The unknown. The unfamiliar. No matter what you call those things we haven’t experienced, we have all felt the thrill and the danger of the great beyond. It’s the same thing that makes kids scared of the dark and adults want to skydive. In Sound Mind, by developer We Create Stuff and publisher Modus Games, harnesses that thrill and sends you on a tense journey to discover what happened in the mysterious town you woke up in.
The game opens with a somber portrait of dark and stormy waters. The kind you imagine have taken down epic ships and conceal all the things we fear about the ocean. It then cuts the first view of the dark room where you begin to discover the secrets of what happened here. In Sound Mind is a first-person horror game that takes you on a thrilling, terrifying journey to discover why the world has fallen apart around you.
In Sound Mind’s environment complements the tension built through the other aspects of the game bringing together neon and a grunge aesthetic that compliments the story perfectly. A scary narrator talks in riddles about what has happened and Dirt and every surface is covered in the dirt that only comes from being abandoned. Even in the levels where your player crosses into a dream, the environment exudes an eeriness that you can feel as soon as you step foot through the door and into the white light. These levels also happened to be some of my favorites with purple fog rolling in through the night and abandoned cars covering broken concrete in a small suburban town that you can tell used to be a nice place to live.
In Sound Mind is primarily played by solving puzzles and gathering supplies to achieve objectives, like getting the elevator to work again or assembling your first gun of the game. Throughout the map, there are also a series of notes left throughout the game that give vague clues on what to do and make unsettling observations about your actions. The creepiest one in my play through just said ‘nosy ain’t you’ but I’m sure there will be many more in the final release. In addition to the terrifying environments and eerie notes from an unseen narrator, there’s also zombies who follow you through some of the objectives and boss fights only won by solving complex puzzles. In a mix of timelines, the story itself is told by the tapes and notes found throughout the house. Each tape represents a different character in the story and transports you to a strange alternate dimension showing a brief glimpse of the decrepit outside world as you listen to a tape detailing a small part of what happened.
Despite being a demo, the game ran well and everything worked during my play through, which usually bodes well for the full release. Even in this limited capacity, In Sound Mind delivered great graphics and a thrilling narrative reminiscent of the Saw series, with some supernatural twists that kept me guessing throughout my entire play through.
Though just a demo, In Sound Mind thrilled in a way most horror movies fall short of. Filled with mysteries, puzzles, action, and some very creepy notes discouraging you from solving the mystery of what happened to this town. With a demo like this, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the full game and this thriller is definitely worth adding to your game library.
Check Out the In Sound Mind Trailer:
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My first console was the original Playstation and I would play Twisted Metal every now and then but games didn't hook me until I played the original Halo at my friend's house. As soon as I picked up that controller, I knew I needed an Xbox and I had to have that game. Since those early Halo days, I've branched out and played any game I could find with a great story and memorable characters but Master Chief is still my favorite. @thenotoriousTGT on Twitter
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