Storebound Review (PC)

The only thing more suspicious than an IKEA store is the questionably cheap meatballs that it serves by the boatload. Mind you, I do feel sorry for the superstore, because it seems that, regardless of where you look, there is always a horror game that aims to mimic the Swiss chain and convey it as a naturally horrifying workplace. Personally, I have yet to find an IKEA that has made me feel unwelcome or uneasy. Storebound, on the other hand, strongly believes that there is more to the duplex than meatballs and affordable furniture. Don’t ask. Let’s just blame SCP for starting a trend.

Storebound follows a similar trajectory as the likes of SCP: 3008 – Infinite Store, in that it keeps to the mindset of, if it’s overwhelmingly claustrophobic and drizzled in tight spaces, then it’s the ideal form of psychological fodder for the casual observer. In this store, however, there is slightly more to the aisles than towering furniture and dubious clerks. Oh, it still aims to repurpose a familiarly large superstore, but it also aims to provide a convenient place for multiplayer fanatics to wipe their feet, too.

Billed as a co-op “puzzle” horror game, Storebound invites up to three players (or shoppers, as they’re commonly known as here) to embark on a seemingly endless quest through the dank nooks and crannies of a supersized store. With six chapters to work through, each of which transpire over different sections of the store in question, players must band together to solve logical puzzles, unravel the store’s problems, and use a walkie-talkie to communicate with their teammates. But, that’s not all. As this is a horror game at heart, each night brings ashore a few worrisome issues. The staff of the store have one job: to “assist” shoppers on their journey. It doesn’t take much to figure that one out, though.

The whole point behind the game is simple: to work as one to escape the store. Like your typical megastore, however, each department here has its own share of problems, most of which require you to navigate the endless corridors in order to, you know, find the darn checkout. Unlike your average walking simulator, though, Storebound invites you to engage in a series of highly convoluted puzzles, each of which hold their own unique characteristics and solutions. As a team, it simply falls to each of you to knuckle in on the most plausible answer and secure an exit strategy.

With the aid of proximity chat, you will essentially find yourself tucked deep into the underbelly of the store, either rummaging around for items of value, or wracking your brain over a puzzle that seems easy enough to solve, but often requires a few able pairs of hands to complete. And that’s more or less where you spend most of your time here: in a form of purgatory, fleeing between aisles, dodging odd workers, and screaming at your teammates over the walkie-talkie. It’s chaotic, nonsensical, and yet, oddly entertaining.

There is a feature here that deserves the attention of the community, and that’s the sanity system. See, if you spend too long in the dark, then you essentially experience hallucinations—episodes during which the world alters your perception of reality and oftentimes forces you to question your own teammates. It’s a good idea, and it adds a good amount of additional weight to the ever-escalating tension. It also gives you an excuse to go haywire on your friends when they least expect it — but that’s a whole other story.

Of course, if you’re not hallucinating or dodging the puppet masters here, then you’re out exploring the far reaches of the superstore, gathering intel, unlocking sections of the map, and deciphering clues before the lights go out. But, after that, you’re ultimately left with a single purpose: to band together, and to work in unison whilst the store clerks step out to quell your efforts. The walkie-talkie system gives you a little bit of control over the room, but talk for too long, and the colleagues will listen in and use your own words to flank you.

Suffice it to say, Storebound has more creative ideas than I initially gave it credit for. For instance, in the second chapter, two people were placed in a security room, and a third was slotted into a labyrinth. It fell to each of us to play a part, and to decipher clues in order to help the wayward accomplice find their exit, either through a series of seemingly random buttons, triggers, or events. It didn’t help, mind you, that each segment in the puzzle had the cast of Sesame Street to throw the proverbial spanner in the works. But then, weirdly, I enjoyed the idea; the nod to My Friendly Neighborhood didn’t go unnoticed.

Minced with a handful of puppet-like colleagues and a dynamic jigsaw set, Storebound quite clearly has its priorities in the right place. Unlike your cheap and forgettable escape room, it tries to go one step further than the traditional lock and key method. Creatively, it goes above entry-level standards, not so much in its graphical department, but in its puzzles and in its team-building exercises. With all of that at the center of its framework, it establishes a good balance that blends the complexity of Poppy Playtime with the terror of Order 13. Or at least, any other game that casts its focus on a shadow-coated superstore.

As Storebound has the breathing room to latch onto more wings of its store and introduce new chapters in the near future, I’d say that it’s worth taking the time to experience it with a couple of friends. Better yet, if you’re looking for a game that mixes Lethal Company with My Friendly Neighborhood, then consider this as a golden opportunity to befriend an illegitimate brainchild.

Verdict

Storebound pairs puppets with puzzles in a punch bowl of creatively crafted labyrinthine segments and oddly exhilarating confrontations, all with the hopes of creating a long-lasting multiplayer experience that can put the likes of My Friendly Neighborhood and Lethal Company to shame. And for the most part, it does exactly that. Sure, it lacks the same level of replay value as Lethal Company, but it does provide a ton of interesting ideas and opportunities for fledgling shopaholics to broaden their spending habits. Maybe that’s enough, maybe it isn’t. Personally, though, I think that there’s an excellent game here, and one that will most definitely appeal to the common SCP die-hard.