#77: The Last Door
An episodic adventure that’s all atmosphere but can’t quite hold it together
This review was originally posted to Twitter on March 23, 2019.
Initial release: 2013 (first episode)–2016 (final episode)
Developer: The Game Kitchen
Platform: PC, mobile, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, XBox One
If there’s a genre that refuses to die, it’s the point and click adventure, grimly clinging to existence through flash gaming sites and the occasional remaster or revival of an old IP. It must be handed to Telltale Games for laying out what’s an excellent model for adventure games, proving that episodic games don’t have to be unfinished disasters (hi Valve) and that each episode’s financial success can help fund the next one. The Game Kitchen have done the same with The Last Door.
Starting off as a free browser game after a successful Kickstarter campaign, the initial four episodes of The Last Door were eventually bundled up and sold on steam as, well, The Last Door. The next four episodes were initially sold separately on Game Kitchen’s website, but now exist as a separately-sold second game. Both collected editions feature new content, such as little mini-episodes that fill in important background details, as well as achievements and other goodies. For $10 each it’s a pretty good deal.
Split into two “seasons” of four episodes each, The Last Door is an episodic adventure game with a somewhat unique take on the gothic and cosmic horror genres, citing inspiration from Edgar Allen Poe and H. P. Lovecraft alike, though I confess I’m also reminded of The King in Yellow. Jeremiah Devitt, a philosophy professor who doesn’t remember parts of his childhood, receives a letter from an old friend (isn’t that how these things always start?) with a cryptic message in Latin: “Videte ne quis sciat” (“see that no one knows.”) Unsure of the letter’s meaning, he goes out to visit, only to find the house empty. The game begins proper with Devitt exploring the house and uncovering its secrets, always under the sinister specter of a murder of crows that seem to be watching him. As events unfold throughout the rest of the game, and Jeremiah uncovers more and more about his past, things become clear that something sinister is afoot, and Jeremiah must discover the nature of his relation to a strange cult attempting to pierce the veil into another world.
While the story is pretty tightly connected from one episode to the next, the two seasons are treated as separate games. The big difference is that the second season plays in 16:9 format and also has higher-fidelity art while still cleaving to the pixellated style of the original. Indeed, the art style of both games reminds me quite a bit of the indie horror game Home. but, like that game, where these games really shine is the sound design — floors creak, doors open, things go bump in the night. The soundtrack is also top-notch, a good mix of gorgeous piano and creepy ambient and other styles, with some pretty good stingers for scary moments. And hey, you get the soundtracks when you buy the game on Steam!
Unlike many adventure games of old, you’re never in any real danger, which allows you to move about at your leisure. This doesn’t make the game any less creepy though, with disturbing and jarring scenes to spice things up. However, much like many of those older titles, it can be sometimes difficult to tell where to go and what to do. Thanks to the pixellated style you will occasionally literally be pixel-hunting; fortunately the “hot spots” for your cursor are pretty generously large. Sometimes puzzles also make no goddamn sense, especially in the first season’s middle two episodes. What’s infuriating is how easy it is to miss that an item that you just examined is now able to be picked up, leaving you wandering aimlessly for hours none the wiser.
The final episode bears mentioning. Seven episodes of build-up for what’s beyond the veil and what we get is a fairly pedastrian surrealistic landscape populated by weirdos in masks and vaguely familiar locations with simplistic puzzles and two disappointing endings to choose from. It’s a frustrating conclusion to what’s otherwise a fantastic outing, that wraps everything up nice and tidily without even having the decency to show us anything. And unfortunately Game Kitchen have put the franchise is on hold until they’re in a better financial position. While this isn’t really a cliffhanger per se like Half-Life, it’s still an unsatisfying conclusion.
In spite of all that, the two games combined make for a deliciously creepy adventure that makes amazingly good use of its low-res pixel look combined with top-notch audio design and some pretty good writing. well worth 10 hours of your time.
