Gaming

decarnation

decarnation

One thing we love about indies is that many of them come out of nowhere and become memorable, great, and highly enjoyable experiences. Little was said about decarnation until a few days before its release, and it suddenly became one of the most amazing adventures we’ve played on Switch this year.

It is common for modern titles to touch on topics such as anxiety, fear, panic attacks, impostor syndrome and more mental problems, but this installment does it differently: it tells a story worthy of a Hollywood movie with aspects that They make us empathetic towards the protagonist and what happens to her.

Not everything is what it seems

decarnation is a game that relies heavily on its narrative to introduce Gloria, a 29-year-old cabaret dancer from Paris. This girl has a quiet life that borders on the ordinary: she lives in a cute little apartment, she has a good relationship with Joy, her partner, and she works on what she always wanted since she was little. Of course that would be boring, so little by little we find out that she has several problems.

Thus, we are getting to know the negative side of Gloria’s life: she has a complicated relationship with her mother because it seems that she had different expectations for her daughter’s life; Her boss does not appreciate her as she deserves from her and many men who go to see her dance sexualize her and see her as her object. These points help us to understand what is going on in her head and to put ourselves in her shoes.

In addition to being a dancer, Gloria modeled for a very famous sculptor. When the sculpture is ready, Gloria goes to the museum and, upon reaching the room where the work is, she sees that a mysterious man is abusing the figure, which baffles, annoys, and disgusts her. From that moment on, her thoughts become stormy and the wounds of years give her very twisted nightmares.

an unwelcoming place
an unwelcoming place

welcome to Hell

decarnation It stands out in this field, because it portrays in a twisted and monstrous way this kind of intrusive, terrifying and negative thoughts to demonstrate the anxiety they generate in Gloria and in people who suffer from mental problems. The excellent pixel art plays a lot in her favor, and helps to make everything very explicit, sharp, clear and, of course, grotesque.

After the incident at the museum, Gloria’s life begins to turn dark: she fights a lot with Joy, her boss wants to change her job, and her mother pressures and harasses her more than ever. When it seems that things could not get worse, something happens that changes the course of history completely.

For review purposes and to avoid spoilers, we won’t say more, but it is genuinely a 180 degree turn that changes the tone of the narrative. From that event, we see Gloria suffer a lot and themes such as abandonment, childhood, uncertainty, fear of the future, conscience, Stockholm syndrome and more are introduced. It’s heavy because the empathy we have with her and the atmosphere of the game makes everything heartbreaking.

Sometimes we're on top, and sometimes we're flat on the bottom
Sometimes we’re on top, and sometimes we’re flat on the bottom

Tell me who you hang out with…

During the adventure we meet several characters, all with different degrees of importance, but each appearance has a reason; either to get Gloria into more trouble, to teach her a lesson, or even to help her. The work to develop the protagonist is excellent, because it’s really easy to get attached to her quickly, and that’s why when she’s doing well we feel happy for her and when she’s in negative situations we feel deep sorrow.

Gloria has a life full of conflicts, because sometimes it seems that everything is fine and we don’t know why she is complaining and suddenly we enter her mind and discover all her reasons. We may not be able to empathize with everything she feels or experiences, but her problems make us reflect on how she has affected us.

The main antagonist (who we haven’t talked about because we want to avoid spoilers) is also very interesting. We would have loved to know more about his past and the reasons why he acts the way he does, but his personality, conflicts, ways of thinking and seeing life make him very interesting. It’s very well written, because at times it’s repulsive and sometimes we feel bad for it.

The story is divided into 6 chapters that last approximately 1 hour, so the total playing time is between 5 and 6 hours, enough for the story that the Atelier QDB studio wanted to tell. The pacing is fantastic because there is always something happening that keeps the interest high; be it a memory of Gloria or a revealing dialogue or some nightmare that seems taken from hell.

Something that helps a lot to relax or alter is music and sound. The soundtrack was at the hands of Akira Yamaoka, legendary composer of silent hill, and it shows his experience and the quality of his work. With a mix of ’90s French pop and ambient music, he creates the perfect balance to see us through happy and scary moments with seamless transitions.

I, with the perception of reality well distorted
I, with the perception of reality well distorted

Let’s do it!

decarnation it has gameplay segments to get rid of the visual novel tag, and they’re fun enough to entertain us and take a break from the dialogue, but they’re not great either. These are rhythmic games, others where we must maintain balance, learn patterns and more. There are also puzzles and brain teasers to progress and discover passages in the story.

We think they are a correct addition to avoid the boredom that so much dialogue can cause and also to balance between reading and playing, but, we repeat: they are not great sections either. Sometimes the story is so magnificent that we even prefer to continue seeing what happens than having to play a dance minisection. It is clear that people who prefer action and movement these sections will be insufficient.

That’s the only significant flaw of decarnation, but unfortunately, it weighs a lot, since we are talking about its gameplay. Other small problems are some cliché dialogues, small bugs and that the translation is lost at times. We mean that we played it in Spanish and in some sections the characters spoke in English, but later it returned to normal.

Come on, Gloria, come on!
Come on, Gloria, come on!

Verdict

In general, decarnation It does the job of being a fascinating story with hints of horror and suspense that is graced by a good cast. His art and sound contribute so that the package is mostly round and is enjoyed from start to finish. As we mentioned, it is a medium experience in terms of duration, but it is enjoyed so much that it feels shorter.

Sadly, it relies so much on its narrative that it leaves out what many gamers are interested in: the gameplay, but it is not a crime that deserves harsh punishments, since it does not strongly affect the final product. We are sure that Atelier QDB will take note for his next project or a hypothetical sequel.

Few independent titles have known how to be as daring as decarnation in recent years, and this can be seen in the topics he touches on and the way in which he does so. We’ve seen anxiety in games like Sky blue and omoribut here it is more explicit and with a visual support that at times leaves us breathless and, at the same time, makes us want more and go deeper to accompany Gloria on this dark, sinister and intriguing journey.

Decarnation Trailer

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