When it comes down to horror games? I’m a chill guy. Not a lot really phases me but still, I enjoy these. Because some of them are just hilarious when you think about it. Only a few things get me, one of them being dolls (Damn you Decay!). So, when I saw that Distraint offers itself as a horror experience? It piqued my interest. So I went in with high expectations. When this journey came to its end, it left me with an “aww” and a “that’s it?”. So want to know what it’s all about? Then read it in our review of Distraint!
What do you do? You play as Price, an intern working for a loan shark/bank called McDade, Bruton, and Moore. Your task is there to evict people out of their homes due to not being able to pay their debt. A tale filled with greed, heartfelt emotions, and some humor, that’s for sure!
- Atmosphere: The overall vibe that Distraint brings is one that I liked. It felt grungy and retro. With a hint of mystery and wonder. The music spells an ominous tone the further you get in a day, and the closer you are into cracking the case you’re working on. You’ll feel claustrophobic even when you shouldn’t be, and that’s what I like in my games. Something that gets to you, even when it shouldn’t!
- Real emotion: When playing Distraint, you’ll come to notice that some parts of how this game plays, will hit home. Albeit when it’s talking about greed or losing someone? It feels real, and that’s what really intrigued me throughout the entire thing. You’ll go through a range of emotions, guilt, happiness, sadness, and even anger. It really gets real when you think about it!
- Funny interactions: There actually is more humor in here then there are jump scares. And I actually enjoyed this. Heck, even some jumpscares are funny! There are some secret interactions for you to find, so be sure to experiment with the items that you find!
- Some typos: While this is created by someone that isn’t a native English speaker? He got the script translated into multiple languages. And then proofread. Still, it seems that some typos made it through the proofreading and right into the game. A shame, because it does kind of break the momentum of the overall story and what is playing out right in front of you. Though not annoying, I just wanted to mention this so that the grammar knights amongst us don’t take out their warhorse and ride off into battle over this slight fact.
- Where is the horror: Though branded as a horror experience? I didn’t find anything that was actually classified as scary. Other than a few cheesy jump scares here and there, it really wasn’t horror at all. Sure you could say that, this being a pixelated game, having true horror would be impossible. But come on? Having the lights go out to then following it up by turning a spot on which is colored red? All the while someone is carving into a body? Is not horror, but just gore. Oh well, I got a chuckle out of it!
- Way too short: After almost an hour and 15 minutes? The end credits started to roll. This utterly left me devastated. I was actually enjoying the story and how it played out? That I couldn’t comprehend why it already got cut short! If there is one wish or request that I could send towards the developer? Please make the sequel longer! I truly enjoyed it and I hope that the next one will have the same amount of quality as this one did!
CONCLUSION
Score: 70%
Though not a perfect game, it still is an enjoyable experience. With a story that could easily be represented in real-life, Distraint brings home some real heartfelt emotions. It makes you think and wonder, is money really what its all about? Should greed really be the drive behind everything? Though a very short story, it still is worthwhile. And lets not forget, this game was created by one person! So a remarkable achievement non the least! Oh and a bit of a heads up? Distraint 2 is in the works, so if it turns out that you liked this one? Then keep your peepers open for the second one as well!
Developer: Jesse Makkronen Publisher: Winterveil Studios Oy
Played on: Xbox One X Also available on: PS4 – Switch – Mobile and PC
Alexis spent 1 hour and 15 minutes enjoying this quick game!
Achievement difficulty for 1000 Gamerscore: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Perfect for: Anyone who enjoys a quick adventure story, or who wants to support an amazing developer!
Xbox Game Store link: Click here
