Life Eater review - an intriguingly uncomfortable game about abduction that chickens out a bit
Mechanically, Life Eater uses a diary-based puzzle system in some really interesting ways, but it struggles to say anything meaningful about the shock-factor setting it's gone for.Few game ideas will turn your head quicker than one about abducting people and murdering them. It's an idea that courts controversy for the shock factor that comes with it, in order to stand out, and that's not necessarily a bad thing if handled right. I don't mind it here because Life Eater is a genuinely interesting indie game and not a tasteless cash-grab. Nonetheless, it's still an uncomfortable premise and an uncomfortable game - uncomfortable in some interesting ways but uncomfortable all the same. But I feel like if you're going to go there, you'd better have some interesting things to say when you do, and ultimately, I don't think Life Eater does. To me, it feels a bit frightened of the controversy it courts. But let's come back to that because there's a lot of good stuff in between that I want to ta
Mechanically, Life Eater uses a diary-based puzzle system in some really interesting ways, but it struggles to say anything meaningful about the shock-factor setting it's gone for.
Few game ideas will turn your head quicker than one about abducting people and murdering them. It's an idea that courts controversy for the shock factor that comes with it, in order to stand out, and that's not necessarily a bad thing if handled right. I don't mind it here because Life Eater is a genuinely interesting indie game and not a tasteless cash-grab. Nonetheless, it's still an uncomfortable premise and an uncomfortable game - uncomfortable in some interesting ways but uncomfortable all the same. But I feel like if you're going to go there, you'd better have some interesting things to say when you do, and ultimately, I don't think Life Eater does. To me, it feels a bit frightened of the controversy it courts. But let's come back to that because there's a lot of good stuff in between that I want to talk about first.
In essence, Life Eater is a puzzle game - it's not the gory action murder simulator you might be fearing. Far from it: the moment-to-moment gameplay actually revolves around staring at people's day-to-day calendars, a kind of diary of events, and gradually filling them out. You do this by clicking on an empty space and selecting one of a few stalkery things to do to reveal them, such as carrying out a DDoS attack or hacking their phone, or peering inside their window. Activities range from subtle to brazen, and what you can do depends on a couple of things.
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