Remember how just last month we hadour review ofFear the Spotlight,where we joked about how frequent throwbacks to old-school survival horror games are these days? Well, as if to prove a point, here we are yet again with another nod to the PS1 era, this time in the form ofSorry We’re Closed.But whileFear the Spotlightwas a bit of a straight homage, Akupara Games and developers à la mode games are bringing their own unique touches to the genre, both in presentation and mechanics. Just from even looking at the main character, you might be able to predict that this is going to be something more offbeat. But do these offbeat touches result in a new gem in the genre?
Closing Time
Sorry We’re Closedis the story of Michelle, a convenience store clerk in London who goes home one night after closing the shop, hoping to get a peaceful slumber. Instead, during her sleep, she finds herself the victim of the Duchess, a (somewhat literally) larger-than-life demon who grants her the curse of the Third Eye, able to see between worlds and glimpse the true selves of everyone. It may sound awesome at first, but what the Duchess has done is mark Michelle as her next target, hoping to make her love them within a few days. Now Michelle has to alternate between the demon world and their own neighborhood in order to lift the curse, discovering quite a few secrets about the locals that may be relevant…
The story is indeed the big highlight ofSorry We’re Closed,delivering an engrossing narrative about the complex nature of love, redemption, toxic relationships and more. At the center of it all is the relationship between angels and demons, with the latter experiencing a kind of pain that comes from not having any love to experience, and the former bummed over the fact that several of their former friends have now fallen, and that they aren’t allowed to love them back. A few notable parts of the plot have beings from both sides wondering about the rules that are supposedly in place, but what particular rules does love need to have?
This leads to wonderful bits with a lot of colorful locals, like Michelle’s demonic best friend Robin wanting to be able to date the angel she’s known, or human accomplice Darrel, who does some pretty nasty things for the demon world, but also has a genuine, loving relationship with his partner Oakley. Not only does every character have a lot of great dialogue and side stories that make them worth talking to, it also leads to multiple endings to aim for depending on certain choices with them, allowing for a nice bit of replayability (alongside collectibles and side objectives that can lead to upgrades).
The star ofSorry We’re Closed,though, is the Duchess, one genuinely creepy villain. Their idea is that being able to feel true love will help them unlock what is needed to finally fix things, but it’s clear that they don’t fully comprehend the idea of romance occurring naturally. Their solution is basically to just keep selecting seemingly random women that they deem “special,” forcing the Third Eye curse onto them, never taking “no” for an answer…it’s not difficult to see some rather disturbing parallels here, made even more disturbing by how casual the Duchess is, acting borderline sociopathic, never coming off as fully aware just how much pain they cause. Definitely a horrifying yet fascinating character.
The Bright Side of Horror
It helps thatSorry We’re Closed’ssurreal visuals help make things feel more delightfully odd. The art style is deliberately evoking the likes of classic survival horror games such asSilent Hill,but the bright and vibrant colors of the characters, between-level settings such as a demon hotel, and quirky sense of humor in more than a few places have drawn comparisons to the likes of Suda51, indeed giving it a bit of a similar “post-punk” vibe. The charm even extends into little bits of gameplay such as Michelle’s gun, the Hellhound, growling every time you reload it. It fact, the sound in general is terrific as well, with several nice audio cues to tip players off to certain nearby enemies, and a catchy soundtrack that even has some hip-hop tunes for a few twisted boss battles.
Sorry We’re Closed Won’t Apologize For Being Too Good
There are a lot of indie survival horror games that are fifth-generation throwbacks, but à la mode games has a particularly special one in the works.
Gameplay-wise, again, the OGSilent Hillis the main point of reference here, with fixed camera angles and a dual-world mechanic. Except instead of traveling to the different worlds at set points, Michelle’s Third Eye can project an aura around her that reveals the other world, with scenery shifting as they move around. Not only is this a unique twist on such a mechanic that’s used for more impressive visuals and a few clever puzzles, but it also plays a key role in the combat. Once enemies enter the area around Michelle when the Third Eye is active, their weak points emerge, taking the form of hearts, and hitting them means dealing more damage, even being able to charge up an insta-kill weapon known as the Heartbreaker with each hit, moreso if you may hit multiple points on an enemy without missing.
The trade-off is that this means having to get extremely close to the numerous demonic enemies (all of whom are perfectly grotesque and well-designed), and that Michelle can’t run while the Third Eye is active. You can damage most enemies regularly at any distance without the Third Eye, but as this is survival horror, this means potentially wasting valuable ammunition for your pistol or shotgun. Or you can just run around them if possible, which might be a good option early on. Each level is nicely designed to help you deal with most enemies, requiring just the right amount of backtracking as well.
The Trickier Parts of the Curse
There is a bit of a challenge with the combat, though, as the combat inSorry We’re Closedis done entirely by switching to first-person to aim. While the transition is seamless, and there is a nice challenge in trying to hit all weak points quickly while an enemy is stunned, the fact that Michelle can’t move during this portion feels like it can be awkward at times. It especially doesn’t help when multiple enemies are in play. While one or two enemies are easy enough, later on you’ll be dealing with whole groups of enemies at once, which can be a pain, especially since some of them can sneak up on you when you can’t see them while in first-person.
The only other hindrance holdingSorry We’re Closedback is its endgame, which goes on for way too long, doesn’t have the same thrill of discovery or exploration as either the previous demon world segments or even the parts where you just chat with people around town and eats up too much of the game’s modest length of eight hours or so. Cutting some of that out and adding even one more level/day to work with would have been the better option. Still, as is,Sorry We’re Closedis still captivating and a terrific throwback to the classics with a camp presentation that helps make it stand out.
Closing Comments:
Sorry We’re Closedbeautifully takes that otherworldly psychological horror of games such as Silent Hill and puts its own colorful spin on things, resulting in a game filled with an eye-popping visual style, a terrific story with a clever look at relationships via angels and demons, and an amazing cast of characters, including one truly memorable and unsettling villain, alongside a lot of other surreal and spooky moments. While the combat may be a tad frustrating later on, it all still makes for a great entry into the genre and definitely one to pick up.
Sorry We’re Closed
Version Reviewed: PC
