Wither Springs (Video Game)

Wither Springs, also known as Wither Springs 1, is the first installment in the Wither Springs series of psychological survival horror video games. Wither Springs will be developed by Toshiko Games and published by Toshiko Games. It will be released on the PC.

Plot

 * The story of Wither Springs takes place in 1996. The decisions made by Jay listed here are the canonical ones/the ones that will lead to the Escape Ending; they are underlined.

Jay Donovan is being escorted in the back of a police car on a rainy night to the town of Wither Springs, where he will be placed in the Barker Prison. As he is sitting in silence, he begins to have incredible headaches. The police officer tells him to listen, and as Jay continues to be struggle with his headaches, the officer turns around to berate him. However, this distraction proves disastrous, as the police car spins out of control due to the slick road and crashes headlong into a tree. Jay survives with minimal damage and climbs out of the car. The police officer, still alive, is pinned against the dashboard. As he yells at Jay for help, Jay helps Officer Woodrow, only to ditch him and flee.


 * In the other choice, Jay runs, leaving Woodrow trapped.

Jay runs from Woodrow, eventually losing him. Jay finds a large building, which turns out to be the storage facility for the town. He enters through the back entrance and meets a man named Verne Travis who seems to be pacing back and forth, mumbling to himself. Jay asks if he can help, and Verne asks to be left alone, as he wants to "think things over and over by himself". Jay soon encounters his first monster: a Smoke Child. After finding a wood plank and killing the creature, he makes his way to the St. Abraham Hospital to find help. Upon entering the building, he becomes locked in by a mysterious force. He explores the hospital and finds that it is deserted, aside from the Smoke Children. Jay acquires a handgun. While walking down one hallway on the second floor, he hears a scream coming from a hospital room. The door is locked. By completing a puzzle involving the lyrics of a song playing on the radio, Jay finds a key in one of the other rooms. He uses this key to open the locked door, rescuing a teenage girl named Angelica Dowly.

Angelica claims to have been chased into the hospital room by a "giant smiling beast". She seems to otherwise have no recollection of the events that led her to the hospital. Jay agrees to escort her out of the building. Unfortunately, a strange earthquake suddenly occurs, which destroys the floor leading to the stairs. As Jay and Angelica continue to explore the second story of the hospital, they see a horrific sight in a window separating the hallway from an ER: a tall, armored monster torturing a man who is strapped to an operation table. The creature takes no notice in them. The two eventually make their way to the roof. The rooftop seems relatively serene at first, but the silence is quickly broken when a monster called the Bandaged Mama attacks, knocking Angelica off of the roof. After its defeat, Jay scrambles down the fire escape, only to find that Angelica is not anywhere in sight.

As he searches for Angelica, Jay encounters the SmileBeast in an alleyway. After killing it, he finds a map sitting on a dumpster. This map shows the locations of several crime scenes for crimes that have recently been committed. The town appears to have been affected by the earthquake, with several roads being partially destroyed. Jay sets off for the King Theatre, an old closed-down theatre. Jay explores the theatre and sees that the stage is covered with blood. After solving a complex puzzle and turning up the houselights, the corpse of an enormous creature is revealed on the stage. As Jay searches for Angelica, he recieves a video in a text message. It shows him and his wife in bed, in footage similar to a security camera. The video goes for a few seconds before a mysterious robed figure appears, only to instantly disappear just as fast.

Jay finds a shotgun, only to be attacked by a glowing monster onstage. Jay then gets a phone call from Angelica, who claims to be trapped in a large pit of some kind. She is sobbing and begging Jay to save her. Heavy footsteps can be heard on the other end of the phone, followed by screaming. Jay exits the theatre and begins to search for Angelica when he is interrupted by a voice. Jay turns around and is surprised to see Officer Woodrow limping towards him. Jay begins to flee, but is shot in the leg by the officer. He falls and hits his head on the pavement, knocking himself unconscious.

Jay wakes up in the police station, in a holding cell. His head is throbbing and his weapons have been taken away from him. Woodrow confesses to Jay that he knows what its like to do what Jay did. He tells Jay about how his son had taken a man hostage and how much pain he felt in having to shoot his own son. Suddenly, a hermit-like man bursts into the police station and demands to talk to Jay. Woodrow says no, but the man runs to Jay's cell. The man introduces himself as Emmett Hartman and tells Jay about how he's being targeted by "special people". He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a crucifix, then gives it to Jay. He tells Jay to get to the school, which is where the Mandola is being completed. Emmett turns around and punches Woodrow in the face, knocking him unconscious and freeing Jay. As Jay is exiting, he gets another video text. The video shows Jay's wife's body roll off the bed and onto the floor with a knife in her chest. It shows a robed man hiding outside the house.

Jay attempts to make his way to the George Price Elementary School through the Smoke Child, SmileBeast, and Backover-covered streets, but must take a detour through a dark alleyway. In the alleyway, the two are attacked by Slaughterman and Emmett is stabbed in the back by Slaughterman's Slaughter Spike. Slaughterman engages Jay in a chase sequence through the back alleys of the town. Upon reaching a dead end, Jay uses the crucifix to ward off the Needleman and enters through a nearby door.


 * In the other choice, Jay bangs repeatedly on the door as Needleman approaches him until a mysterious force unlocks the door and it opens.

In this building, Jay finds a ringing phone. Upon answering it, he is greeted by the mumbling, panicked voice of Angelica, which is then interrupted by an elderly man's voice. This voice declares that the age of Brivega is nearing, and will begin when the Mandola is completed. He declares that Brivega will punish the sinners and smite the unworthy. The phone connection is lost and Jay hears a voice. Entering the next room, he encounters Verne, who seems to be trying to drink his cares away. He tells Jay that he's done some things in his life that he's not proud of. He then goes on about how "her screams pierced the night and he kept driving". Jay tells him he can sympathize, but Verne has fallen asleep from the alcohol. Jay exits the building and makes his way to the school, avoiding the monsters that roam the streets. By going into the nearby Wake Books, Jay can put together a vial of a monster's blood, which will come in handy later.

Upon entering the school, Jay hears strange chanting behind the door leading to the boiler room. Jay encounters several monsters in the school, including Smoke Children, Faded Lens, and the Hungry Ones. In one room, he finds a wanted poster showing someone called the Boilerman. He uses several objects from around the school (an apple, a pencil, and a globe) as keys to open the door to the boiler room. In the boiler room, Jay encounters SmileBeasts and Wallsnatchers. Near the end of the boiler room, as the chanting becomes louder, Jay gets another video in a text, showing a black screen and an audio clip of Jay apparently reporting news for a news program. The video then shows Jay sobbing over a picture of his wife while her body lies on the ground.

Upon entering the main boiler room, another earthquake occurs, creating a large pit in the floor. Suddenly, a fleshy, tree-shaped mass rises from the pit in the floor and attacks. The monster dissolves, revealing a large glowing symbol on the floor where it was. Angelica is tied down in the middle of the symbol. Her mouth is bound and gagged, and she is nailed to the floor by her wrists and ankles. Jay un-gags her and she pleads for help after saying she'll be sacrificed. Jay painfully pulls the nails out and rescues her.


 * In the other choice, Jay starts to walk away despite her pleading and exits through a door in the back, but eventually decides to save her.

Jay and Angelica emerge to find the streets torn up by the second earthquake, completely isolating them on the street they're currently on. Jay asks Angelica what happened. She explains that after the encounter with the Bandaged Mama, she was found a group of people in cloaks and brought to the boiler room of the school. She explains that they seemed to follow some weird religion and how they kept talking about something called "Brivega". They decide that the most likely place to go is the Kubrick Hotel.

Jay and Angelica make their way to the hotel, encountering SmileBeasts, Faded Lens, and Halfers. By completing several puzzles, they unlock access to the courtyard. Upon entering the courtyard, they encounter Woodrow, who was searching for Jay in the hotel. Woodrow says he's had enough, and begins a fight with Jay. Jay eventually shoots him in the stomach, and Woodrow is dragged away kicking and screaming by the Slaughterman. Using a key that fell from the officer's pocket, Jay and Angelica unlock the ballroom, which leads to the second floor as well. Eventually, they find themselves in the sewers underneath the hotel. They ride a large raft down the sewers, avoiding an underwater monster. They find themselves in a large room when they are attacked by the Mad Daddy, an invisible monster that represents Jay's father. Jay eventually defeats it in a flooded area. Jay immediately gets another text with a video with ghostly whispering in the background. In it, Jay, who has glowing blue eyes, gets out of bed in the middle of the night and murders his wife and two children.

Angelica states that the only likely area is the Crichton Nature Park, a state park that serves as a tourist attraction. Jay and Angelica make their way through the destroyed streets to the gates of the park. They find that the park is swarmed with SmileBeasts, Crawlers, and Faded Lens. Eventually, they come across Verne, who is standing on a bridge. He claims it isn't worth it to keep going. Jay and Angelica attempt to dissuade him from jumping, but it is no use. Appalled by the sight, they make their way around, solving puzzles, until they eventually unlock the tram that leads down into the Wither Caverns. On the tram,  In the cavern, they come across the site of a ritual. There is a giant mandola painted on the cave floor, with a body nailed to the floor on each point, except for two. Officer Woodrow is one of the victims, and he appears to be dead. The other recognizable victim is Emmett, who is still alive. He tells them to stop the creation of the mandola under any circumstances.

Suddenly, the Slaughterman appears and stabs Emmett in the chest, twisting its weapon in his corpse. Jay engages in battle with the Slaughterman, eventually defeating it. Upon its defeat, it kneels down on one knee and dissolves into rust. Jay and Angelica attempt to escape through a rock tunnel, but are eventually stopped by an elderly man named Allister Mayston. He talks about how Brivega will judge the living and engulf the unjust. He explains that his years of worship would grant him immortality and allow him to rule the world at Brivega's side. Allister unsheathes a dagger and stabs Angelica in the heart, killing her. This leaves Jay as the final sacrifice. Allister then cuts his own wrist, letting his blood fall into a pit along with the blood of Angelica.


 * In the other choice, if Jay got the vial of blood earlier, Jay throws the vial of blood into the pit before Allister can add his blood, causing Brivega to rise out somewhat deformed and weakened. This immediately gets you the Sacrificed ending.

After another earthquake, an immense creature (Brivega), bathed in a blinding light, rises from the pit. As Allister prays to the deity, it roars in his face and swallows him whole. It then turns its attention to Jay. Jay, alone in the cavern, faces the creature and ultimately defeats it.

Gameplay
Wither Springs is a first-person psychological/survival-horror game that includes exploring Wither Springs with flashlight, while defeating monsters and solving puzzles along the way. Jay will find environments are dark, and the flashlight is often the only source of light. Jay finds many helpful items on his journey, and without collecting specific items, the player cannot progress through the game. If Jay takes too much damage from an enemy, he will die, leading to a Game Over screen.

When a monster appears, the player will have to make a choice on whether to fight or flee. Both options work well in different scenarios; for example, in a narrow hallway, the better option would be to fight, but in a large open area, the better option would be to run away. Even if Jay flees from an enemy, he is still vulnerable to attacks, however; if Jay turns his flashlight off, this is less likely to happen.

Combat is lacking. There are three weapons in the game, and one of them is optional. The handgun and the shotgun have limited ammo; the shotgun is more powerful but it lacks range. The wood plank is the only real reliable weapon in the game.

Escape
Upon defeating Brivega, the cavern begins to collapse. Jay, through precision and timing, manages to escape before it collapses. He climbs a small hill, only to see a squad of police cars drive away from town, meaning he is safe for now.
 * (Avoid most monsters and make underlined choices)

Trapped
Upon defeating Brivega, the cavern begins to collapse. Jay attempts to make it out, but fails to escape in time. He finds himself trapped inside the cavern with no hope of escape.
 * (Kill most monsters and make alternate choices)

Sacrifice
Upon defeating Brivega, the cavern begins to collapse. Jay, through precision and timing, manages to escape before it collapses. However, upon emerging, he encounters several other members of The Hallowed, who promptly stab him in the heart.
 * (Obtain vial of monster blood)

Trivia

 * On higher difficulties, more enemies can spawn in certain areas. It may also spawn stronger enemies in place of ones that would normally be encountered.
 * There are 6 bosses in the game: Bandaged Mama, Shiner, Flesh Tree, Officer James Woodrow, Mad Daddy, and Brivega.