BrokenLore: DON’T WATCH Spiel
Would you believe it if I told you I found the game due to its usage of NHK, or MHK in-game, fee collector as a horror? BrokenLore: DON’T WATCH is part of the franchise that seems to be publishing multiple titles this year alone. DON’T WATCH primarily focuses on the Japanese societal issue of hikikomori, or as often translated as shut-ins. And NHK fee collector, believe me, is part of the horror.
Full disclosure before I dive into the subject matter: the game discusses a socioeconomic issue of another country, and therefore I may not understand the full context. Because, Shinji, our protagonist, is allegedly a hikikomori. “Allegedly” is an important framing, because the game makes little effort to paint him as one. The painted persona of Shinji is focused on his rebellious nature, not withdrawal: not conforming to the society, unyielding to other people’s will, and general carelessness in his social interactions.
The overall skin-deep depth into the subject matter impairs the development of the central theme as the horror. One of the gameplay mechanics is to stab the eyeballs with a kitchen knife to leave his apartment. We do not know why he even has a kitchen knife. He doesn’t seem to cook in his apartment, — there is no fridge — not to mention how he has the guts to stab a giant eyeball with it. It is not immediately obvious how the first thought of a supposedly reclusive character is to leave instead of seeking shelters inside. Perhaps it may be lost in the contexts; all hikikomori might be in hopes of leaving their apartments.
With lifelike horrors of the first half and the pixelated retro graphics in the second, I believe the game is more reminiscent of Silent Hill and other psychological horrors. It’s never about making sense in Silent Hill; it’s symbolism, and how to digest one’s troubled psyche. Is Shinji being held in an alternate dimension that pursues shut-ins? The game loses its chance to further bloom the idea, and instead takes us to cherry blossom filled PS2-era labyrinth.
Conclusions: Starts with an Eyeball
Let’s be honest. The key art for BrokenLore: DON’T WATCH is definitely eye catching. Supernatural invasion into one’s home, while it may be a cliché, is beautifully done in lifelike urban apartment setting. The game falls short in the later half of the game, when it symbolically focuses on treating the hikikomori protagonist. The players haven’t had the chance to properly get introduced, and I would go so far as to say that not even social pressure can’t be the sole cause behind his entire narrative. For a game that started strong with eye-catching premises, it needs more than just eyeballs to end it on a high note.