disaster gays dropped into a colourful, scarred world between heaven and hell. with no choice but to dive face first into peril, wearing their precious, broken hearts on their sleeves. fueled by a mix of desire and yearning, against all odds with spiteful persistence.

queer horror shaped by the contemporary conditions of that very survival: unstable employment, lesbian yearning, colourful attire, pop tunes & a visible tiredness of sanitized queerness coming through refreshingly direct and crass. and that doesn't only extend to the narrative; its sound design is a remarkable feat. every rattling, gurgling, bonecrunching sound is extremely crisp, creating a very tense and threatening atmosphere. along with the vision denied to me by the fixed camera angles, it would align in a cursed constellation that would make me feel those gnarly sounds right inside my bones.

for all the twisted dynamics and explicit ongoings, i found it most touching during quiet and reflective moments, be it sitting in a car, talking about what lies ahead while a catchy song lowkey plays on the radio and the wind blows through our hair, or hearing about the conundrums loving demons & angels find themselves in due to the roles assigned by their makers, in the church of all places. every relationship is complicated by factors outside of their control that need to be considered and overcome, paralleling external with internal struggles in a way that feels grounded in complicated queer experiences, yet heightened through supernatural struggles. sometimes they might not always strike the exact nerve amidst their messiness, but it is noticable they always come from a place of struggle and wish for things to be different, for cisheteronormativity to cease.

if you wanted to summarize its overarching thesis into one sentence, it could fittingly be one of its very own quotes. it is not only the essence of how the game feels, but stands as a powerful statement against these grim times we live in.

Sorry We're Closed puts a fun twist on classic survival horror gunplay while doubling as a dialogue on the nature of love. The art style is simultaneously retro and very fresh feeling-- it's a big part of what drew me to the game to begin with. I really liked the cast of characters here. They're all fun to engage with and listen to which made interacting with them a treat every time. I do wish the narrative felt a bit tighter overall, as it took quite a while before I really felt motivated to see what would happen instead of pushing on just because I enjoyed the combat. I also found the soundtrack a bit lacking but the SFX were excellent and added a lot of character to the world.

I already said I really enjoyed the characters across the board but I want to highlight that I think Michelle is a really fun protagonist. She's snarky, relatable, and I really love her design. It's classy and colorful in a way that suits her perfectly without being over-complicated. In fact, I think the effort that went into giving all the characters unique looks totally paid off. They were immediately recognizable even though I didn't spend as much time with them as I would have liked.

The aforementioned fun twist that this game introduces is a weak point system for enemies that you can effectively turn on and off at will, but when it's on you can only shoot enemies when they're up close-- basically within range of hitting you. It's simple but satisfying and lends a unique depth to the gunplay that was very appreciated. Chaining shots on an enemy's weak points feels great and rewards careful but quick aiming. Combined with the characters and art style it helps carve out a unique identity for this game that sets it apart from others in the genre.