, the incredible new release from developer , is not a horror game. It’s a cerebral puzzle game that tests your in-game and real-world knowledge as you progress through a series of complex challenges. It is, however, full of eerie vibes that could convince you something is waiting to jump out at you at every turn, even if they (almost) never do.
In fact, I can only think of one real jumpscare, but that one moment might be ’s best, and it’s straight out of . On the second floor of the game’s abandoned luxury hotel, there is a hallway, and in that hallway, there is a red window. is a monochromatic game bathed in shades of grey, but there are pops of magenta in important locations.
This red window gets your attention, enticing you to interact with it. As in a museum, there is a small plaque detailing what the window is—because it’s not just a window, it’s performance art. “Red Window About To Break” is the title of the piece, a work by the mysterious character Renzo Nero.
A little blurb explains the “strange logic” behind the piece, which is said to embody the idea that destruction can be art. It’s one of dozens of bits of text you read and then log away. Once exiting out of the blurb, however, something happens—the window breaks.
It breaks in a cacophonous moment that shatters the game’s almost tranquil silence. A brick is lobbed through it from the outside, sending red shards across the floor of the hallway. When, at around midnight one evening, I r.
