Distraint 2

Striking, disturbing adventure game

$5.99 From Jesse Makkonen, jessemakkonen.com Made for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch Needs iOS 8 or later

Most “psychological horror” games involve walking down a dark corridor and waiting for something undead to leap out at you from the shadows. This adventure game, however, is more about existential angst — seriously existential, in fact. The main character, Price, apparently killed himself in the original Distraint, after becoming disillusioned with a job that involved making poor people homeless on behalf of a cruel, money–grabbing corporation.

So Distraint 2 begins with a surprised Price finding that he’s still alive, and then meeting a character called Reason, who

sends him on a quest to try and make sense of his life. The mechanics of the game are fairly conventional, as Price walks across a landscape of hand—drawn 2D graphics, looking for clues that will guide him to some understanding of his predicament. But it’s the striking audio—visual presentation that makes the game stand out. The backgrounds and animated characters look like they belong in the Edvard Munch painting, The Scream. The somber graphics are accompanied by flickering lighting effects and a jarring, industrial soundtrack.

All this makes the game feel uncomfortable at times — but that’s intended as a reflection of Price’s, disturbed, disoriented state of mind. And, if you can stick with it, there’s a sense of quiet satisfaction to be gained as you guide Price to his ultimate fate.

the bottoM liNe. An unusual, and sometimes disturbing, adventure game that rewards patience.

That question is the key to the game, as Price tries to understand his fate.