Xbox Indie Review: Decay – Part 2

Decay – Part 1 was doing a dandy job of giving me the willys  and ensuring that I was unable to sleep at night until it concluded abruptly sans conclusion but with plenty of unanswered questions. Continuing right where Part 1 left off, our amnesia-plagued protagonist continues trekking on his search for identity and tries to discover why he attempted to turn himself into a cadaver and why in the world he is meandering around in such a creepy building.

Part deux picks up in an appropriately dank and depressing building with its own set of puzzles, ominous musical tones, mysterious apparitions and creepy dolls. When a game begins with the main character pulling himself out of a murky oily pool to find a note telling him to hurry the hell up, it’s a safe bet it’s going to be on the slightly demented side.

Shining Gate Software decided not to fix what didn’t need to be fixed, so Decay – Part 2 feels a heck of a lot like Decay – Part 1. The mysterious, clueless protagonist roams around a series of rooms from the first-person perspective while investigating objects and discovering clues. It’s a throwback to the point-and-click adventure games of yesteryear, right down to maneuvering a cursor around the screen.

As with the first part, it’s best to turn out the lights and maybe light a few candles in order to maximize the tension of investigating the dark corridors and condemned offices. Bonus points are awarded for opening the windows if there is a howling wind or thunderstorm outside, or perhaps even a particularly noisy dripping faucet. The atmosphere maintains an unsettling nature throughout the game, particularly because returning to previously explored areas still never feels safe. That being said, it is impossible to actually die in the game, and regardless of whether that is a meta statement about the state of the protagonist or not, it is somewhat comforting to know that nothing in the game can actually harm the character.

The game remains bleak and depressing, a trait which is amplified by the consistently depressing and oppressive soundtrack. It still feels like something that would have escaped from the dark recesses of John Carpenter’s twisted mind, which means it’s still awesome. The game has a near-photo-realistic look that really makes it stand out from anything else on the marketplace. Also, kudos to Shining Gate for pulling an Adaptation and writing themselves right into the narrative.

The puzzles remain fairly logical for the most part and are not nearly as abstract or rote as some adventure games in the nineties tended to be. Whether or not that means the game is just as easy is up for debate, but at least you won’t be unable to proceed because you didn’t think to combine a candelabra with a toilet seat in order to unlock a car door. Tone-deaf individuals beware: there is a certain puzzle involving a certain instrument with keys that frustrated a certain reviewer who apparently has a malfunctioning cochlea.

It’s still not a terribly long game, but it feels like a meatier offering than the first chunk; there are definitely more objects to collect in the sack that the befuddled hero uses to tote around his inventory. Unlike the unfocused prior entry, Decay – Part 2 contains one large puzzle that serves as the backbone for the entire game; clues to the larger puzzle are mixed in with the smaller more localized puzzles. Having one focused goal to work towards makes  the conclusion of the episode feel more concrete and satisfying since there is a clear goal that is accomplished.

The first part introduced a lot of questions about who the protagonist is, what happened to his family and what any of it has to do with a certain serial killer. Sadly, aside from a last-minute plot reveal, the story seems to remain largely stagnant throughout much of this episode. There are more puzzles, more ghosts, more scribbled notes on the wall, but not a lot of answers. It’s like an episode of Lost, where the entire experience is enjoyable, but at the end all that’s left are more questions. Anyone who liked Decay – Part 1 will undoubtedly enjoy this next piece in the puzzle, and I’m eager to play the next chapter as soon as possible, but I hope the next piece gives a stronger sense of what is actually going on. 

Visit the Xbox Live Marketplace to add a free demo of Decay – Part 2 to your Xbox 360 download queue.

Decay – Part 2 was provided for review by Shining Gate Software. It is available for 240 MS points ($3)

By Mike Wall at April 30, 2011.

About Mike Wall

Mike grew up and lives near Philadelphia and has been intrigued with games ever since his parents preached that they rotted his brain. He studied journalism at Penn State and got his master's degree in secondary education before realizing that not even summers off would make that job palatable. He now works in marketing and is trying to find time to continue writing a book about zombies, aliens, vampires, the end of the world, and a talking cat.