What Happened Review

 

*Contains Spoilers*

A Disorienting Mess

What Happened, by all appearances, looked like it was going to be an enjoyable game. However, players will learn quickly that appearances can be deceiving.

Visually, the game is very appealing. The various environments players explore throughout the game are crisp and colorful. The game also utilized some interesting concepts, like the main character, Stiles, feeling lonely in a school full of other people who all appear to him as if they are invisible. The only thing the player can see is a bunch of disembodied backpacks, headphones, and other gear “walking” around the building, and I found this approach both fun and effective. All of this, however, is rendered almost unenjoyable due to the extreme overuse of nauseating visual effects. Every few moments, the player’s vision is assaulted with wavy filters, flashing colors and lights, and nearly anything else you can think of which would make even the most resilient gamer lose their lunch. I am normally unaffected by these things when used sparingly, but they occurred so often, I was only able to push myself through less than 2.5 hours of gameplay before I had to step away and regain my composure. If you are sensitive to flashing lights or frequent visual distortions, I highly recommend you avoid this game. These distortions did little to advance the plot in a meaningful way, so it is definitely not worth suffering for.

As I was only able to push through a short period of gameplay, I cannot review the game’s story as a whole or reflect on the ending I received (I understand there are multiple endings, which adds to replayability if you can stomach it). However, I can tell you that the section of the game I was able to complete left me unimpressed. The story was incoherent throughout and I had a hard time keeping up with my objective because I was too busy trying to avoid looking at or triggering the disorienting visual effects, to no avail. I also found it difficult to concentrate while nauseous and after a while, avoided exploring my environment altogether aside from what was required.

As someone who suffers from anxiety, I do not feel the game did an adequate job of expressing what that feels like. The game felt more like a bad trip on acid than an “exploration of anxiety and depression,” which is truly a disservice to sufferers of anxiety and depression everywhere.

While it is clear there is a lot of love and artistic expression behind this project, the heavy handed use of visual distortions was enough to make me put this game down and never pick it up again. The game would have been playable and even enjoyable had it not been for the nausea-inducing visual effects, which served little purpose. If you have a sensitivity to flashing lights or other visual oddities, avoid this game. 

[Lady played What Happened on PC with a mouse and keyboard]