/R: A NEURODIVERGENT THRILLER

TheAwakening
Aug 4
3 min read

Updated: Aug 6

Overview

/R (for short) is a psychological horror adventure manifested as a mystery box game. You control the only resident in a manor filled with secrets. A mix of horror movies, urban legends, and sci-fi all in one sitting. Hundreds of puzzles and pieces of lore can be found at your pace. There is danger crawling within the rooms of the mansion. Death is permanent. You must run, hide, and seek any of the endings available. Take your time if you must.

Story

To explain the game’s story would be spoiling a lot, as it is a game crafted with a rich story. The premise is the following: Lydia Whitaker is the sole resident of the manor. Except for an animatronic that camps certain rooms and will chase down Lydia if approached. To read a bit more about the lore of the game, you may check the manual on its Steam game page.

Gameplay

In this game we only have to move left or right inside a room. Interactions are visible upon walking nearby them, such as opening a door, looking at something important, or picking up a consumable. We can sprint, but we have stamina, and if we let it deplete completely, we won't be able to run until it is full. We can also hide within some containers, unless the enemy is in the room. Doors may lead us to dead ends such as bathrooms or to other floors in the manor (it is pretty big); you can check the map for your current position and for directions.

Our enemy is named Patches. This foe can camp in any room he wants to. If he’s facing us and the lights are on (due to poor sight), the chase begins. You can check for yourself in the pause menu; he’s faster than us, so it's only a matter of seconds before we will lose the chase. If we lose, the game will roll two numbers; if we roll a higher number than our foe, the game continues and Patches is stunned briefly; however, every time we win, our luck decreases. The only way to lose him is by hiding. Multiple ways of extending the chase are by consuming items in rooms, but they only work once and for a small period of time.

The game is a whole mystery box, as there are many documents, messages, and paints, each of which might have a hidden number or a solution to a puzzle or provide lore about the psychological universe. All of the documents in the game can be accessed in the archives menu for convenience, although currently this messes up the game whenever we read a document outside in-game, as it closes the current game for some reason. There are several endings, which vary depending on the puzzles we solve. There is also a small game within the game, which has its own secrets, but beating the game will improve our reflexes (a small speed boost).

Audio & Graphics

I had a bit of a struggle trying to balance the volume of the game, which is somewhat louder. There are several graphical filters that can be turned on or off, such as the CRT visuals, film noise, high contrast, etc. We can also adjust the UI to toggle the stamina bar on/off. Overall, the game aesthetics are inspired by its setting, but it isn’t far too disturbing.

The only problem I have is with the chases, where I experience a huge framerate drop, and it's hard to control Lydia. Changing any of the filters does not do anything. Before the archives update, I had no issue whatsoever.