Publisher: Inpleron
Developer: Wrong Organ
Year: 2024
Platform: Windows

Rating: 4

On originality alone, the critically acclaimed, psychological horror Mouthwashing would rate much higher for me. And it certainly evoked an emotional response that I won’t soon forget. But that doesn’t negate the fact that for most of my playtime I was not enjoying myself.

Publisher: Frictional Games
Developer: Frictional Games
Year: 2015
Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series

Rating: 8

The older I get the less I can tolerate the horror genre. Perhaps it’s the state of the world right now, or maybe I’m just getting old, but my nerves are already wound up enough without artificially tightening them further. For example, Frictional Games is most famous for their Amnesia series. I’ve attempted that, and despite enjoying it, have not been able to get through it due to my anxiety.

Yet they catered to me with Soma, adding an optional setting that more or less prevents you from dying at all. At first I worried that the horror would be dampened by eliminating the risk, but then I remembered that I still enjoy reading a Stephen King book even though I know I’m not going to die then either. Soma’s atmosphere is incredibly intense, risk or not, and the story is strong enough that it’s easily one of the best horror games I’ve played.

Publisher: Postmodern Adventures
Developer: Postmodern Adventures
Year: 2024
Platform: Windows

Rating: 5

As I sit down to write this review just a week after finishing An English Haunting, I realize that I cannot call to mind the name of the protagonist or even how the game ends. My rapidly aging brain surely shoulders much of the blame, though I suspect it also cuts to my feelings about my experience. The second pixel art adventure by Spanish developer Postmodern Adventures, a ghost-hunting yarn set in early twentieth-century London, is certainly a pleasant enough experience buoyed by above-average production values and a satisfying level of gameplay challenge. Yet an unmemorable cast of characters—replete with enough exposition to make a Bond villain blush—make it difficult to give it an enthusiastic recommendation.