After all, Desmond isn’t trying to ‘beat’ his patients, rather soothe their trauma and help them heal. Thankfully, the boss fights don’t rely on In Sound Mind’s shoddy combat and are instead environment and puzzle focused. Basic gunplay and frustrating melee combat leaves fights feeling like a drag rather than challenging or fun. Unfortunately, the combat and standard enemy variety lack depth, besides the occasional ‘ghost room’ later in the game. The songs, created specifically for the game by The Living Tombstone (of Five Nights at Freddy’s fame), are like many parts of In Sound Mind: bizarre but surprisingly good.
IN SOUND MIND REVIEW UPGRADE
Exploring the building hub and tapes is worth it as you’ll upgrade your stats, obtain music records to listen to and more. The apartment building hub is Metroidvania-esque, and its areas can be unlocked after you acquire new weapons or equipment. The most interesting tool is the mirror shard, as its reflection highlights hidden messages scrawled on the walls and other environmental secrets. The puzzles in each world gradually introduce enough mechanics to not feel too repetitive and the wide variety of equipment that Desmond acquires are all utilised often. There are only four main worlds to explore, but they’re unique and creative and can each take a few hours to complete if you’re an explorer. The first involves a Medusa-like spirit, created from anxiety and paranoia, that can only be warded off by holding up a mirror to show its reflection. Each world has new mechanics that constantly keep you on your toes, as Desmond is hunted by a unique monster that represents the traumas of his patients. The worlds range from an abandoned supermarket to a beach overlooked by what could only be described as ‘Sauron’s Lighthouse’. All of this is while being stalked by the creepy Agent Rainbow who is hellbent on psychologically torturing him to death. It’s through those tapes he hopes to uncover the truth of where he is and why he’s there.
These are recordings of therapy sessions Desmond has had with his patients. The building is a hub that allows Desmond access to different dreamlike worlds through ‘tapes’. While not as nuanced as something like Hellblade’s portrayal of psychosis, In Sound Mind knows what it is: a psychological horror game with sprinkles of dark humour, so it doesn’t overstep its boundaries when portraying serious subjects.ĭeveloped by We Create Stuff, In Sound Mind is about Desmond Wales, a troubled therapist who finds himself trapped within a bizarre and supernatural apartment building. I was expecting it to have a manipulative use of mental illness in a shallow attempt to appear deep however, its use of concepts and gameplay around conditions like anxiety and even wartime PTSD hit where they need to, without treading into tackiness. If you are suffering from any of the issues that have been discussed or need assistance, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. This review contains discussion of mental health.