that. But it just feels... empty? Most of the rooms are small and empty. There are no paintings in the walls. Or tables with vases to knock over (as far as I'm aware). There are only three creaking floors in the entire house, and they don't even get expanded in Extreme difficulty, unlike its predecessors. The house feels like it has a lot less to explore too, even with the addition of a train station. It's a decent mobile game, but as a Granny title, I find it a bit lacking.

Slendrina: The School

In my Slendrina games tierlist I originally put this one higher just because I like playing it often, but later stated in the comments that I'd be willing to bump it down. Well, I did as promised. The School has ideas that I really like, as aforementioned; I find it awesome to work with Slendrina and trading Teddy for the school picture, which in turn makes her spare your life rather than killing you. But as far as gameplay goes it's kind of lackluster. Something like Slendrina: The Cellar and House of Slendrina compensates it's basic gameplay with a scarier setting and some jumpscares to spice it up; The School has neither. I guess it is fitting as an exploration of an abandoned school, but gameplay-wise, it's not as entertaining.

Slendrina: X

I stand by what I said in my other post: it hurts a bit not to put this one in A or even S, but it's the gameplay that knocks it down. Superb story, the fact that you actually fight back is cool, and trapping Slendrina in the book is not only badass but connects with Granny later down the line. Unfortunately, the gameplay is very linear and it's identical in every playthrough. My other post talks about this more extensively.

Hotel Insanity

I have not played this game THAT much, but from what I played, it's a solid idea. You're trapped in a hotel with three psychopaths that want to kill you, and your objective is to survive as much as possible. You have either a flashlight or night vision goggles, and you need to switch to one of them to recharge battery for the other. You find coins, which you can spend on vending machines in exchange for apples to refill your hunger. And there are other dangers in the hotel. It gets slightly repetitive because it doesn't have that much content, but it's pretty good.

C-Tier: Average

Slendrina: The Forest

Ah, The Forest, my old enemy. I talked about it more extensively in my other post, but in general, I find it a rather lackluster Slendrina game. The forest environment is just not as interesting as the other locations, at least not the way it's visually designed. The big open space with no corners or closets to hide in makes Slendrina's mom less of an impending threat and more of an annoyance. Not a bad game in general, but one of my least favorite Slendrina games.

Slendrina 2D

Long story short: It has the same problem as Slendrina X. Great story and great ideas, but super short (shorter than X) and it's always the exact same. You'd think it's one of these games you enjoy if you play it once a year, but I don't know - I played it earlier today, after not playing it for, how long - 2 or 3 years? I finished it in 10 minutes, tops. And I still remembered the exact location of almost everything. But I respect DVloper for trying something new, and he genuinely has some skill with pixel art.

D-Tier: Bad

Slendrina

The first Slendrina game. It planted the seeds for the next two Slendrina games - you may have noticed it shares the same themes as Slendrina: The Cellar and House of Slendrina, with the quiet piano music and the pitch black music. Unfortunately, I don't think it has aged well - it's quite buggy and doesn't look that good, and suffers from some technical issues: as stated by u/TheOrangeThing in my previous post, for example, the FPS is locked regardless of whether you have a high-end phone or not. But regardless, like I've said before: this was DVloper's first horror game, so we can cut him some slack. And besides, without this game, we wouldn't have the rest of the Slendrina saga.

Haven't played enough

Slender Man: Rise Again / Slender Man: Stands

I believe I only played this game once in my life, some time ago. I got the apk from the internet; this was after having played the Slendrina saga and when this game was long gone from Play Store. I barely remember anything, though from the pictures, I dig the foggy atmosphere. Reminds me of Silent Hill or maybe the farm area from Resident Evil 4 (2005). Perhaps I will try it again in the future and then I can rate it properly.

Robot Hunt

I remember a little bit of this game; I also played it when I was already into the Slendrina universe, out of curiosity. I remember it sharing assets with Cellar 3 of Slendrina: The Cellar. I might be hallucinating but I remember it being a difficult game? I'm not really sure.

S-Tier

Slendrina: The Cellar

I'm putting this one in S-Tier because it's, in my opinion, the scariest Slendrina game out of all of them. Exploring a large underground complex, suffocating tight walls, with the only light source being your flashlight. I also think the music is SUPERB in this game; the themes of all three cellars keep you on edge.

The Child of Slendrina

Admittedly this one is a step-back in terms of horror, but I think it compensates in terms of variety. Unlike the other Slendrina games, this one has two floors: one of them is the basement, where you're hunted by the Child and sometimes by Slendrina; then there's the house, where Slenderman becomes the threat. I think having floor-specific enemies is a cool idea, even if the change is purely cosmetic (at least in the case of Slender-Slendrina).

The second reason, to me, is that this game gives us a direct insight on how Slendrina and her family live - and it's like a messed up version of a normal family. They have a modern-looking house, but a room has shackles hanging from the wall, and the sinks are covered in blood. They have a TV, but it plays a bizarre jumpscare when you approach. The Child has an apparently innocent nursery, but the mobile is fitted with pictures of insects and disturbing material. I wish we got more of this insight in other games.

Lastly, this game features Slendrina's diary, which I think might be THE most solid piece of lore in the entire franchise. It gives a tragic undertone to Slendrina and I think it's the closest we'll ever get to knowing what happened to her family.

House of Slendrina

This game is pure 'Slendrina' energy - I like to think of it as a lookalike of The Cellar, just in a different setting. It scratches the same itch as the Cellar, with its pitch-black setting and its unnerving piano music. It also features the classic jumpscares in true Slendrina fashion, this time featuring Slendrina's Mom - peeking at you from behind a door, and appearing as a strange spider abomination that would later become a threat in Granny's house. In the end we get a picture of Slendrina, her mother and Slenderman while they were normal, which I think is a cool reward for beating the game.

A-Tier

Slendrina: The Asylum

This game is quite similar to The Child - where you have to find 8 of something while being chased by both a mobile enemy and Slendrina, and you must pick up healing items to heal. So why not in S-Tier? Well, it boils down to the environment, really. I do think the Asylum is okay from a level design perspective, but it's a tad repetitive and not as interesting as the house, despite being bigger. That being said - this game did introduce Slendrina's child, as a newborn. I think that does add something to it - mostly a mystery element. Makes you wonder, how does a ghost even have a child? On another hand, this game has really good music. Particularly the main menu music. So overall, an A-Tier for me.

Slendrina: The School

This is arguably one of the more lackluster Slendrina games, and yet I can't bring myself to rate it lower. For some reason, it's one of the games that I play more often than the others. I guess there's just something that catches my attention about the school of the past century environment - though in hindsight, it does look pretty bleak. I think what bumps this game up for me is the ending. Unlike the other games where you're just escaping from Slendrina, this is the only one where you "work" with her - you trade Teddy for a family picture, and then, unexpectedly, Slendrina spares your life. She lets you live because you helped her. It's original and I like it.

Slendrina: The Cellar 2

The sequel to the Cellar is interesting because it seems like horror takes the backseat, and it becomes more of a strategy game. And honestly it's not that bad of an idea, because it is a fun little challenge - exploring this large cellar having to evade, for the first time, THREE threats: Slendrina herself, her mother, and her child. What I love most of all is the flashlight mechanic - hiding in a room and turning it off to avoid getting spotted is such a good idea, and it almost makes me wish it made it to other Slendrina games, rather than just hiding in closets.

B-Tier

Slendrina: X

Putting this one in B was tough, because it has A LOT of ideas I like. I like that this is the only Slendrina game where you actually fight back - you get an actual weapon to temporarily dispose of enemies, and you have an extremely epic ending where you trap Slendrina in a book and then run away from the collapsing castle. The reason I put it lower, though, is that the gameplay loop is repetitive because it's the exact same every playthrough. Rather than the "find 8 of this item" gist of previous games, where the location of items is randomized, this game is fully linear. It's just going to point A, getting a key item, going to point B, getting a key item, and going to point C. Nothing changes the location. The keys mechanic comes back but it feels unnecessary. The castle environment is cool on paper; on practice, it looks fairly repetitive and, most of all, too big. There are far too many rooms considering only very few of them are necessary to progress through the game, and the rest are empty. Overall, it's great story-wise; but the gameplay is lacking.

C-Tier

Slendrina: The Forest

I gather that this one may be controversial. Simply put, I just don't think the forest is a very interesting environment. It's just a flat floor with a dirt texture, some trees and then there's a few boring landmarks/buildings where you may or may not find keys. I'm not sure I like the semi-random item placement, where some keys are always in certain places, but others are randomized. Additionally, Slendrina's mom feels less like a threat and more like an annoyance. You can't hide from her anymore, and because there are no corridors or rooms to hide in, you just have to run far in a straight line then backtrack. It also seems like she passively walks to your location while not chasing you, which gets annoying fast. I do like that it introduces the husband, but that's about it.

Slendrina: 2D

I believe this one suffers from the same problem as Slendrina X. Cool story, and I like that you can actually fight back against Slendrina's mom at a certain point. I also like that you need to use several items to proceed - it's not the same "find 8 of this item" gist. But like in Slendrina X, that comes with the price of making it almost completely linear, with the exception of a few keys spawning in different locations.

D-Tier

Slendrina

At last, we arrive to what I think is the worst Slendrina game: the first one. And to be honest, I don't blame the dev in the slightest. He was less experienced by then and just trying - Really, Slendrina was more of a proof of concept than anything else. So what issues do I have with it? Well, for starters, the camera movement is horrendous - a problem which was also present in the older versions of The Cellar. The level design is uglier (like I said - understandable, he was less experienced). Slendrina's behavior is buggy, you can have her randomly appearing in your face several times. The weird static overlay when you look at her is probably inspired by Slender - I'm glad they changed it to blood for the other games, it's slightly more original. Another gripe I have is that the whole getting items thing doesn't make sense in some maps. For example in the Hotel, it DOES sort of make sense - the elevator has no power, so you need to find fuses to repair it. In the Warehouse it also makes sense - door is locked, you need to find keys to open it. But then the Yard doesn't make sense - you need to unlock a gate (which any adult could totally jump over), and to do so, you need to find random items, one of which is, if I remember correctly, a painting. Regardless - thanks to this game, we got the entire Slendrina saga - an awesome franchise and, in a way, a staple of mobile gaming. So while it wasn't the greatest, it started something amazing.

I think they'd make good friends, since both of them are outcasts and into weird stuff. Both of them would probably believe everything the other says