An Escape Room Thriller with High Stakes
In my daydreams, I have often considered what I would do if I were kidnapped. Would I attempt to use my limited strength to subdue my kidnappers, an action with little chance of success? Or would I bide my time, weighing up my options while observing all surroundings and every detail, looking for any possibility of escape or a way to signal for help without my captors knowing?
That is the scenario presented in There’s a Gun in the Office, a complex escape room style game where staying calm and planning carefully are key to survival.
Five Days to Freedom
You start this first-person adventure in a locked room, where you are being held prisoner by an unknown captor. The reasons for your imprisonment are a mystery, but you know you have five days to escape. You begin in a bedroom containing a few pieces of furniture and some bin bags. You collect a watch from a side table and an item to make notes on. Upon searching further, you find a key to the room, and when you unlock the door, the game is truly afoot.
In this narrative game, you soon discover you are in a locked apartment and your kidnapper is only out for a short period each day. You must slowly find a way to escape, while meticulously remembering every action you have taken. For example, if you pick up a key from a specific spot, you must remember its exact location. After you use it, if you fail to put it back in the right place, the kidnapper will know something is amiss. And that comes with the most disastrous of results.
Story-wise, questions about who you are and why you are being held prisoner are never really answered in There’s a Gun in the Office, so do not expect a branching narrative with a myriad of complex explanations. There are some cutscenes that play out while you sleep, but they are dreamlike and do not make much sense. I was left a little frustrated by this setup but remained intrigued enough to keep forging ahead.
Clockwork Confinement
The first thing you must do is sate your hunger. This task involves you going into the hallway, finding a key to the kitchen, opening the fridge door, finding an apple, and eating it. The catch is that all this action – finding the right key for the right door – takes time, and you need to get back to your room, to sleep before the day ends. However, you must also ensure that everything is exactly as you found it, such as the fridge door being closed and the kitchen door being locked. Failure to do so results in a game over.
Thankfully, you don’t have to start from the very beginning if caught, but you do have to replay the day. It is in that repetition in which you will learn and, hopefully, make progress.
Tense Exploration
I enjoyed the main mechanic of There’s a Gun in the Office and the way you gradually move through the apartment, making a mental inventory of escape routes. Furthermore, the tension of the timekeeping gives the game a uniquely scary edge; very much unlike anything else I’ve played. Others might be frustrated by this system, but for me, it was the very thing that made the game stand out.
The visuals are effective, depicting a modern-day apartment block in a nameless city. There’s a nice touch where the prisoner’s thoughts flash across the screen as snippets of text, which get more frantic if you fail to perform the necessary actions.
Alongside that, the soundtrack is simple and the sound effects are sparse but are used effectively throughout.
A Short and Stressful Thriller
We’re at an interesting time for game pricing, with major titles possibly heading towards the £80 mark. On the other end of the scale, however, I have reviewed many games in recent times, all from the indie market, that sit in a much lower price range. There’s a Gun in the Office is one of those titles. Sure, it’s short, but it’s different and so if you want to take a gamble, it’s a risk worth taking; one that won’t break the bank.
There’s a Gun in the Office is an unconventional and effective game that, if nothing else, might just prepare you in case the worst should ever happen.
Important Links
Escape or Die: There’s a Gun in the Office on Xbox is a Race Against Time – https://www.thexboxhub.com/escape-or-die-theres-a-gun-in-the-office-on-xbox-is-a-race-against-time/
Buy There’s a Gun in the Office on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/theres-a-gun-in-the-office/9P5KBFD0CVQW
