Strap in folks, the second part of Brokenlore is out and available for all to play. Let me tell you from the get-go, this time it gets weird and grotesque fast.
Brokenlore: Don’t Watch continues the psychological horror set up from the first entry, exploring the themes of social isolation and the fear of societal judgment. You know, real light-hearted stuff. The protagonist Shinji, is a hikikomori—a young man who has locked himself away in his apartment, cutting all ties with the outside world.
Shinji believes that he can escape the pressure of expectations by remaining in his home and cutting those ties, only soon to realize that there is no way to hide from the judgment of others. While in his room, he receives an unexpected message from Junko, a girl he once met in a rehabilitation program for socially withdrawn individuals.
This simple message disrupts his monotonous daily routine as she warns him that Hideo (another participant from the program) has died under suspicious circumstances. While this seems a lot of story dumping, this is merely the tip of the iceberg, and the actual telling of the story is done through cutscenes and dialogue while you play.
The game itself starts quite tame, with simple things like moving around the apartment and answering a message on the pc and the door. This brief intro to the game soon descends as Shinji is told he is being cut off by his parents, and numerous visitors arrive at his door, demanding he let them in. This is where the game truly begins.
You will be greeted by a lot of deep-cutting commentary and an emotive plot regarding self-isolation and dealing with the judgement of others. So be warned that if you want a light-hearted horror this is very much not the game for you.
The gameplay itself is not too dissimilar to the previous entry Brokenlore: low; you will be mostly walking around and interacting with specific parts of the environment such as opening doors, answering phones or stabbing eyeballs that are in the walls along with various other things in the vein. The controls themselves are nice and reactive and yet simple enough to allow players to become fully absorbed in the world and the storytelling, be it subtle story beats or the ones screaming in your face.
The sound design is fantastic too. From the melancholic melodies to the more intense side of things, every musical score hits the mark perfectly, creating unease, confusion and a false feeling of safety exactly where it needs to be. It would be a sin to not comment on how, when the grotesque parts begin (such as stabbing eyeballs in the wall), they have exactly the right tone you would expect from squishy and squelchy flesh being destroyed. There are voice overs but unless you can speak Japanese you will be reading all the subtitles, which is not a criticism as it feels the voice actors put their all into it and every emotion is felt through them.
Naturally, the art direction continues from Brokenlore: low, keeping with the realistic look and looking great even on lower settings. Personally, the content in Don’t Watch definitely went above and beyond what the team crafted in Low. There are more diverse locations built within the foundation of the never-ending cycle within the apartment complex you are seemingly trapped in.
Being a bit of an introvert, some of the themes about shutting oneself away definitely hit the mark for me and gave me a feeling of unease while playing Brokenlore: Don’t Watch. And yet, assuming the goal for the true ending as there are a couple of different ones, it’s seeped in the feeling of empowerment of facing your fears of being perceived. These beats were truly beautiful and oddly heart-warming, especially from a game that’s a psychological horror.
I have to give massive props to the team for continuing and elevating what they have created within Low and taking Dont Watch to new heights – in such a short time frame of release as well. Brokenlore: Don’t Watch is not a game for the faint of heart. Well, the series so far is not one for the faint of heart, but if you enjoy horror, first go and play the first one (check out the review here) and then go get yourself this entry.
Brokenlore is a series that I am going to continue following until they have released all four parts. Brokenlore: Don’t Watch is a solid 10/10 entry for the story and gameplay elevations from the first.
System: Steam
Developer: Serafini Productions
Publishers: Serafini Productions, Shochiku
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