Masochisia immerses players into the world and thought process of a young boy, on a very unstable and difficult road. The title is lacking in player agency, but still draws them in through the clever writing and unsettling art style.
Hardcore Gamer: Critics often worry that video game violence desensitizes gamers to violence. I don’t think it does, at least I see no evidence among the many gamers of all ages I know and the tens of thousands of hours we’ve collectively played. But I wonder if games do desensitize us to moral ambiguity and I know that they rarely explore pain and suffering — which is much different than cartoon violence, no matter how explicit — and the roots of evil like that found in Masochisia.
Player2 looks back at 2015 with the first part of their Game of the year feature.
DD:
A point and click adventure game, Masochisia is played from a first-person perspective. But unlike games of similar ilk, you can only move sideways and your interactive options are severely limited, making Masochisia an extremely linear game. The narrative of Masochisia is terribly fascinating. It tackles issues that are definitely not for minors, and the heavy use of graphic and unsettling imagery are not for the easily offended. In fact, there's very little about this game that makes it recommendable, seeing it is easily one of the most upsetting and visually distressing video games in existence. Most of the horror in other games comes from specially-created monsters and storylines that are unique to that environment. Here in Masochisia the catalyst to nightmares boils to these five words: "based on a true story".
Looks like a really messed up game. Not sure if my head would deal well with it all. Shame, as it seems interesting. Just...looks really dark.
Messed up game? Count me in!
Im going to need counselling