Paratopic is a horror game that is difficult to properly describe. It initially seems like a walking simulator, but with a horror twist. It seems like you are simply walking through a world while spooky things happen to you. In reality, Paratopic is closer to an adventure game, as you are encouraged to explore the world. Curiosity is important if you want to experience everything the game has to offer.

Paratopic focuses on atmospheric horror, building tension using a variety of audio and visual techniques. Auditorily, the music is usually understated, but utilizes musical shifts to change up the mood. This is especially effective when combined with the unique voice acting. The voice acting was seemingly recorded normally, but was put through a handful of distortion effects. What is most interesting about it is that it almost sounds like English, but not quite. They didn’t just play the audio in reverse and call it a day, they put extra effort towards making every sentence sound like words you don’t know, rather than nonsense.

The graphics are just as unusual as the sound design and with a similar theme. While the voice acting is hard to understand and garbled, the low-poly graphics make faces look awkward and difficult to make out. They reinforce each other and do most of the heavy lifting when it come to making the world seem surreal and mysterious.

The gameplay takes this surreal world and tries to build on it even more, with mixed results. Without getting into spoilers, you will switch perspectives between characters without much indication. Each character has their own mechanics, although they are fairly minor. One character has a car, one has a gun, and another has a camera. They are all incorporated into the overarching narrative pretty well, but specifically the driving portions, as well as some parts of the camera portion, are bland. If the game was longer, this wouldn’t be a big deal, but in an hour long game, pacing is everything. While the gameplay isn’t terrible, it is still hit or miss.

The storytelling in Paratopic is so minimal that it almost isn’t there. It feels similar to the Dark Souls style of storytelling, in which the plot is kind of there, but requires you to seek it out if you want more info. If you play the game by the numbers, you will get a confusing, incomplete story. If you try to figure out what is going on, you will be rewarded with hints and clues. The game never really has time to dig too deeply into the story, but you can get a general idea of the plot, given enough peeking around. Still, even this “complete” version of the story will be unsatisfying for many players. It leaves the game pretty open-ended, which, depending on personal preference, might be fun and interesting, or feel lazy and unfinished. I’m personally split on it and can appreciate what the developers were going for, but also see how it could have been expanded on.

Paratopic is a flawed game, but also an original one. Some players will be able to look past its issues and appreciate its strengths, while others will be overwhelmed by the weaker moments and won’t be able to enjoy the game for what it is. Ultimately, this is not an instant classic or a must-play game. It is worth a shot for experimental horror fans, but don’t be surprised if it doesn’t work for you.

6/10

• Arbitrary Metric
• Steam, Itch
• $5.50