| Developer | Publisher | Platforms |
|---|---|---|
| Freaky Creations | Freaky Creations-RedDeer.Games | Microsoft Windows-Xbox One-Nintendo Switch-PlayStation 4 |
To Leave is an experimental game from a small studio in Ecuador. This game was released for some platforms in 2018, and now it’s available for the Nintendo Switch console and you can buy it for 20 dollars. The game is about mental health issues. The developers paid more attention to the complex concepts that they wanted to show us than to the entertainment aspect of their product.
This game is about a depressed teenager who lives on an unreal planet among the stars. In the whole game, rather than trying to tell a story directly, the developers have achieved their purpose with symbolism and allusions that can be interpretable. Even the main story is ironic; The hero, named Harm, wants to use an ancient mechanism to send all people, including himself, to heaven!
In general, a basic understanding of the story is not very difficult, but if you want to understand the reasons for actions of Harm, you should also pay attention to the symbolism of the game and read many texts. There is a diary in which Harm writes a lot of his memories and descriptions of events. Reading this book is necessary to understand the world of the game, of course, it’s boring. How ironic, especially for those who prefer playing games to studying books.
To Leave is more artistic than fun. This game is completely two-dimensional, and for the design of the environment and cut scenes, colorful hand-drawn designs and animations are used. The atmosphere of the game is completed with strange music tracks. I believe the game is much similar to Silent Hill 4: The Room. Where the hero was stuck in his room and could only get out through a strange hole. Here, Harm is isolated in his apartment and can travel between different parts of the game world only with the help of the magic door he has in his house.
According to the creators themselves, the game requires a lot of precision and patience. Of course, the main mechanics are simple, but the level design gradually becomes very difficult. I wish the game would return you to the beginning of the levels when you fail, but every time you lose, you return to the main character’s apartment and you have to see repetitive animations and reloads to go back to the start of the same level you were in.
In this game, Harm only can walk and short jumps. You need to stick to the door and fly with it to pass platforms and obstacles. Unfortunately, the charging of this door will run out very quickly, and in this case, you will fail again. All these things make it seem like the game can’t be finished at all; This difficulty itself may cause mental discomfort for some people!
The review code was provided by the publisher
| GAMEPLAY | ART | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| 50% | 95% | 75% |