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genial health has been one of the most misunderstood face of human psychology for centuries . It was n’t until recent year that television games started to truly delve into the eccentricity and subtlety of mental health , with biggertitles such asHellblade : Senua ’s Sacrificebeing among the first highly democratic game to take a stab at it . Now , another form of address attempts to cast some visible light on mental health in developer Genius Slackers’What Happened .
What Happenedis a horror risky venture biz that puts player in the first - person position of Stiles , a young mellow school pupil who pick up voices in his head and experience episodes of bleary visual sense . During his journeying , Stiles will let on keys , padlock codes , and lamps - all of which offer novel nerve tract that lead to glimpses of the protagonist ’s psyche . These glimpse highlight paper of incapacitating anxiety , self - doubtfulness , ego - loathing , and jealousy , all manifest through rage and fright . Stiles ’ depart emotion and mental states come to Christ Within as he progress through various preferences , render interactions with dissimilar type , including what seems to be a love interest , though , whether these hallucination are memories or fantasies is ill-defined .
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What Happenedtakes an interesting focusing with its graphics style , immingle toon plangency with realistic genuineness . This synthetic thinking of lively jocoseness and ominous gloom manage to drive home the disorienting impact of genial illness through the focalization of an ever - alter , rabble environment manipulated by interactable , shifting Light Within and object .
These asset gift the core ofWhat Happened’sgameplay , blocking pathways that can be accessed by finding keys , padlock code , and lamp switches that effectively change the landscape through which Stiles must pilot . If musician get bond in a room , spending enough sentence looking around will get the secret plan to get impatient and drop mite , such as input from Stiles ’ Mind – which plays an antagonistic yet consultative role – or cues from the environment in the frame of vibrate objects . What Happenedencourages geographic expedition of each way , opening drawers , cabinets , and lockers to find token ( keys , letter , etc . ) that offer brainwave into Stiles ’ genial province as well as his interpersonal family relationship .
sure milestones will trigger cutscenes , holding truthful to most history - driven games , that shine Stiles ’ subconscious , dropping hint into his condition . Milestones are reached through escaping some environs , many of which are block by locked doors , and if players seek to spread locked doors before retrieve the paint , the camera blurs and Stiles dizzies , thereby disorient players . The event can be so amplified that some gamers may experience nausea akin to apparent movement sickness .
Pushing through that sickness , though , will reinforce players with the opportunity toexplore multiple environments , from uncouth and more spacious domain to claustrophobia - inducing elbow room . These configurations offer piffling in the way of adversarial opposition , forWhat Happenedoffers no combat experiences . Rather , the game use a storytelling mechanism in which the baddie resides in the principal fiber ’s head – which sometimes manifests as a physical being , such as a giant , foul shark from which Stiles must fly while following prompt from his Mind ’s part to ensure survival .
Stiles himself is a character who warrants empathy , his mind plagued by his mental capacity ’s intrigue . witness his emotional roller coaster elicit a exchangeable range of whiz , confusion not the least among them . The patronise characters introduced throughout the journey augment those trepidations , though , the voice acting leaves a lot to be desired , as some of the characters ’ expressed emotions are unbelievable .
Overall , What Happeneddelivers an impactful , thought - provoking experience that exemplifies the freakish dangers of mental illness . Despite not having a scrap system , its puzzle - solve exploration postulate focus and persistence , rewarding players with progress and cryptic dives into Stiles ’ mind . While it does n’t achieveHellblade’sadrenaline rushor convey as convincing of a story due to the less - than - average spokesperson play , it still fulfil the uprise need for reap attending to the perils of mental illness and is capable of multiple endings .
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What Happenedreleases July 30 , 2020 for PC.Screen Rantwas provided with a personal computer download code for the purposes of this review .
