Narrative Through Beautiful Objects, This Bed We Made

I recently finished playing the demo of "This Bed We Made," an immersive mystery game set in the 1950s, where players take on the role of a maid working in a hotel. Our mission is to discreetly explore the rooms of various guests, delving into their hidden secrets and dark mysteries. Unravel a compelling narrative of love, heartbreak, and murder as you piece together the connections between the hotel's guests.

I came across Lowbirth Games, a game studio from Montreal, thanks to their active and engaging presence on social media. Their posts were fun and entertaining and they immediately caught my attention. What impressed me, even more, was how they managed to infuse the same sense of humour into their debut game.

The game's demo provided access to a single room and the corridor. Within this confined space, we see lots of random objects that we can interact with scattered around. The meticulous design and attention to detail in these objects showcased the team's dedication to thorough research and development.

Interacting with these beautifully crafted objects was a joy, adding an immersive dimension to the gameplay. Lowbirth Games has succeeded in curating an engaging user experience that encourages exploration.

There are a few pamphlets that are obviously satirically showing us how misogynistic the era was and there is a theme of family and marriage in these. These pamphlets could serve various purposes in the game. On one hand, they might be an integral part of the narrative, providing insight into the historical context and societal norms of the game world. But it's not yet clear if the marriage theme in these pamphlets is going to be an integral part of the game.

The main theme centers around the pervasive sense of anxiety experienced by women. The protagonist, who has never encountered a terrifying stalker before, finds herself being followed by a dangerous man. The lack of prior experience with a terrifying stalker accentuates the sudden and alarming nature of the situation. In contrast, her colleague appears accustomed to such situations, almost accepting them as normal. Feeling helpless, the protagonist resorts to investigating the stalker's belongings to understand his intentions. Although the demo is limited, it has piqued her interest, and she looks forward to playing the full game upon release.

One thing that stuck in my head was her colleague's rationale for encouraging our character to snoop on a guest's belongings, risking their job. It's possible that the demo didn't provide enough time for proper character development, and I hope the full game will offer a more logical explanation for it.

The game's graphics are beautiful It's evident that the studio has put significant effort into creating a well-crafted game. However, there's room for improvement in terms of accessibility settings and controller support and the character animation could have been more fleshed out perhaps. Additionally, adding controller support can enhance the gameplay experience for those who prefer using controllers over traditional keyboard and mouse controls.

Despite these areas of potential enhancement, I congratulate the studio on their debut game. The game's strengths, including its captivating graphics and overall execution, showcase the talent and potential of the development team. I look forward to seeing how the studio continues to grow and evolve with future projects.