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Sorry We're Closed

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Sorry We're Closed
Developer(s)à la mode games
Publisher(s)Akupara Games
EngineUnity
Platform(s)
Release
  • Windows
  • November 14, 2024
  • [1]
  • PS4, PS5, XB1, XSX/S, NS
  • March 6, 2025
Genre(s)Survival horror
Mode(s)Single-player

Sorry We're Closed is a 2024 survival horror video game developed by à la mode games and published by Akupara Games for Microsoft Windows. Versions for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch were announced for release in March of 2025.[2]

Gameplay

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Sorry We're Closed is a single-player survival horror game with multiple endings.[3] The game is split into three phases. At the beginning of each night, the player can explore the city, speaking to other characters and choosing whether or not to help them. Each night also contains a combat stage, which requires killing demons, solving puzzles, and completing a boss fight. While exploring the combat stage, the game is played from a third-person fixed camera perspective, switching to an immobile first-person perspective when the player aims a weapon, which include an axe, pistol, and shotgun. The player character can also utilize a Third Eye, which momentarily stuns and reveals the weak spots of enemies within a short distance, but also negates any damage not done to weak points.[4][5] Hitting combos on the weak points charges up the Heartbreaker, a special weapon that is crucial to defeating bosses and can kill standard enemies in one shot. In addition to it's utility in combat, using the Third Eye is also key to several puzzles.

Plot

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Michelle, a young woman who works in a convenience store in London, struggles to move on after her ex-girlfriend, Leslie, broke up with her three years ago. Michelle has a nightmare of a demon who empathizes with her difficulties in love and proposes that she devote herself to them instead. Michelle awakens, only to find herself in another nightmare, chased by a bird-like demon named Dream Eater until she wakes up.

The next night, Michelle's friend Robyn notices a scar on her forehead and informs her that she has been cursed by a powerful archdemon called the Duchess; if she does not come to love them in three days' time, she will meet her end. Robyn, also a demon, shows Michelle how to open her newly-acquired Third Eye, with which she can see into the past and the demon world. In an abandoned London Underground station, Michelle is able to see the last moments of a previous victim of the Duchess's, a millionaire named Jenny who ultimately transformed into a monstrous rat. Rat Jenny eats Robyn, but Michelle manages to kill her.

Exiting the tube station, Michelle finds herself in the Duchess's hotel, which hosts demons and houses the Duchess's victims, but manages to leave and get to the abandoned church, where the angel Benedict, Robyn's boyfriend, guards the gates of Hell. She discovers that Robyn survived Rat Jenny, and even obtained her Third Eye. Benedict tells Michelle that her best course of action is to dissolve the curses of other victims and collect their Third Eyes as well, which will weaken the curse and allow her to challenge the Duchess for her freedom.

Michelle spends the next two nights fighting her way to two more victims of the curse and collecting their eyes. The second victim, Matilda, was a famous pop singer until she was cursed, and ultimately transformed into a monstrous squid creature in the abandoned aquarium. The third victim, Gabriella, entombed herself in her family crypt after acquiring the Third Eye and flaying herself alive.

In between fights, Michelle can engage with a colorful cast of characters, some of who will influence her ultimate fate. Darrel, who works for the Duchess, entreats her for her help in getting his boyfriend, Oakley to accept his marriage proposal. At the same time, an angel named Clarissa wishes for Michelle to aid her in taking Darrel down, then replace him as the Duchess's right-hand man. Lucy, a silent young woman, is revealed to be a demon who offers to help Michelle destroy the Duchess for good and help her get back with her ex-girlfriend. The angel of love, Chamuel, is getting the cold shoulder from his demonic boyfriend (later revealed to be Dream Eater) to prevent them both from turning mortal, and is torn between pursuing their relationship even at the cost of their immortality or breaking the relationship off. The Duchess continues in their efforts to get Michelle to love them, though it becomes clear that they wish for her to love them in a way that would not be fulfilling for either of them.

Depending on who she chooses to help, Michelle can choose to break the curse in a multitude of ways. If Michelle gives Robyn the Duchess's key, a powerful artifact that would allow Benedict to seal the gates of Hell permanently, leave his post, and be with Robyn, Michelle breaks the curse and returns to mundane life. If Michelle helps ruin Darrel's relationship, she becomes the Duchess's new right-hand man, managing the Duchess's hotel and Darrel's old bar, allowing Clarissa to kill more demons. If Michelle follows Lucy's instructions, which involve helping Darrel, encouraging Chamuel to kill Dream Eater, and giving the key to Robyn, Lucy destroys the Duchess and possesses Michelle's body, rendering her expressionless and mute, just as the girl that was her previous host. If Michelle encourages Chamuel to pursue love, she is able to convince the Duchess to let her in, and the force of her love is enough to turn them mortal, forgetting their memories of the past, but finding Michelle weeks later at the convenience store.

Development

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Sorry We're Closed is the debut title of Bournemouth-based à la mode games, a two-person indie developer composed of creative director C. Bedford and technical director Tom Bedford. The game began development in November 2020 as a side-project during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the developers beginning to work on Sorry We're Closed full-time in late 2022.[3] An announcement trailer for the game was published on 20 October 2023.[6]Sorry We're Closed was exhibited at PAX East in March 2024,[7] with a demo for the game released during Steam Next Fest in June 2024.[8] The game was released on the previously announced release date of 14 November 2024.[1]

Reception

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According to review aggregator Metacritic, Sorry We're Closed received "generally favorable" reviews,[9] the eighth-highest score for a shooter video game in that year.[19] The game was named as one of the best of 2024 by Eurogamer.[20] Sorry We're Closed received praise for its narrative, characters and exploration mechanics, although some critics expressed criticism at the game's combat.[21][22][23][24][25]

References

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  1. ^ a b Romano, Sal (19 September 2024). "Sorry We're Closed launches November 14". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  2. ^ "Sorry We're Closed Confirms Console Release Date". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Sorry We're Closed - à la mode games" (Press release). Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  4. ^ a b Taylor-Kent, Oscar (14 November 2024). "Sorry We're Closed review: "Resident Evil 4 and Silent Hill can't match this neon-soaked survival horror for its sheer inventiveness"". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 14 December 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  5. ^ a b Webster, Hilton (14 November 2024). "Sorry We're Closed Review - The Scariest Thing To Do Is Love". TheGamer. Archived from the original on 1 January 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  6. ^ IGN Staff (20 October 2023). "Sorry We're Closed - Official Demo Trailer". IGN. Archived from the original on 25 October 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  7. ^ Gonzalez, Elijah (26 March 2024). "The Best Games We Played At PAX East 2024". Paste. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  8. ^ Caldwell, Brendan (5 June 2024). "I met a money-eating axe murderer in Sorry We're Closed and now so can you". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on 19 November 2024. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Sorry We're Closed Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 27 December 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  10. ^ "Sorry We're Closed Reviews - OpenCritic". OpenCritic. 10 December 2024. Archived from the original on 5 January 2025. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  11. ^ Castle, Katharine (19 November 2024). "Sorry We're Closed review - an enthralling, demonic love story in survival horror clothing". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  12. ^ LeClair, Kyle (14 November 2024). "Review: Sorry We're Closed". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 18 November 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  13. ^ White, Lucas (14 November 2024). "Sorry We're Closed review: Oozing with dreadful charm". Shacknews. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  14. ^ Boehm, Aaron (14 November 2024). "'Sorry We're Closed' Delivers an Old-School Experience Mixed With Fresh Twists (Review)". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  15. ^ Bueno, Daniel (15 December 2024). "Review: Sorry We're Closed Confronts Love and Heartbreak Head On". Siliconera. Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  16. ^ "Sorry We're Closed review – the most romantic survival horror ever". Metro. 28 November 2024. Archived from the original on 22 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  17. ^ Scaife, Steven (15 November 2024). "'Sorry We're Closed' Review: Old-School Survival Horror with Style to Burn". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  18. ^ Cichacki, Shaun (18 November 2024). "'Sorry We're Closed' Brings Dreamcast Vibes and Neon Lights Into the World of Horror (Review)". Vice. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  19. ^ Bonthuys, Darryn (20 December 2024). "The Best Shooter Games Of 2024 According To Metacritic". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 20 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  20. ^ Tapsell, Chris (20 December 2024). "The 50 best games of 2024, ranked". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 31 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  21. ^ Thorn, Ed (14 November 2024). "Sorry We're Closed review: old school survival horror with plenty of heart". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
  22. ^ Sterling, James Stephanie (14 November 2024). "Sorry We're Closed - It Must Be Love (Review)". The Jimquisition. Archived from the original on 24 December 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  23. ^ Gonzalez, Elijah (22 November 2024). "Sorry We're Closed Is A Perfect Breakup Recovery Simulator, Demons Included". Paste. Archived from the original on 30 December 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  24. ^ Kelly, Charlie (15 November 2024). "Sorry We're Closed Review – Heaven Sent". Checkpoint Gaming. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  25. ^ Hashmi, Ali (15 November 2024). "Sorry We're Closed Review - Hellbound and Hellbent". Prima Games. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
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