1 | LGG | SUNDOWN
1 | LGG | SUNDOWN
by: Charm Cochran
Progress:
- I reached the end in just around 19 minutes.
Engagement with Horror Genre:
- The horror elements come in three distinct phases. The first is a kind of aging-based body horror/psychological horror—I found myself struggling alongside Dolores to understand what was going on, with a slow burn building up toward a realization that she was experiencing dementia. The second, most jarring section, was the dream/vision sequence where you are attacked by the late, perhaps not-so-great Charlie. This is the most supernatural element of the piece, where we’re left to wonder if we really did encounter apparitions of Bucky and Charlie or if it’s induced by dementia. The final section shifts to a kind of social and gender horror—Dolores attempts to explain to Maya what is so dangerous about men (or read more broadly: what is dangerous about the described model of dated normative marital relationship) but is unable to find a way to communicate that to Maya due to her cognitive issues. The way the realization has come too late to communicate fully feels essential to the horror of the piece. Of these elements, I found the first section by far the most powerful—since I am currently living with a (much milder… for now) version of that with a family member, that reached me most deeply. By comparison, the supernatural element and ending didn’t feel as poignant and real to me.
Things I Appreciated:
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The UI color gradients and shifts as the sundown progresses is very evocative. At first, I was puzzled by the color choice because so many things in the house are described as being green (or mint green), but the UI colors are dominated by gold/orange/red. However, the green suddenly emerges when we encounter Charlie, which made sense to me—the mint green is associated with the past and the time period that Dolores thinks she’s in, so it makes sense for it to appear when the figures of the past do. (Similarly, I really liked the slow distorted piano music for how it added atmosphere).
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I liked how the room map helped immerse me in Dolores’s perspective. I had a hard time remembering where important rooms were (namely, the mud room—I was like, wait, wasn’t that room somewhere else?) So in a kind of cursed way, the player’s unfamiliarity with the layout of the house mirrors the protagonist’s disorientation within what should be a familiar space.
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The game did a great job cluing me to do something important. When talking to Maya, I completely ignored the question to ask her what she’s wearing, because there is almost no circumstance where I would ordinarily comment on someone’s clothes. But this is essential information, so later when talking to Kendra and she says “Maya” instead of “Ben,” I (over)dramatically went, “ohhhhhhh.” If I hadn’t received this nudge to ask Maya about her clothes I probably would’ve been wildly confused by the ending (assuming it’s even possible to get to the end without asking this which I doubt but did not test).
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The characterization of Dolores was stunningly accurate to me of the family member I mentioned above—right down to the anger over a “broken deal,” and being inappropriately obsessed with other people’s weight. And I also cringed at Maya’s actions, recognizing my own avoidant behavior in trying to sidestep re-explaining things to someone who can’t help but forget due to cognitive issues. I was gripped by the portrayal of the situation because of how real it was.
Miscellaneous Comments/Recommendations:
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The sections from wandering into the woods onward took me out of the body/psychological aspect because it felt less grounded to me. During the conversation with Charlie, I kept being distracted by the fact that the protagonist was still able to communicate normally despite missing her leg. Then at the end, I was also disoriented by her suddenly realizing that Maya was Maya, I couldn’t figure out the basis for her arriving at this realization. I wasn’t fully brought along the transit from realistic → surreal → denouement.
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I found it odd that the game starts in a green UI, but shifts to gold the moment we are told that it is green. This distracted me a lot when it first happened, it made me wonder if the game was simulating red-green colorblindness by insisting that things that looked red/orange/gold were actually green. In-universe, the UI color is explained to be light coming from the window, so that’s ultimately fine. My recommendation would be to retain the green UI slightly longer. Make opening the curtains a required action that brings in the gold/orange light into the space, or, make exiting the bedroom shift the UI to the sunset color scheme.
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In terms of sound design, I recommend the following (if possible): (1) the distorted piano music should start when you click “begin game,” instead of “better get a move on.” My experience was, the game said it had music, so I started it without picking out music of my own to listen to. When music didn’t play, I was like, ok, maybe it doesn’t have music after all, and went to play my own. Then, in the next scene, the game’s music started, so I had to go turn off the music that I had set for myself. (It was quite the comedy of errors on my part
) This isn’t a huge deal, but it would’ve been more seamless to me if the music start coincided with the game start. (2) the crickets sound is too harsh and abrupt, I think it should be more of a fade-in because as a player, you get used to the distorted piano track, so the first time you encounter this change is jarring in a non-immersive kind of way. (Despite these recommendations, I still overall thought the sound design was great!) -
Minor Typos: “I can’t seem to find his bowl, either,” you say.[space needed here]“Do | The gloom is oppresive → oppressive | You grip Maya’s arm fiercly, → fiercely (there was another “fiercly” somewhere else too) | Looks like she’s never skipped desert. → dessert
What I learned about IF writing/game design:
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I really love the slow burn of the first half, where many clues are provided to add up to the realization that Dolores is experiencing dementia. It works so well because it is poignant no matter when you figure it out—if you figure it out immediately, then you face everything that is happening with a sense of recognition or resignation. If you figure it out later, there is a dark sinking moment of realization, where everything suddenly snaps into place.
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I liked the use of timed text to reveal Dolores’s massive list of questions to Charlie—it felt overwhelming because it created the sensation that maybe the questions wouldn’t end, which was appropriate to the situation. It enhanced the emotional intensity at a moment that needed intensity.
Memorable Moment:
- For me it was the moment when the game told me there was no dog food in the house. Then, I suddenly realized… you know, why Bucky was “missing.” And the cascade of related realizations associated with that.