Haunted Room: 205 Review (PC)

The pungent smell of black coffee, stained sheets and corrosive chemicals flows deep within the crevices of the dainty apartment—a world that, for the sake of preventing a twisted downfall of financial ruin, I have decided to call home. The rent is astronomically low, but the terms and conditions on the tenancy contract reflect the reason why. Oh, the neighbors aren’t the problem here; it’s the paranormal happenings that shroud the four corners and box me into a perpetual nightmare that I simply cannot escape from. In times like these, I tell myself, “close your eyes, and they’ll disappear on their own accord.” But it’s a rarity that happens every once in a blue moon. Alas, the entities are forevermore, and I have little choice but to tolerate them.

The rent is cheap—questionably cheap, at that—and the agreement that I signed before hanging my coat was surprisingly vocal about its lack of Feng Shui and thematic flair. Yet, when the opportunity to move in to the apartment came knocking, I didn’t hesitate. I packed, and I moved, completely oblivious to the unspoken tenants who also traipsed the corridors.

Several days later, I found myself learning their ways, and more importantly, deciphering their habits to help alleviate the stress of the situation. I could simply shut my eyes, and just like that they would vanish. Yet, the more time I spent behind the eyelash veil, the more sinister the supernatural became. If I couldn’t keep a lid on it, then I would suffer both physically and mentally. That, unfortunately, brings me to the present day. The coffee is cold, and I’m on the verge of a breakdown. But again, at least the rent is cheap.

Signing the Agreement

Haunted Room: 205 didn’t spend much time showing me around the world, nor did it drip feed me with an extensive collection of introductory lectures about who I was, or even what I was doing. Instead, it gave me the front door key to a supernatural husk, and it tasked me with exploring it. It told me that, if I had just the slightest bit of experience with generic life simulation games, then I would most definitely be capable of handing its generic chores. The one thing that it didn’t tell me, of course, was that I would also have to handle other, slightly less comforting things, like paranormal activities, for example.

At the heart of Haunted Room: 205 is a short open-ended love letter to P.T.—a game that achieved cult status thanks to its unhinged storytelling style and deeply disturbing locale, among a litter of other prestigious elements befitting of a Silent Hill story. Here, the premise isn’t drastically different. Much like a traditional house-hopping corridor romper, the game invites you to gradually remove the layers from a decrepit apartment building and unlock tantalizing secrets from another world. The rest, as you can imagine, is mere fodder for the fledgling thrill seeker. A jump scare here, a chase sequence there, and then the usual trappings that come fastened to an B-list horror.

What Lurks Beyond Closed Eyes

Your objectives in Haunted Room: 205 vary in depth and complexity, though, for the most part, they’re relatively straightforward fetch quests. For example, in the beginning of the day, you make your coffee, and generally go about completing the usual routine—a checklist that doesn’t deviate much from the usual life simulation experience. With that, you essentially have needs to keep tabs on—sliders that, if ignored and not properly fulfilled, drain your sanity and provoke your senses into succumbing to the abnormal conditions that plague the apartment. In those situations—the times where the supernatural take ahold of the world—you have another goal to fulfill: close your eyes, and wait patiently until the atmosphere returns to normal.

Haunted Room: 205 isn’t so much about unraveling a perplexing backstory or waging war with the oddities that shape the universe, but rather, learning how to cope with the consequences of your actions whilst going about your business. Is it a full-fledged life sim? Not really, no, but it does contain various strands that will most likely resonate with the target demographic, or better yet, fans of Amnesia and other horror favorites that substitute hunger and thirst for anxiety and fear.

The gameplay itself is straightforward, as are most of the objectives that bulk out the relatively short story. However, thanks to its inclusion of some hard-hitting jump scares and pivotal moments, the general lack of depth in the plot department is thankfully nullified. Granted, it doesn’t do much more to enhance the flow of indie horrors, and it doesn’t exactly cement itself in the hall of fame for its vaguely familiar setting, either. But, with all of that said, it does congregate around a formula that just works. Maybe it doesn’t need to do anything more than that.

Verdict

Haunted Room: 205 certainly manages to keep the fires alight for the P.T. flock with its surprisingly intense and provoking atmosphere. While it isn’t the bulkiest of modern indie horrors on the chopping block, it is one that provides its own off-brand flair and disturbing encounters. The plot, while still largely  predictable and not quite as compelling as your usual well-orchestrated horror, also features some solid moments and gripping gameplay elements, too. The addition of some spacious needs and emotions, again, while not particularly fresh, also make for a great additional layer to the overall experience. Perhaps it isn’t enough to push the game ahead of its competitors, but it is enough to make a lasting impression, at least.

While the indie horror scene is bursting at the seams with corridor-hopping cliches, Haunted Home: 205 does at least manage to infuse its own concoction of palpable jump scares and perilous moments into the cauldron. With that, you probably shouldn’t expect to slip into anything new here. That said, if you have the time to kill and a few dollars to part ways with, then I’d definitely recommend signing the tenancy contract to see what this binding agreement keeps in store.