13 Days of Halloween: Game Review: DISTRAINT: Deluxe Edition (Xbox Series X)

Darkly disturbing and emotionally wrought, DISTRAINT: Deluxe Edition is a psychological 2D side scrolling game with ‘point and click’ elements from developer Jesse Makkonen and published by Ratalaika Games.

A game that takes a short while to get going but when it does, bloody hell, does it land.

So, what’s the deal with the Deluxe Edition? Not a lot it seems. Touched up visuals and the removal of a lantern.

You play Price, a young bailiff tasked by his company to evict three people. Do this and Price will be made partner. However, kicking people out of their homes is not a task for people with a conscience and Price finds it particularly difficult. Especially when the first of the three is an old woman who recently lost her husband.

Dealing with her and her kindness is too much for Price and something snaps inside him. This isn’t the life he envisioned for himself but has he gone too far down a dark path to come back now?

To say anything more about the story would run the risk of spoiling it and it’s a game you don’t want spoiled for you. Save to say that it’s an incredibly unsettling journey of ups and downs with a gob-smacking ending.

Lasting around 3 to 4 hours, DISTRAINT: Deluxe Edition has simple gameplay mechanics. Control Price by moving left or right, interact with items and people with the occasional puzzle needing to be solved. Stuff that is fairly straight-forward as you have a small inventory and few items to pick up. Everything you do pick up is used so you can normally work out how to complete a puzzle based off what you’ve recently picked up.

Visually, the game’s 2D style is appealing, especially as it has a grainy filter that makes it quite dreamlike. The character’s enlarged heads mean the game has an intrinsic silliness to it but that seems designed to make the more horrific moments all the more impactful. Which they do, especially as the music and sound effects are eerie and intense.

All of this adds to the experience but the delight comes from the story. DESTRAINT: Deluxe Edition is a must play.