In Sound Mind takes the "psychological" in "psychological horror" literally. Desmond Wales, a therapist in the small town of Milton Haven, finds himself in the dilapidated basement of an apartment building with no recollection of how he got there. Barrels of a chemical fluid are blocking his path to his office and leaking a liquid that chokes with a psychedelic cloud. Cyclopic creatures stagger in the halls looking for their prey, illuminating the darkness with a purple glow. And a guy is ringing him to gloat down the phone about the fates of Desmond's patients and that he's going to kill Desmond too.
To crack the case on why the town is being held hostage by this mysterious villain, the player must collect cassette tapes that recorded the sessions Desmond held with his patients. Unlike other horrors that seem to soak their environs in a strong cup of tea for that aged atmosphere, developer We Create Stuff douses the player in every shade under the sun. The first tape, belonging to a woman named Virginia, is set in a department store using deep cold purples to colour the shadows where her ghost hides.
Check out gameplay of In Sound Mind below, featuring the monsters that the player will encounter across the tapes!
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The second tape involves the swift downward spiral of Allen's psyche after an accident he incurs at the lighthouse causes a ship to run aground. As Allen suffers from night terrors, he clings to sources of light for safety. However, in this twisted representation of events, the light from the lighthouse circles in a vicious red beam that damages Desmond if he's caught in its glare. And the tape of Max's court mandated sessions with the therapist take place as the sun is setting on Milton Haven, teetering on the edge of darkness.
When thinking about the concept of mental health as a focal point in a horror game, it's possible to wade into some uncertain waters. While I have not completed the game yet, it looks like Desmond's patients are victims of a system that took advantage of their situation. They sought help for their mental health conditions and somehow underwent a crisis causing them to lose sight of reality. Is it connected to the arrival of a possibly dodgy pharmaceutical company? To answer a question with a question: isn't it always?
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There are evident inspirations from other horror heavyweights here - the puzzles reminded me of Resident Evil as well as the bizarrely banal protagonist and the peculiar chemicals from the aforementioned company. When the ship is wrecked, the terrified crew call out to Desmond in snippets of warped speech from a radio. You've got to collect batteries to power the torch and this becomes the priority to fend off one of the enemies who hates the light.
Rather than treading old ground, these influences are acknowledged and treated to the kaleidoscopic art style and hypnotic electronic soundtrack courtesy of The Living Tombstone. The contrast between light and darkness, reds and blues, muted and searing shades immerse the player in Desmond's reality. And, the thumping beats when a monster appears and the sudden shift in tempo when it spots you is definitely a banger.
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Yet, as a result, it's unfortunate that the remainder of the sound design doesn't pack the same punch. Bullets ping from the pistol like foam pellets, for example, and I can't help but feel like there was a missed opportunity here to lean into the audible spookiness of these strange locations that the tapes conjure up.
What In Sound Mind pulls off very well, on the other hand, is the puzzles and collection of items that the protagonist acquires over the course of his experiences. A shard of glass picked up in Virginia's tape reflects hidden messages and objects and swapping fuses between generators lets you open doors to new areas for health, ammo, and batteries. There's even a dash of good old-fashioned platforming. It also encourages the player to get too close for comfort with their enemies as they have abilities that allow them to progress the quest for answers.
The representation of Max's anger is a mechanical bull skull which will charge at the player if it spots them so baiting the monster into crashing through destructible barriers lets you continue your journey. Indeed, the monsters' effects on the level around them creates an air that nowhere is safe from their clutches which is cool. And so, this tension of risking the character's health and the need to press on creates a nice narrative anchor - in his role as a therapist, Desmond both witnesses the worst aspects of his patients yet sticks with them to solve the issue together.
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We Create Stuff aimed to replicate old school horror in this game, and in that regard, it's a success. The puzzles click together with satisfaction and nothing feels like it's been left behind in the journey from one tape to the next. However, In Sound Mind does draw from other games and so becomes a pastiche, albeit an exciting one with a cracking soundtrack. Plus, a few frame rate dips and crashes took me out of the environments that had been created with such artistic care. What will stick with me is the utter treat it is to scurry round a horror game that isn't afraid of using the entire colour wheel, subverting conventions of what scary can be, and for that I give In Sound Mind a lot of credit.
Pros: Eclectic visuals, interesting enemy designs, satisfying puzzles
Cons: Performance issues, some exposition would have been nice, feelings of deja vu
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For fans of: Resident Evil, Outlast, Alan Wake
6/10: Good
In Sound Mind is available September 28 for PC, Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 (version tested). Code for review was supplied by the PR. Find a guide to GAMINGbible's review scores here.
Featured Image Credit: We Create Stuff, Modus GamesTopics: Reviews