Game Review: Just Ignore Them (Xbox One)

Released in the first half of 2017 on Steam, Just Ignore Them is now available on Xbox One. It was developed by Stranga and published by GrabTheGames.

A top-down point and click adventure horror, Just Ignore Them is an adult-themed story driven experience. One with a plot that can change depending on choices the player makes.

The game puts you in control of an 8-year old boy who has a monster problem in his house. Monsters that will do anything to get their hands on him and turn him into a bloody mess. Yes, this game pulls no punches and the first time this young child gets dragged into a closet whereupon a pool of blood pours out, will shock.

One night can feel like a lifetime of pain, suffering and horror to a child…

This is a horror game but one that plays out like a movie. Split into chapters (4 in total), each one taking place at specific locations and at specific times. Once the prologue as the child is over, the game follows him as an adult on the run from the monsters that haunt him. Along the way he’ll meet people and realise that he can’t escape his past, he has to face it.

It’s a great story, one with many twists and turns even before you take in the varying choices and directions it can go in. There are quite a few and it gives it some real replay value even if there are only two actual endings. However, the story is gripping enough to make you want to go back and experience all the choices.

Gamplay is limited but done well. A top-down point and click, there are puzzles to solve and mysteries to be unravelled. Nothing too taxing as almost all items that are picked up have a use or can be combined.

Visually, Just Ignore Them goes for the 16-bit look and it works very well. Colourful and vibrant, the detail is just enough to ensure you can identify what you need too. The same quality is found in the music and sounds too. Effectively matching the horror on screen and ramping up the tension appropriately.

Solid gameplay, good visuals and sounds, a great story and some strong horror themes, Just Ignore Them is a very good game. Even it’s short length (a couple of hours the first time and half that on replays) doesn’t harm it.