Stages twist and change on a whim, turning once normal-looking locales into surreal dreamscapes that begin to resemble some M.C. Developer We Create Stuff also deserves credit for crafting some pretty trippy level designs. I really liked how each patient’s tape has its unique theme as it helps keep things fresh. This is thanks in no small part to In sound Mind‘s solid writing and solid voice performances conveyed through therapy session tapes scattered around the environments. I genuinely found myself caring for each of the characters you end up coming across. But with only four tapes to explore, I’d hate to spoil the juicier moments in this review. Of course, these are just a couple of the patients you’ll encounter throughout the story. To beat him, you’ll need to use various light sources found around the environment to temporarily banish him so that you can progress. As you scour the environment, he’ll appear as a sentient void swallowing everything in his path. His stage takes place on a craggy beach with a massive lighthouse in the distance. This level takes place in a supermarket and requires you to lure Virginia’s tormented spirit to mirrors littered around the store so that she’ll confront her own ghastly visage.Īllen, the subject of another tape, has extreme nyctophobia- fear of darkness. Due to her situation, she’s deathly afraid to venture into wide-open places where she believes people will stare. She has a crippling fear of being looked at since becoming disfigured as a child. For example, the first tape focuses on Virginia. However, it’s these disorders that give each area a unique gameplay hook.

It’s a unique twist and easily the most compelling part of In Sound Mind‘s psyche-shredding package.ĭidn’t anyone ever tell you it’s not polite to stare?ĭesmond’s patients suffer from a variety of mental illnesses and phobias. Playing the cassette tapes found within in Desmond’s office will instantly transport him into the physical manifestation of his patient’s deepest fears. As you explore Desmond’s apartment building, you’ll find glowing doors that lead to alternate versions of his former patients’ homes. However, there is one thing that sets In sound Mind apart from its contemporaries. And, to make matters worse, a mysterious figure in a yellow jacket and fedora seems hell-bent on seeing him pay for a crime he cannot remember.Īll of this is cool, to be sure, though not entirely original for a horror game.

Shadowy creatures resembling living Rorschach tests stalk the halls. Strange barrels filled with volatile chemicals are scattered everywhere. However, it’s clear from the outset that things aren’t quite right here. The story begins with Desmond waking up in the filthy basement of his apartment building. A psychologist from Milton Haven, Washington, the good doctor’s patients have been dying off at an alarming rate. The game puts players in control of Desmond Wales. In Sound Mind Review: Neither Safe Nor Soundĭeveloped by indie studio We Create Stuff, In Sound Mind is a unique take on the first-person psychological horror genre popularized by such titles as Layers of Fear, Observer, and Amnesia: Rebirth.

In sound mind game review