Something else is in the building with Desmond, insinuating the recent deaths of his patients were all his fault. Things don’t seem right here in addition to the leaking chemical barrels with hallucinogenic vapors wafting into the air, strange notes aimed specifically at taunting Desmond appear out of thin air. When we meet Desmond he wakes up extremely confused in the basement of the building. His psychiatric practice is set up in the same apartment complex as the one he lives in, making for a very short commute. So let’s see if it lived up to my expectations. On paper, In Sound Mind promised everything I look for in a horror game: puzzle solving, limited resources, terrifying things that want to scare you to death. Give me those creepy, mind bending, jump scare games and a pillow fort instead. If these dramatic shifts in pacing are a sign of what to expect from the game’s two remaining tapes, then I’m excited to see what other ways In Sound Mind defies my expectations.The leaves are turning auburn and gold, which means it’s spooky games season! Some people are all about pumpkin spice but that’s not my thing. After all, the key to good horror is keeping the viewer on their toes. Instead, it’s go, go, go, as you rush from one area to the next, narrowly avoiding a nasty death. There was no time to soak up the atmosphere or pore over notes. Instead, Allen desires nothing more than to share his all-consuming darkness with you, as evidenced by the way The Shade is always nipping at your heels. I really can’t stress enough how much different Allen’s tape felt from Virginia’s, whose chapter was all about shining a light on a character who, above all else, didn’t want to be noticed. But that relief quickly turned to panic as the floor began to crumble beneath my feet from The Shade’s non-stop bombardment. I felt a rush of relief come over me as I finally found shelter in the rickety seaside shack. Watching bridges explode into splinters as I dove to clear wide chasms amid all the chaos was exhilerating. As I made my way towards a dilapidated shack on the summit, The Shade was lobbing boulders, cars, and other debris from above. My favorite part of the chapter took place on a rocky cliffside. That said, many of the puzzles in this chapter revolve around racing from point to point and swapping out fuses so that you can turn on the lights to keep the monster at bay. Or so it seems, as blown fuses seem to be as common as the grains of sand on the beaches beneath Icarus Point. The problem is that someone hasn’t been keeping up on the electrical inspections around the lighthouse. However, this slithering mass of shadows can be stopped by large spotlights scattered around the environment. And once he begins pulling you into the abyss, it can be tough to break free of his clutches. Thankfully, you’ll be able to take advantage of his insatiable appetite, as luring him towards obstacles causes him to devour them, clearing previously inaccessible paths. It oozes like a sentient puddle around the environment, swallowing cars and other obstacles as it tries to pull Desmond into the inky void. Known as “The Shade,” this creature is the physical manifestation of Allen’s fears. That is if it wasn’t for all the inkblot monsters stalking in the shadows and the insatiable vortex of a monster that’s dying to swallow you whole. It’s a fairly wide-open area, lined with rocky shores and wooded trails that would seem quite inviting. In fact, it’s gotten so bad that the poor guy has actually become addicted to this fear, which he describes as “electrifying.” While Virginia’s tape was confined to the claustrophobic aisles of a cluttered supermarket, Allen’s takes place in a coastal area dominated by a towering lighthouse that stands sentry in the distance. He suffers from nyctophobia: an extreme fear of darkness. The second tape focuses on Allen, another one of Desmond’s patients. However, while Virginia’s tape made it clear In Sound Mind wants to get inside your head, the latest chapter proves it’s not opposed to bashing it in, either. Filled with clever puzzles and a tense atmosphere, it was a fabulously frightening introduction that demonstrated just how the developer hopes to immerse players in the shredded psyches of the game’s various characters. The first playable build introduced players to Virginia, one of protagonist Desmond Wales’ patients who suffers from a crippling fear of being in public due to an injury that left her disfigured. In Sound Mind Preview: Walk Into The Lightīack in March, we took an early look at In Sound Mind, a psychological horror title developed by We Create Stuff and published by Modus Games, launching on consoles and PC later this year.
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