Parasocial Spiel
I was waiting for Chilla’s Art to make landing on non-PC platforms for a while; any other successful horror indies have ported their games over with or without the help of porting studios. That hasn’t happened as of yet. Regardless, Chilla’s Art titles have special place in the indie horror scenes of serving realistic modern Japanese horrors.
If you have not seen any of the Chilla’s Art games before, it’s best to describe the game as a walking sim with retro filters. The gameplay is too linear to the point I got soft-locked in certain areas. The primary game mechanic, playing a game in a game, is a novel one, but it is executed at the expense of maneuverability and overall fun. There is an in-game reason, playing as a game streamer, as to why it is crucial to simulate a framed game; and Parasocial does well to take advantage of every opportunity one could think of being in an environment where you are vulnerable while streaming.
Without risking having any spoilers in the post, in other words, avoiding much of the plots as possible, the main arc behind the protagonist was the least convincing one. The protagonist is written too conveniently for her own story. She is too naive and yet also too passive for her own good. Presumably, her strong will has led to her popularity as a streamer and financial independence, but also her overall lack of risk assessment resembles, if not, horror movie clichés — one which protagonists dismiss obvious red flags so easily. It is possible the clichés were used explicitly to accelerate the buildup as it is a short game, but ultimately, it creates inconsistencies that are noticeable, such as VHS filters on a smartphone era horror story.
I know I am nitpicking an indie game, but there is something to be said about glitches. Getting soft-locked is one thing; the game autosaves after every day (or chapter), so I don’t need to start from the beginning again. But the glitches in the area we revisit so often are something else entirely. One such glitch that occurred regularly was the elevators, shaking violently as it moves up or down.
Conclusions: Solid Realistic Horror With Some Corners Cut
While Parasocial is tagged as a psychological horror, I’m convinced it is more a realistic horror than a psychological one. It may not have been depicted as one, but the threat the protagonist was facing in-game is a real one, in real life, and it doesn’t take a misty town to manifest the dreaded nightmares of it. And the unique style of gameplay the game offers is ingenious, until you realize the majority of the game part of the game is stuck in the uncomfortable nested position. For an indie game priced at $7.99, even after some corners cut in jagged lines, Parasocial does offer a unique horror experience fans of horror may find enjoyable.