Game: Distraint Deluxe Edition
Genre: Horror/Puzzle/Adventure
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam and mobile)
Developer|Publisher: Jesse Makkonen|Ratalaika Games
Age Rating: M (US)| 16+ (EU)
Price: $5.99 US| £4.87 |€ 5,47
Release Date: 13th September 2019
Review code used, thanks to Ratalaika
Causing Distress to Mrs. Goodwin
A game of regrets, sorrow and the price of a human soul. A story of morals. You play as Mr Price, a man who is taking the homes of good people in order to make enough money to get out of his falling-apart-ment that he rents. He has an overbearingly large head, which he somehow sustains on his very tired shoulders. Will we be giving his head a wobble or are we going to ignore the elephant in the room?
From the title itself, it’s clear what you’re going to be doing. Distraint, or Distress, in this context is known as “the seizure of someone’s property in order to obtain payment of rent or other money owed. Enter the dingy hallway, and I am searching for Mrs Goodwin. Why? I am going to cause her great distress, of course.
It lures you into a false sense of reality
This dark yet enchanting game has graphical similarities to games such as ThimbleWeed Park, with nicely detailed pixel designs throughout. The music is disturbingly alluring; it lures you into a false sense of reality whilst simultaneously keeping you on edge with howls and screams intermingled into the soundtrack.
From the get go you are able to adjust the settings to your liking. You can easily adjust the “grain” of the game, to make it more rustic graphically or you can choose to “improve” the quality by making the game less pixelated. Brightness can also be adjusted in this same way, and I like that this is available from the games beginning. It means that, if like me, you have problems with your eyesight or eye strain you can adjust the game to suit your own needs!
And, as a lover of horror games, I know a game is going to be good when part of the opening dialogue involves smelling human flesh! I won’t spoil what was behind that door (that would be mean of me, wouldn’t it?!) But I can tell you that this game is not intended for children. Two minutes into the game and there are plenty of expletives. As an adult, they certainly add to the realism of the situation you, the character, find yourself in but would not be appropriate for minors. That said, I am entirely enraptured by the minimalism of the game; it doesn’t need to say a lot to have an impact on your psyche.
This game is brilliantly simple
The controls of the game are incredibly simple: the left analogue stick is to move in and around the corridors that contain more secrets than you could contain within one lifetime, and the A button is used when a ! Symbol appears above your head – a sure sign that something requires your immediate attention – or when moving the dialogue along. Quite soon into the game, you unlock the ability to carry a limited amount of items, and these can be cycled through with the R button easily. It can’t get much simpler than that! I cannot stress enough that this game is brilliantly simple, it doesn’t need a complicated dialogue or controls to be excellent! Besides, I want all of my focus and attention to be on what on earth is going on in this apartment building…
As you progress into what seems like an endless corridor of doors, you begin to see the haunting shadows which follow you – a metaphor for the guilt which haunts you at making those who are suffering homeless…or something more sinister? You’ll have to find out for yourself!
Delicate and well-constructed
For the purposes of this review, I will not comment on where the rest of the game goes, as it is a deliciously short game, and I do not want to spoil it for those wanting to play it.
There are more areas to explore than just the initial location, and the game does increase in difficulty as you progress, but that is to be expected to maintain the interest in the game. The puzzles are delicate and well-constructed; beware, however, it is easy to get lost in this game, so it’s disarmingly and at first “easy” puzzles develop into something that makes you, the player, feel like you are descending into madness alongside the character in the game.
This game is ideal for fans of the horror genre who, like me, can’t handle the jump scares and terror which most horror games have. This little gem has enough moments of tension, horror and times of soul-searching to carry you though and makes it, in my opinion, well worth its price tag!
*Its also worth noting that this game was originally released in 2015 on Steam and mobile platform, and this review is based upon the Nintendo Switch version.*
