- Publisher: Hidden Track
- Release Date: Oct 30, 2020
- Critic score
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- By date
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Jan 6, 2021Shut In captures these unprecedented times in a small but unique package. With depth far beyond the initial on-the-surface horror story, this experience taps into the evocativeness of a mental health crisis, and the commentary it makes on the dread suffered by those with mental illnesses is powerful. It isn't all deep, though. The narrator successfully plays on the Undertale vibe and the comedic elements within such a tonally dark tale come across very well.
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Mar 23, 2021I call BS that this game is, as its marketing claims, a reaction to Covid-19 lockdowns. It has nothing at all to do with that, and I suspect was thought of beforehand. But it’s definitely about the crappy horror of anxiety and agoraphobia. And as I say, it’s actually about it, rather than some beacon of hope within it. Or it’s just a mean super-short horror game in which you’re repeatedly mocked, both by unfair deaths and a very horrid narrator.
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Nov 18, 2020Shut In is a short but intensely atmospheric side-scrolling pixel art horror adventure that nicely builds dread, tension and intrigue whilst also cleverly exploring the everyday difficulties that living with depression and anxiety can bring.
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Jan 14, 2021A psychological horror game full of puzzles that make you afraid to do anything in your house, including getting out of bed. The game deals with depression, isolation and how that affects your inner dialogue and feelings.
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Oct 29, 2020Shut In had to grow on me. I spent an awful lot of time frustrated with it before I considered its original angle of conveying the emotions (or lack thereof) felt during quarantine, and that new perspective allowed me to look past the otherwise annoying issues. If you’re looking for a commentary on the effects of the pandemic on an already fragile psyche, Shut In just might be up your alley.
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Nov 30, 2020Shut In is a short experience with a price to match and it's one that I mostly enjoyed. That said, I do have a particularly dark sense of humour and was able to separate the game from my own mental health struggles. The tone here is so mocking that it won’t be for everyone and I’m still in two minds as to whether it is hoping to raise awareness or simply using mental suffering for entertainment. I’m inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt, but your mileage may vary. Unlike our current situation, this is one period of isolation that isn’t mandatory.