HOST 714 | PS4 Review

Addiction is a b*tch to deal with, and while addicts are often times looked down upon it is usually the helpless among us who cannot cope with the bad hand life had dealt them that succumb to it. The ones that end up in such a precarious predicament, unwillingly. As sad as it is some addicts never recover, and die prematurely due to their vices, but there are a select few who are willing to try anything to dig themselves out of the hole that they find themselves in. Such a person is represented through Squid, or Host 714 as he'll come to be known in this horrific tale of help gone wrong. Squid, being the admitted addict that he is, realizes he's hit rock bottom as a drug addict. That if he doesn't try to turn things around he will die miserably. 

Thus after hearing of a recovery program on a remote island with a 90% success rate he takes the chance to do just that. Unfortunately for him though this remote facility isn't what it seems, and the people running it, far less so. Ultimately caught up in some sadistic experiment involving a pain inducing viral injection Squid finds himself wanting out, and wanting out bad. Keeping him from that goal is the numerous guards on duty, and the fact that the pain build up gets so bad that he can't help but let out a loud groan in crippling agony ever so often. Realizing this he has to mind the searching guards, and staff as they hunt other escapees on route to freedom lest he never see the light of day.

Through some textual dialogue, and some lightly animated pixel constructed cutscenes we find our playable protagonist Squid on route to the Orange Institute rehabilitation center situated on a distant island. Upon entry he is met by Mr. Talkeyman. A brutish businessman who gets right down to business. By that I mean he gives Squid a nasty shot of God knows what. A virus that causes excruciating pain upon the recipient, periodically. Knocked out from said pain Squid finds himself waking up in a jail cell as Host 714. A label given to him by resident staff who are actively patrolling the various floors of the island prison. 

Succumbing once again to the pain after having briefly awakened, and walked a short distance in his cell, Host 714 knocks out once more and wakes up the day thereafter only to find out that an alarm has been triggered. That the other inmates have escaped. All personnel are on high alert searching the now darkened grounds with flashlights. In the chaos Host 714 makes a break for it. There's a catch though. He realizes that he could easily give himself away by maxing out his pain threshold through mere walking. Letting out violent groans as if he were stopping to take a death dump right there on the spot. Unable to move it hurts so bad. Still he sojourns on, come Hell or highwater ...

As Host 714 your abilities are basic. You can walk unhindered for a certain length of time before a gauge turns red and causes you to stop. You can also investigate things. This includes finding keycards and keys needed for your escape. Between you and the final exit though lies an army of staff looking to bring you back to your cell. You get spotted and you're setback at least a short ways. Sometimes respawning at a nearby checkmark if you're lucky. Your timing of movement is crucial to your attempted escape, and minding the visual flashlight range of the pursuing staff equally as much. You'll be using both your screams of agony, and alternative paths to divert attention, and get to wherever it is you need to be. Sometimes searching for clues, or items, and other times simply making it to the next area without being seen or heard. That's the gist of it. The end goal being escaping to freedom via all the stealth means you can muster. You got in easy enough, but now it's time for the hard part. Getting out.

The Verdict ...

This game touches base on the very real affliction of drug addiction, and uses a fictitious persons' seeking of help as a means to provide a metaphorical tale of sorts. A tale that plays out through a drug addict, and a rehabilitation center that is seemingly not what it was made out to be. In a way it mirrors the real world struggles of breaking free from addiction, and how scary it can be even trying to do so. How it makes those that care look like the enemy. To that extent I think the game is a brilliant reflection for something that plagues a lot of people in real life. 

On the flipside the gameplay is kind of basic but very challenging in the stealth sense. Adding a mechanic that gives the character's position away so frequently that it creates a tense situation where everything you do is made that much more difficult. Thankfully though it's not so brutally difficult that it starts you back at square one every time you are spotted. There are auto-save points that will land you closer to where you were caught making the trek from start to finish more doable. You just have to take it one step at a time. Kind of like what they tell you in Alcoholics Anonymous. The "Serenity Prayer". Take it one day at a time changing the things you can, and realizing the things you can't. Again, another reason this simple indie is so brilliant by design. If nothing else I think is good for the stealth spin on gameplay, if not the underlying message. It does something different, and looks really good for an indie game!