If 2024 taught me anything, it’s that the horror genre is more versatile than people may expect. Video game developers around the world have used the genre to tell stories that do more than simply scare people. Certainly, these narratives have the potential to unsettle people to their core by utilizing brilliant writing, tense set pieces, and immaculate character writing. One such example of this is Mouthwashing.
On the flipside though, some horror games will opt not to use jumpscares or violent visuals at all. Instead, they will focus on creating a meaningful story and a theme that players will carry with them into the real world, long after the credits roll. This is the case with Sorry We’re Closed.
Sorry We’re Closed is a relatively simple survival horror game that rarely tries to scare its players. The 2024 PC title isn’t very tense or difficult, and there were very few moments that actually unnerved me in the long run. While it may lack the qualities of a traditional horror game, after two full playthroughs, I can confidently say that Sorry We’re Closed exceeded all of my expectations when it came to its story, visuals, and gameplay.
“Wouldn’t I Fade?”
Sorry We’re Closed focuses on Michelle, a young woman whose been dealing with the gravity of a breakup from three years ago. She’s constantly reminded of her ex every time she turns on the TV, as she happens to star in a show that everyone in town can’t help but watch. These emotions have led Michelle to feel stagnant, depressed, and above all else, lonely. While she has friends in her corner, their company isn’t enough to ease her pain and desire to fall in love again.
Unfortunately, Michelle isn’t given the time to deal with this breakup in a healthy manner as she’s soon cursed by a mysterious demon known as The Duchess. The Duchess is a menacing yet alluring creature who only wants one thing: love. She wants love without compromise, without change, and she has chosen Michelle to give her what she desires most in this world.
This is where things start to get really interesting. Michelle’s top priority is to break the curse left upon her by The Duchess, but if she so chooses, she can go after more. Sorry We’re Closed has a wide variety of different characters, who each approach her with their own problems and agendas. They all have incredibly distinct designs, personalities, and goals that only become more compelling as you play more.
For example, there’s Lucy, a two-faced monster who offers to reunite Michelle with her ex, if she helps her defeat The Duchess once and for all. There’s also Chamuel, an angel who wants nothing more than to be free with the love of his life, who just so happens to be a demon. Siding with any of these characters will have consequences that not only create different endings, but also drastically different interactions between them and Michelle.
Sorry We’re Closed does a great job of tricking you with the goals of these characters. I played through the game twice, each time choosing to side with a different character. The character who sends you on a wild goose chase to become a hero doesn’t necessarily have your best interests at heart, whereas the simpler endings create scenarios that turn out more positively for everyone involved. These characters all felt natural and wonderfully well written, so even the ones who seem “evil” have complexities that make them likeable and interesting.
Something I especially loved about the game is how it’s very generous with the routes you choose. In my first playthrough, I sided with a character who wanted me to acquire a series of items in order to help her defeat The Duchess once and for all. The game follows a day system, with side quests that will expire after that day ends. As a result, I unfortunately missed a step in the route I had taken on. Thankfully, the next day, I found out that there were multiple chances to not just get back on the right track, but also potentially pivot to another route entirely.
Another thing I appreciate about this multiple ending system is how the route you take naturally affects the dialogue. There are a few dialogue options here and there, but Michelle is largely her own character with perspectives and beliefs that differ from others in the game. These beliefs can change depending on the few choices you do make.
In my first run, where my Michelle is desperate to reunite with her ex, she comes off as very cold and aggressive since she’s willing to do whatever it takes to achieve her goals. Whereas in my second run, I tried to make more compassionate choices, and Michelle was more keen to accept different types of people, regardless of their flaws. She’s also able to move on from her ex and as such, she ends up being a much kinder and well-rounded protagonist. These differences are subtle and you may not even notice them at first.
If you find yourself unsatisfied with an ending or the Michelle you created, though, you can always do another playthrough and make different choices. The short runtime of approximately five hours and the addition of a new game plus mode helps to make these more enjoyable, compared to other games where replaying would usually be a drag. Further, Sorry We’re Closed is so compelling that I never felt bored at any point during its runtime.
Not only are the characters brilliant, but so is the art direction. Compared to a lot of other indie horror games, Sorry We’re Closed doesn’t pull from a specific art style from a title that released in the 80s or 90s. Rather, it feels inspired by TV shows from writers like David Lynch, with designs that feel larger than life and unlike anything you’ve seen before. The representation is also great, as different types of people from all walks of life are brought to life in a way that never feels pretentious or stereotypical.
The music is also fantastic. Several lo-fi tracks help to set the mood of this gloomy yet modern town where demons and angels live side by side. There are also more menacing tracks that make the few tense sections even more haunting. My favorite tracks in the game were the boss themes, mostly lyrical rock or hip-hop songs brought to life by Okumura, a great group of composers and lyricists. Even the calmer songs like Toll are bound to make you feel a sense of melancholy that will stick with you for a while.
If you’re coming into Sorry We’re Closed expecting a horrifying story of evil that will make your blood curdle, you may not get exactly what you want. There are very few moments that are particularly scary, nor characters that represent the most terrifying parts of the human experience. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
The game instead chooses to tell a deep story about the nature of love. It constantly interrogates the player and Michelle on what love means to them. Is love unconditional? Is it a hindrance? Is it worth making sacrifices for? These questions consistently come up and your answers won’t just lead to one of four endings; they will likely cause you to look inward and wonder what love truly means to you as a person.
The theme of love and what it represents is so intriguing and well-realized that it made me replay the game just a few hours after my first playthrough ended. In spite of the lack of commitment to the horror genre, what the developers choose to do instead with the genre managed to shake me to my core and leave me with ideas that will stay with me for a long time. Even if that premise doesn’t inherently appeal to you, the characters, music, and visuals will leave you with an experience you will never forget.
Although, in a survival horror game, story is only half the equation. The other half comes from how it manages to create a gameplay loop that walks the line between being fun and challenging. Luckily, despite some small issues here and there, Sorry We’re Closed manages to deliver a gameplay system that consistently kept me engaged.
Breaking Hearts, One Demon at a Time
Sorry We’re Closed borrows ideas from multiple different survival horror games and throws them into a melting pot of new concepts unlike anything I’ve seen before. For example, the game uses fixed-perspective camera angles, similar to the original Resident Evil and Silent Hill titles. However, it uses that familiar style to experiment with mechanics entirely unique to this title.
Take the aiming for instance. When you aim your gun or axe, you are put into a first-person perspective. Three weapons are available: a pistol, a shotgun, and an axe, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. If a monster approaches the game’s protagonist, you can shoot at them from a distance or attack them at close range. Not only is this option dangerous, but it also does far less damage compared to the alternative, which involves using one of the game’s key mechanics: the third eye.
The third eye is one of the consequences of The Duchess’ curse on Michelle. It gives her a connection to the demon world and allows her to see both it and the human realm side-by-side. Despite being part of the curse that Michelle needs to break, it’s also something she’s able to take advantage of in gameplay.
When an enemy draws closer, she can enable the third eye and see the heart of a demon. She can target it with her weapon, which will in turn generate another heart that must also be shot. The stronger the enemy, the more hearts they have to destroy. If you can attack these weaknesses without missing a shot, you can accumulate energy to use a “Heartbreaker,” a special weapon that is necessary to damage both the more durable enemies and boss fights.
The first-person perspective can definitely take some getting used to. In the tighter spaces, I found it particularly difficult to aim at an enemy’s weak spot. It’s extremely easy to enter the first-person mode in a direction facing away from your target. If this happens, it takes quite a while to aim your reticle because of how slow aiming is.
These problems are thankfully mitigated by some quality-of-life updates introduced in the new console port. One example is the aim assist, which makes aiming far less obnoxious, especially if an enemy is right in your face. There are also several opportunities to expand the gap between you and your opponent. You can even give yourself even more of an advantage with upgrades that modify your health items, damage, and the effectiveness of the stun effect that the third eye offers.
It helps that, when all of these mechanics click into place, being able to take advantage of these weaknesses feels extremely satisfying. I had such a blast learning the right strategies with every weapon and modifying my playstyle with every upgrade. I became so adept with the gameplay that I even managed to complete my second run without dying a single time.
I don’t want to create the misconception that this game is easy: it’s not. The boss fights can especially be brutal, as they force you to take advantage of every single tool in your arsenal. In order to take them down, you’ll have to maneuver around the battlefield, grab items and ammo as quickly as possible, and use every opportunity to find the heart of your enemy and destroy it. Sorry We’re Closed is challenging, but not impossible, and I never felt that my deaths were unfair.
Much like other survival horror titles, the game also has several puzzles and dungeons that will test you in other ways. These dungeons all have varying designs and lore that add to the overall themes of Sorry We’re Closed. Michelle will frequently encounter other characters who faced the curse that she is currently burdened with.
The Duchess’ desire to find love has tainted them and led them to have dangerously narcissistic tendencies that hurt them and everyone in their proximity. All five of the main dungeons are extremely fun to explore and I was all too happy to look in every nook and cranny to find collectibles and ammo/health. Plus, it helps that their unique designs pop even more on PlayStation 5.
The puzzles are very enjoyable as well. Their solutions usually won’t require a degree to figure out, but they also aren’t easy enough that you can solve them within a few minutes. You may need to backtrack here and there in order to bring the right item to its destination, but thanks to how well-designed the dungeons are, this never got tiresome.
If you manage to navigate through these dungeons while collecting every possible item without dying, you’ll receive a high rank at the end of a level. These ranks will assess your deaths, your accuracy, I do wish there were more incentives for getting a higher rank other than simply a trophy, but it didn’t detract at all from what I thought was a fantastic gameplay loop.
Everything about the game had me hooked from beginning to end. I had a blast learning all the ins and outs of the gameplay mechanics and figuring out the best way to approach each combat encounter. I had so much fun in both of my playthroughs and to be honest, I would be more than happy to replay Sorry We’re Closed a second time.
An Unforgettable Experience
Horror has always been one of my favorite genres, especially in the gaming medium. The way developers are able to use unique mechanics and disturbing concepts to explore a wide variety of different themes has always intrigued me. I’ve long appreciated how different games are able to take advantage of your expectations and create an experience that you will never forget. Sorry We’re Closed is now a game I can add to that list.
I loved every moment of Sorry We’re Closed. Yes, there were some minor issues with the gameplay and it isn’t as much of a traditional horror title compared to others on the market. Yet, these problems never mattered to me. On my first playthrough, I was enamored with every character, story beat, musical track, dungeon, and gameplay mechanic. My love for the experience only increased on my second playthrough, where it cemented itself as one of my favorite horror indie games of the last few years.
Horror, like love, is a fluid concept. Anyone may have different experiences with both that will define them as people. Sorry We’re Closed manages to explore these topics with ease. À la mode games have used the horror genre to tell a story about love, rather than the typical terror that I expected, and their gambit more than paid off. Not only are the game’s themes and story brilliant, but its gameplay is simple and addicting fun.
Thanks to how short the game is, it’s all too easy to replay the game over and over again until you find an ending you truly click with. If you do choose to replay it, you will be delighted to find that the gameplay, exploration, and characters do not become stale even after ten hours. If you’re like me, you will likely find yourself ruminating on some of the endings and narrative beats long after your experience ends.
Sorry We’re Closed is a game that I will think about for a long time. It’s an experience I can’t recommend enough, whether you’re a hardcore fan of the horror genre or a passive admirer. Regardless of your interest in the genre, you will take away something vital from your time spent with this game. As for me, I cannot wait to replay Sorry We’re Closed one more time to see more of what the game has to say about the concept of love.
Disclaimer: Akupara Games provided Final Weapon with a PlayStation 5 review copy of Sorry We’re Closed for review purposes.
