Plaything Review (PC)

I’m beyond tired of being somebody’s Plaything. I’d call for help, but at this point, words are meaningless—tears are fickle, and screams are meager. For in this dungeon of twisted schoolyard games and delusional dreams, there are only so many things one might do to break free from the shackles and escape from the clutches of a sadistic puppeteer. As the ninth victim on this bottomless tapestry, I’ve begun to accept the bitter and, rather depressingly, the only truth — that hope is a weightless contribution, a mere desire that would’ve circulated the first puppet before they met their untimely demise at the hands of a bleak fantasy. And now, I’m not so sure if I’ll have the courage to relate. I’ve still got six mini-games to go, and already, it seems as if I’m on the verge of having a breakdown. Woe is me.

This isn’t my first rodeo as a Plaything. In fact, I’ve seen these deluded trials several times before, and not once have I managed to locate a viable solution for fleeing from their corridors. Apparently, though, there is a way—a hidden doorway, of sorts, that idles within the labyrinth. If I can find it, then I might have a chance to dismantle the hierarchy, or perhaps even drive a wedge in the cycle. But if I fail to source the exit, then I’ll eventually become another pawn in my captor’s chess set. It’s do or die here, and it’s as if the world hangs in the balance. Life is precious, but here, it’s expendable. I have one shot at this, and as much as my subconscious wants me to yield to the vicious cycle, I must push forward to the next game. Time, sadly, isn’t on my side tonight.

Do You Want to Play a Game?

If you took the fundamentals of Squid Game, SAW, and Don’t Be Afraid from their respective sources, rolled them into the one incubator bag, and then peppered its outer shell with a good old-fashioned bit of indie jank, then you would essentially have the basic bone structure of Plaything, in a nutshell. Without delving too deep into its inner workings, this is, respectfully, the culmination of the three aforementioned titles all merging together to create a spin-off video game. To call it a natural-born horror wouldn’t be right; it’s more of a puzzle game, if anything, that blends entry-level gore with some basic escape room-like tropes.

The idea is simple: a victim—that’s you, in this case—must figure out a way to keep beneath the radar whilst playing along in some twisted fantasies taken from several childhood games. During this journey, you not only have to play the part and follow the dotted line to complete a thread of schoolyard mini-games, but rely on your imagination and creativity to locate an escape route that may or may not lead you out of the maze. The only issue here is that, if you happen to die during your desperate attempt to flee from the harrowing world, then your journey will come to an end, thus presenting the captor another opportunity to pass down the torch to a new victim. Simply put, if you fail, the clock resets, as does the world and all of its points of interest.

Rolling the Dice

Plaything features a total of eight mini-games for you to pluck away at, with each one producing its own set of tools to help you plot your escape plan, as well as a unique means of fleeing from the board. To this end, you could argue that no two attempts are ever the same. And while I can say that eight mini-games isn’t a lot on paper, the game does manage to find several interesting ways to keep each session fresh and, above all, exciting. For example, in one mini-game, you may find that a tool unlocks the air vents, whereas in a separate game, that tool may not have the same effect, meaning that you won’t be able to pursue the same escape route, but instead have to locate another, and with different items dotted around the room.

As far as the games go, eh — there isn’t anything here that we haven’t seen a dozen times before. From the block-chucking target practice to the lava-filled couch surfing, the razor wire gymnastics to the labyrinthine tunnel hopping — Plaything brings all of these things to the table, and then some. And so, in terms of the game’s mechanics, there isn’t a lot that you need to do other than operate your mouse and keyboard to navigate platforms, hit switches, and loot containers for items of value, like tools, keys, and levers, etcetera, etcetera. Not a lot to touch base on there — but at least it’s consistent with the traditional indie horror scene.

Verdict

For those of you who happened to pick up a copy of Don’t Be Afraid and thoroughly enjoyed it, I would highly encourage you to give Plaything the same level of commitment. Granted, it doesn’t capture that same intensifying level of horror as the slept-on indie jewel, but it does manage to illuminate that same feeling of being isolated from the world and with only the sole comfort of a potential escape route there to keep you moving forward through the shadows. It isn’t a horror by any standard, but it is, however, a solid puzzle game that, while not structurally perfect, provides a good amount of atmospheric tension and depth.

While it’s no secret that Plaything could still do with a little extra time in the oven, what with its graphics being a little below the average temperature, the game itself is still a lot of fun to work through. Is it the best puzzle-horror escape game on the market? Absolutely not. And yet, I can’t help but recommend it to a select group of folks—the crowd who are more likely to gloss over the shortcomings for the sake of illuminating the positives, no matter how few and far between they may be. For a few bucks, though, it’s not as if you have a great deal to lose, all things considered.