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THE MISSING is hard to play.
Physically, it’s somewhat of a breeze, taking about five hours to hike through. But emotionally, THE MISSING takes an unprecedented toll. It’s a game about torturing yourself to squeeze through a world uncomfortably unknown.
Swery65 is a cult icon known for charmingly scrappy visuals and Lynchian storytelling, but in the past, both have served for little purpose beyond homage. DEADLY PREMONITION is a painfully obvious Twin Peaks adaptation, and D4: DARK DREAMS DON’T DIE was pure balls-to-the-walls insanity with a nice “New York detective” flavor.
Now we see Swery’s gift as a storyteller with THE MISSING. The game follows J.J. Macfield, a young woman finding her missing lover, Emily, after being bestowed the power of near-immortality. J.J. can be dismembered, set on fire, have her bones broken, and roll around as a sentient decapitated head, but she can resume to her natural state with the push of a button.
Keep in mind, these are the mechanics for a puzzle game. That’s Swery for you.
And that is what makes THE MISSING so hard to play: hearing J.J. scream raspily for help as her bones crack in half, stumps where her arms should be spill with blood. If she’s missing a leg, she’ll hop a few times before tripping, ultimately needing to crawl to her goal. There’s a darkly comical tone to this, simply by the fact that J.J. submits herself to this unbearable torture for the sake of solving puzzles and obtaining donuts, the collectibles of the game.
What keeps you going is the narrative, revealed through text messages from J.J.’s past, with her mother, Emily, and her friends. It’s really hard to talk about the story in any detail; the ending gives true form to the game as a whole and it would be a crime for me to spoil any part of it. Just know you’re in for Swery at the peak of his storytelling.
Not much else to say other than THE MISSING is one of the most conceptually sound platformers since INSIDE, beautifully and tactfully exploring the lengths we go for other people and ourselves.
THE MISSING is hard to play.
Physically, it’s somewhat of a breeze, taking about five hours to hike through. But emotionally, THE MISSING takes an unprecedented toll. It’s a game about torturing yourself to squeeze through a world uncomfortably unknown.
Swery65 is a cult icon known for charmingly scrappy visuals and Lynchian storytelling, but in the past, both have served for little purpose beyond homage. DEADLY PREMONITION is a painfully obvious Twin Peaks adaptation, and D4: DARK DREAMS DON’T DIE was pure balls-to-the-walls insanity with a nice “New York detective” flavor.
Now we see Swery’s gift as a storyteller with THE MISSING. The game follows J.J. Macfield, a young woman finding her missing lover, Emily, after being bestowed the power of near-immortality. J.J. can be dismembered, set on fire, have her bones broken, and roll around as a sentient decapitated head, but she can resume to her natural state with the push of a button.
Keep in mind, these are the mechanics for a puzzle game. That’s Swery for you.
And that is what makes THE MISSING so hard to play: hearing J.J. scream raspily for help as her bones crack in half, stumps where her arms should be spill with blood. If she’s missing a leg, she’ll hop a few times before tripping, ultimately needing to crawl to her goal. There’s a darkly comical tone to this, simply by the fact that J.J. submits herself to this unbearable torture for the sake of solving puzzles and obtaining donuts, the collectibles of the game.
What keeps you going is the narrative, revealed through text messages from J.J.’s past, with her mother, Emily, and her friends. It’s really hard to talk about the story in any detail; the ending gives true form to the game as a whole and it would be a crime for me to spoil any part of it. Just know you’re in for Swery at the peak of his storytelling.
Not much else to say other than THE MISSING is one of the most conceptually sound platformers since INSIDE, beautifully and tactfully exploring the lengths we go for other people and ourselves.