I thought that I might like this game more, since parenting is something close to my heart- but it didn’t quite click, at least not horror wise. The relationships painted in the game are solid, for what we see of them, and I did enjoy gilmpses into their married life and their parenting dynamic. I wound up with about a 80/20 split on Larry v. Yarry by the end of the game.
From the standpoint of a work of horror where the idea of being replaced by someone who isn’t quite you, this falls flat for me. Small bits like the interaction with the barista, his wife, and the forms being filled out with the incorrect name could imply a bit of a supernatural touch- since we see that it’s not just his son mangling his name, but his wife is going along with it, and he’s supposedly telling people the wrong name while not being aware of it, as well as filling out paperwork incorrectly?
From the perspective of this instead being a story about the loss of identity that comes with becoming a parent, especially for a first time parent, and to a child who is undergoing that difficult terrible two’s to threenagers temper tantrum stage, where parental preference can reverse sharply: it becomes more compelling, and to that end, I think is actually quite effective.
Then, the above strangeness can be chalked up to the intense fatigue and sleep deprivation of those early years, and the horror is not in some random Yarry entity, but in how he’s falling apart at the seams because those early years of parenting are brutal. The projection onto his child of previous frustrations with an employer manifesting as those aggravations continuing to haunt him through his waking hours also does make a bit more sense than there being an extant entity.
Even then, though- it’s not a story I find particularly scary. I think it would be more scary if there was an external parasitic or supernatural Yarry floating around, but I think that the story is stronger when viewed instead as a nod to the tribulations of parenting- and in that lens, I just feel a tired pang of empathy for another parent dealing with a colicky, screaming baby. In terms of realism, with frustration in early co-parenting, it’s a very accomplished work.
All in all, I have some mixed feelings about the piece- if I view it in the light of a supernatural horror, then it’s scarier, but less effective. If instead, I view it as a portrayal of parenting, it becomes far more effective, but then doesn’t feel at all like a horror story to me. Bit unsure of where to stand on it. It’s well worth the quick playtime to try out, though, if you are a parent, or curious about what the less glamorous side of parenting might look like.
Lawrence is a lovely name, but I always saw the nickname of it being Laurie, rather than Larry, which I also found sort of funny. I think it’s because I’m more used to the spelling Laurence, rather than with the ‘w.’