Developer Undaunted Games has announced that it’s a follow-up to the asymmetrical horror game Last Year, Forest Hills: The Last Year, which will be released in time for Halloween 2024. The game is more of a revamp of the IP instead of a sequel, promising a refined experience for all fans.
Last Year was initially released in December 2019 and received fairly favorable reviews, making it one of the better alternatives to Dead by Daylight at the time. However, the game grew faster than the developer could handle and suffered from a lack of regular new content and updates. After picking up the IP and reviving the game, Undaunted Games is now releasing a revitalized version with many new features and upgrades called Forest Hills: The Last Year on October 22, 2024.
Forest Hills: The Last Year is the playable high school horror movie of your nightmares
Forest Hills: The Last Year was originally slated for an early access release, but that’s been changed to a full launch in 2024, with more content being added throughout 2025 via regular updates. Undaunted Games has boasted how the title will now include even more content than it had first planned, which is great news for asymmetrical horror game fans looking for something a little different from Dead by Daylight.
At launch, Forest Hills: The Last Year is going to have seven maps, including those from the original game, each with bug fixes and improvements. These maps are The Library, The Belltower, The Gym, The Sawmill, The Mine, The Forest, and The Cemetery.
Players will have the choice of six Fiends at launch. These are the Killers you play as in Dead by Daylight, and they’re just as deadly. The Fiends are The Slasher, The Strangler, The Giant, The Spider, The Warlock, and The Dryad. Sam, Nick, Troy, Chad, Raj, Amber, and Abigail will be the Displaced, the Survivors of Dead by Daylight, you can play as.
New dialogue and audio systems have been implemented, but the most interesting development is an ability system for Fiends and an overhaul of the Arcanum system for Displaced. This is where Forest Hills: The Last Year will differentiate itself in the asymmetrical horror genre, offering more unique builds and ways to play.
Veteran comic book artist Andy “Bob Anger” Belanger has crafted the game’s art, acclaimed writer Frank Tieri its narrative, and Sean Schemmel, known for his work on the DragonBall series, is the voiceover director. A cast that should be set to make something unique and gripping to play.
The gameplay of Forest Hills: The Last Year sees five Displaced players work together to avoid a single and incredibly powerful Fiend player. Displaced must work together to solve problems around the map and, ultimately, escape. They’ll earn powers as they work together, allowing them to fight back a little against the Fiend, who is purely out to kill every Displaced they can.
In the game’s lore, the Displaced are high school students who played an occult card game and have been whisked away to a nightmarish version of some part of their hometown. A Fiend hunts them, and they have to escape before they’re murdered and become nothing more than a folk tale. With a giant spider as one of the Fiends, I can see this game giving anyone who plays it a good scare.
