Creepy Tale: Ingrid Penance | PS5

Welcome to Hell, or should I say welcome Ingrid to Hell!!!

This Creepy Brothers creation that is, "Creepy Tale: Ingrid Penance" introduces us to a truly vile little girl destined for damnation. This little girl known as Ingrid is prideful, and selfish. Hateful to her mother, and disrespectful to her grandmother. So full of herself that she'd rather stare at her reflection in a hand mirror than pay a visit to her elders. 

As with most stories with a moral this particular tale has the wayward Ingrid facing the consequences of her actions. Her sins, if you will. After tossing what was to be her grandmother's requested order of bread into a muddied trap Ingrid falls into Hell where she is promptly greeted by the very imp who saw that she got there. Through a puzzling gauntlet of traps Ingrid must prove her worth or lack thereof to this playful imp named Molek. 

Redemption or corruption by evil will be Ingrid's reward for however she approaches each puzzle laid out before her. Puzzles as with anything else in the odd set of circumstances come with a moral dilemma. Do I do this, or not kind of interactive events with two choices aligning with the good or bad. With each choice the sin and good deed numbers marked on her left and right palm will sway the balance of her standing, and at the end of it all depending upon her choices she'll either see redemption or absolute corruption.

Fully voiced, lightly animated, and interactive in such a way as to mimic old point & click adventures of old, "Creepy Tale: Ingrid Penance" captures both the hellish nature of the morally driven story and the childlike playfulness exhibited by the imp Molek. Providing a proper lesson for the children of today who have all but grown into a narcissistic lot. The puzzles that plague Ingrid as she delves deeper into Hell portray her as if she were Dante facing the inner circles of sin related punishment. Not your bog standard "find this and put this here to proceed" kind of dealings. It's the kind of thing that makes you think, and at the same time makes you second guess moral decisions that will either see you ending up with a bad ending or a redemption story worthy of Dante Alighieri's "The Divine Comedy" finale. 

Visually, and audibly "Creepy Tale: Ingrid Penance" comes off as a Grimm's Fairytale for modern audiences with morals inline with older generations, but relative to today's younger crowd. It is whimsical, darkly comedic, and perplexing puzzle-wise. The Hellish backdrop of Hell looks as one might imagine, and it's demonic denizens vocally and artistically shown in such a manner. The soundtrack is dark, and foreboding, but also oddly whimsical in a fairytale kind of way. Accenting, perfectly, the interactive hellscapes and characters caught up in Ingrid's fight to get back home.

The Verdict ...

This is an easy recommend. For a lot of reasons. Like Grimm's fairytales, "Creepy Tale: Ingrid Penance" offers a moral story geared towards scaring the bejeezus out of children as a means to get them to grow up in a more respectful manner. In this case it's all about getting Ingrid to see her true reflection. That there's a price to pay for pride and that evil corrupts, absolutely. 

Beyond all of that the game does exceptionally well in innovating on the usual puzzle solving formulas. Creating some interesting takes on basic platforming, and NPC or object interaction. It's never a dull moment, and though Ingrid might die a thousand times over for whatever reason, she has an eternity to get through to the end of her trial. Thankfully the ending is a result of the choices made. This keeps inline with the moral narrative by punishing or rewarding the player for choosing certain morally aligning options during key moments. 

All in all I think the Creepy Brothers did an outstanding job with this entry in their Creepy Tale series, and I truly hope the full series sees the light of day on modern consoles. It is deserving of the gaming community's attention, and could easily be used by parents as a tool to steer a wayward child on to a brighter path in life. A moral story for the modern audience.