Gargling Games is a masterclass in the horror genre

gargle is a harrowing game with a surreal delivery that turns the entire experience into something more akin to an art form. Through revealing self-soothing delusions and hallucinations, the story delves into the darkness of humanity against a backdrop that inspires deep primordial fear. It’s hard to recommend this to everyone, but if you’re a fan of artistic walking sims with a bit of body and psychological horror, then this will be right up your alley.

In just about two hours, give or take, gargle Not a long game at all. However, Wrong Organ manages to tell the story with surprising effectiveness. It takes place on the Tulpar, a cargo spacecraft. Its crew consists of five people: Captain Curly, co-pilot Jimmy, nurse Anya, mechanic Swansea and trainee Daisuke. Nearly one hundred and fifty days into the year-long journey, Curly shockingly disengages the autopilot and crashes the spacecraft into a giant asteroid, stranding them in space. The story jumps around in time and perspective, giving you more information about the crew’s predicament. Once we learn what happened before the accident, we get to play as Curly. Then when it switches to after the crash, we take control of Jimmy.

As you can imagine, being stuck in space for months while the horribly disfigured captain groans in pain in the medical room has no significant effect on morale. The crew begins to unravel, their flaws becoming increasingly apparent as tensions rise. Jimmy has taken Curly’s place as captain and he’s not good at boosting anyone’s spirits. In fact, he is a condescending jerk when it comes to his treatment of the crew, especially Anya and Curly. While I won’t spoil the plot twist halfway through the game about what happened to Tulpar in the first place, this game is a masterclass in how you can push video game writing to its limits.

I’m surprised at how gargle feels like a short story I read and studied in literature class in college. Yet Wrong Organ presents the story in a way that could only work through a visual medium. It runs a really tight ship with its storytelling and no scene feels unnecessary, no matter how outlandish or bizarre it is at the time. The way it shows the psychology of the characters and how they begin to develop is very atmospheric and intriguing. It immediately pulls you into the story.

Although the playing time is relatively short, there are many memorable scenes in it gargle. This is true of context, setting, and the sheer scale of the question “What in the world am I seeing?” value. To be honest, I decided to play and review it after seeing my friend talking about this game on social networks. She said, and I quote, “I can’t understand gargle out of my mind.” And you know what? My mind is still there in the foamy and bloody corridors of Tulpar.

In addition to the disgusting and claustrophobic visuals, the game occupies a really interesting time space. It’s futuristic enough to have an entire company transporting goods across space. However, everything has a retro filter, the characters look like they migrated from the PS1, and the TVs that appear in Jimmy’s delusions all show ancient cartoons or videos. Most of the game consists of traveling based on what the crew needs you to do or what Jimmy or Curly needs to do at the moment.

The goal of the game is pretty clear, but what’s really fun about it gargle is how it uses goals to heighten tension. One memorable one was “Find a Gun,” which was a surprise because in all my journeys through Tulpar, I hadn’t seen anything resembling a gun. Why Do I need a gun anyway? Did something happen? Will Did something happen? Showing your target first and forcing you to explore the context later is a fun way to heighten anticipation. Since much of the game takes place in a timeline, it may take some time for you to reorient yourself in the current situation. So something must be done while trying to find out Why you are doing something that really adds to the general feeling of embarrassment and confusion until the truth about the Tulpar accident comes out.

Because the collision causes the crew to use foam to patch up the ship and prevent certain death from the vacuum of space, Tulpar from Jimmy’s perspective differs from Curly’s. I don’t believe that Wrong Organ did this on purpose, but between the claustrophobic atmosphere and my own terrible sense of direction, I think I legitimately lost my mind playing this game. I went into a room, walked out and the hallway looked different from what I remembered. Thankfully, I discovered that this was due to poor short-term memory and unfamiliarity with the ship. This feeling disappeared after I got used to navigating Tulpar. It’s true that sometimes the game uses illusions or metaphors to alter the ship’s layout. So you can’t blame me for thinking this happened at more mundane times!

If there’s one thing that takes away from the experience, it’s the combat and stealth segments. They feel unnecessary and clunky, and it really messes up the pacing in a game that’s otherwise great at it. The stealth segment in particular felt like it went on for too long. I understand that there is a metaphorical meaning behind it all, and I have my own theory about what it represents. But man, it really could have been a lot shorter. I’m not sure if Wrong Organ added these gameplay changes to avoid the walking simulator stigma. But it’s a dead pixel in an otherwise perfect experience.

It’s hard to talk about gargle without giving away some of its more disturbing revelations and scenes. But those are the people who stay with me the most. The refrain in the game—that a person’s worst moments do not define them or turn them into a monster—is something to keep in mind for the truth of what happened, along with the mental state The breakdown of the Tulpar crew, will be unraveled along the way. of the story.

gargle To be available on PC.

---