Facing the emotional trauma through a messed-up world with danger and fear around every corner is a cornerstone setup for horror games. Taking this setup at face value is We Create Stuff in their upcoming game In Sound Mind. This was made quite clear from my playthrough of their free demo on Steam as you go through memories, learn a bit about the main character, and face an emotionally damaged ghost that hates when you look at her. While the demo itself isn’t very long, it gives me great hope for what the full game is going to provide for its experience.
Gameplay
Through most of the game, you will find yourself to be defenseless against the dangers around you. This could be because you are without a weapon or because the weapon doesn’t affect a specific enemy, but either way the combat is limited to only certain moments and enemies. This means you will need to be aware of your surroundings and know how to face the different types of enemies this game is bound to throw at you.
In the demo, the main mission took place in a supermarket where the main goal was to get the ghost character to see her own reflection in peculiarly placed mirrors. Once you found a mirror, you had to get sight of her so she would chase you and then lead her to the mirror which would hurt her and then break. Making your way to each mirror becomes the main objective as the pathway isn’t easily laid out nor is it safe.
It was interesting how they had the level setup since the main ghost enemy would only be in the shopping areas while the hallways, or employee areas, were full of puzzles and the occasional enemy to fight off. Figuring out how to open new pathways in order to proceed always had a different style to it, which is something a puzzle fan can enjoy. Don’t expect to just be finding keycards and using them on the right door, because they do something different for each new step forward.
Along with the main objective, you could find lore pieces and collectibles around the map. They weren’t mandatory items to collect, but they gave a bit more incentive to explore more. I wasn’t able to find all of the collectibles, unfortunately, so I am not sure what the purpose of these side missions is for just yet. My guess would be that it has something to do with how the ending plays out.
Expectations
After playing the demo, I don’t expect to run into the same puzzle setup that I have already done before. It seems they are putting attention into the detail of how the process of progressing through levels is laid out so the player never has to repeat actions nor do a lot of backtracking - given that they don’t forget something essential when they pass by initially. This expectation both raises the expected standard of the game’s quality experience and my excitement for its eventual release.
It seems that each level is going to bring us a different ghost with its own unique way of being fought against. This will definitely add value to making each level their own and broaden the type of backstory between both the ghost and the main character. Then again, who’s to say that each level will have a ghost and not something else? Either way, I imagine that each level will have a unique main objective to go with the crazy puzzle variety setup.
With how the demo ends on a therapy discussion with a cat character, I’d have to admit that my interest in seeing the story play out has peeked. It gives off the sense that they are either going crazy or have died and don’t know it yet or possibly even something a bit more out-of-the-box. I can’t wait to see what exactly is going on and why I will be visiting these memory manifestations.
Conclusion
In Sound Mind is shaping up to be an amazing horror game experience with an interesting puzzle-led pathway setup! The demo alone has me excited for more and I really can’t wait to see what will play out when the final game is finished. The developers are on something both entertaining and spooky here, so I truly hope that they can create a full game experience that this demo has now prepared me for.
