Sorry We’re Closed – PS5 Review

What a weird thing Sorry We’re Closed is. Coming from al a mode games, this homage to survival horror coats it in a vibrant palette with a story heavily focused around love. It almost teeters into chaos but there’s enough craft on display to result in something unique. It’s stylish, although hard to recommend to everyone expecting a horror experience or a challenging narrative.

Sorry We’re Closed carries a visual aesthetic that is bright and garish. It offsets against the more grim locales and, to be honest, nullifies some of the horror elements. Characters all have an androgyny to them that, I’ll be honest, steps well into fetishism. You’re going to see a lot of shirtless men. And torsos. It leads to an incredibly campy experience that simply won’t gel with everyone.

This tonal mismatch is arguably the most annoying part, for me. I can appreciate the uncompromising queerness but the cost is one of tonal consistency and it just lays it on very thick. On top of that, I don’t think the story pulls its weight. You play as Michelle, a woman sulking after a relationship has gone south. As each day passes, she keeps checking for mail in the hopes things will return back to normal.

Instead, she has nightmares involving a leather-clad Duchess. These interludes eventually become a more permanent fixture of the game with demons becoming an everyday societal norm. She’s been placed under a curse and now needs to resolve it. The Duchess seems focused solely on love and being loved. More specifically, they have a keen, lustful interest in our protagonist. On the sidelines, there’s other relationships Michelle can fix or ruin, sometimes in humorous ways. These can lead to different endings and, whilst the love aspect never stuck with me, it’s fascinating to see how it moulds the narrative.

Combat is interesting. I liken it to Killer7. Enemies announce their presence and slowly advance on you. Michelle can only attack in first person so you need to switch to that perspective to fire shots. Enemies have weak spots but, to uncover them, Michelle needs to open her third eye. This offers a small radius to view these vulnerabilities and shoot them. You can still do damage without this but these areas represent a quick opportunity for kills. Consecutive shots charge up a heartbreaker meter which can provide a one-hit kill.

It’s a fun system that works surprisingly well. Michelle does have some mobility out of combat so repositioning can be done before planting her feet for combat. Weapons are a meagre selection of firearms but the game isn’t long enough to justify more. Ammo can be scarce, depending on the difficulty level so quick kills can be vital.

Whilst I don’t want to call it trivial, there is a lack of tension in combat. You’re not often battling more than one enemy on screen and, as long as your aim is competent, they’ll be dealt with in short order. Whilst it pays homage to survival horror, it simply isn’t in the same genre. There’s no dread, no psychological stingers or impending doom. We don’t learn that much about the characters and they feel mostly flat. The levels feel separate, preventing it from feeling like a journey.

The other slice of gameplay comes from some survival horror exploration and puzzle solving. Again, it’s nothing too complex with only a couple of valve puzzles tickling my brain. Progression felt straight-forward and you’re never given too much ground to cover. The levels seem to focus around and individual subject, much like a Persona dungeon. It doesn’t quite make the areas feel individualised. They at least vary in location and, with only a handful, none of them outstay their welcome.

Whilst I may not be high on character design and the general vibe of Sorry We’re Closed, other aspects of the presentation really click. Fixed perspectives and Dutch angles are used to great effect. Chase sequences tend to have an overhead peril to them. Boss fights are accompanied by a Poundland El-P rapper which, whilst he isn’t great, adds to the game’s sense of style. Sound design has a muffled quality to it that feels nostalgic.

Successful reloads have a satisfying bell noise and opening the third eye delivers a wonderful finger snap. The soundtrack is perhaps not as foreboding as a Silent Hill but it is just distant enough to feel dreamlike and off-kilter. Honestly, I can’t help but admire the presentation. The third eye allows for two competing looks and there’s some real opulence in the latter stages.

The best compliment I can give Sorry We’re Closed is that it’s an acquired taste. The style might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s a committed effort. That commitment is focused largely on the LGBT elements, androgynous character models and campy aesthetic. It is not a horror game, as much as it likes to crib from genre luminaries. Combat lacks an adversity but there is a slickness to the execution.