Review #720:Detention(Switch)

 Hold your breath, and don't look back.

 Yet another horror game I played out-of-season, Detention finally hit the switch, and there's a reason this game has such a good reputation: IT'S REALLY GOOD. It manages to be scary while being a very minimalist 2-D game, plus, it has a really good story!

 When you first start the game you play as Wei Chung Ting, a boy that slept through class and now wakes up to find himself alone in the classroom. He has to make haste back home, since a huge Tsunami is about to hit the city. Only that the river has turned red and the road back home is gone. Along the way he comes across a girl, Fang Ray Shin, who has no idea how she got there. It's not long before Fang takes over as the protagonist, and now she must brave a horrid world that turns bleaker as the game advances, while avoiding all sorts of demons out to get her. It's tough to get into the story and its meaning without delving into spoilers, but the narrative is very interesting, and discovering why Fang is where she is and how she got there feels very rewarding, and the mysteries unveil themselves at a satisfying pace.

 The game is a bit of a classic Adventure game, y'know, like Monkey Island and the such, but with a horror motif. As Wei and Fang you have to walk through abandoned buildings, collecting items so that you can use them on the right place. No puzzle is too hard, there's nothing you can't solve without the hints you can find or using a bit of common sense. Bah, getting the Good ending can be a bit tough, since you have to answer a certain being very specific answers, but, after finishing the game, you can replay any chapter, so you can very easily try again.

 Every now and then you'll come across demons and ghosts, called Lingerers, that are out for your blood. You can avoid them by holding your breath and walking by them, since they can't detect you unless you breathe. Fang can't hold her breath forever, so you have to pick the right time to hold your breath and walk by them. You can also drop an offering on the floor to distract them, but besides a specific moment that requires it, you can get through just fine by holding your breath.

 The game is about 3 hours long, maybe less, but it's pretty fun. It's quite clearly more focused on telling its story than in scaring you, so the horror elements take a backseat to the narrative, so the further you get through the game, the less monsters that'll get in your way. And that's fine. The game is fine.
 7.5 out of 10