Mindlock: The Apartment – When Home Becomes a Prison!

“Life is for living, not for being stuck in a rut of complacency where normality consists of the mundane.” – Steven Redhead

Overview

Mindlock: The Apartment is a surreal psychological adventure set entirely in a single apartment belonging to Colin, a young man who is very much stuck in a rut! The game follows him as he tries to free himself from a familiar new prison.

Narrative

Mindlock: The Apartment’s narrative centres around the game’s protagonist, Colin. He is a young man who has been stuck for years in the same job his father, with whom he does not have the best relationship, helped secure for him. He lives in a somewhat rundown, one-bedroom apartment with only his hamster for company.

One day, after following his all too familiar, monotonous morning routine, Colin attempts to leave for work only to find the front door to his apartment has disappeared. This is followed by unexplained writing on his bathroom mirror, a disturbing puppet of himself in his bedroom, and haunting figures from his past and future. A steady stream of bizarre visitors lead Colin on a journey to uncover the truth of his unfufilling existence and his own shortcomings, as well as decipher the puzzling prison that his home has morphed into.

The narrative is told largely through the emotive and believable dialogue and Colin’s externalised thoughts, but also through memories, the visual information provided by the game’s setting, and through the gameplay itself. It is a straightforward story that deals with some complex issues, making for a very engaging narrative experience that is laced with dark humour, nihilism, and satisfying character development.

Gameplay

Mindlock: The Apartment plays how one might expect for a point-and-click game and makes use of familiar and intuitive controls and standard inventory-based puzzles. Colin’s home essentially becomes a labyrinth of changing rooms, uninvited guests, and worrisome events. Challenges include things such as working out how to enjoy a cup of coffee undisturbed while at work, attempting to carve coins from soap, and even completing a breathing exercise. There is a good amount of variety in the conundrums Colin faces; the solutions are mostly very logical, but some will require the player to think outside the box or experiment a bit.

The memories that Colin revisits also often contain puzzles, which feel, to some extent, separate from the main gameplay, breaking up the content and making the game feel more easily digestible without diverting the narrative or overarching experience too much.

Mindlock: The Apartment also includes a number of conversations featuring dialogue options. This adds to the level of player involvement, but it is usually possible to exhaust all options, hear every response, and choices rarely, if ever, impact the direction of the narrative or gameplay. That said, the interactions are generally intriguing, fun, or valuable to the player’s understanding of different characters and Colin’s story.

Styling

Mindlock: The Apartment is depicted in a sketchy art style, making use of bold, rough outlines and dark, muted colour palettes in which cool tones dominate. Memories and cut scenes (often involving light puzzles) utilise a simpler, childlike drawing style with minimal, but more vibrant colours. The animations are smooth and often used to further demonstrate Colin’s complex and slightly eccentric personality. Overall, the visuals suit the game very well, emphasising the confined, intimate setting in addition to mirroring Colin’s rocky and uncertain state of mind and the bizarre and unsettling situation he finds himself in.

The game’s soundtrack uses a range of ominous and mysterious tracks with a slow to mid tempo. It works well to emphasise the surreal events and disturbing characters that Colin is facing. The music, along with the various atmospheric sound effects such as thunder, a tap running, or doors creaking, helps to immerse the player in the game world and the narrative.

Mindlock: The Apartment is also fully voice-acted, and very effectively. The various characters all have distinct voices and tones that solidify their roles within the narrative. Colin’s voice acting is especially engaging and helps to make him and his plight feel much more relatable despite the unusual circumstances. There is an impressive amount of unique dialogue when attempting to use or combine items in the wrong way, often adding a lighter touch or some humour to the moment.

Summary

Overall, Mindlock: The Apartment is a lot of fun to play and will take around 4-6 hours to complete. It has a lot to offer with its faltering and indecisive protagonist, surreal and psychological narrative, and varied puzzle-filled gameplay. It boasts a sinister atmosphere, strange goings on, and some genuinely creepy moments to keep players on their toes. The sketchy, hand-drawn artwork is brilliantly executed and perfectly complements the gameplay, storyline, and protagonist, whilst the enigmatic music bolsters the strange, threatening vibe and further immerses the player in the experience. I thoroughly enjoyed this game and absolutely recommend it to anyone who enjoys point-and-click titles. It stays true to the genre whilst providing some unique and original elements that help it stand out in a positive way.

If you’re a fan of slightly darker point-and-click games, you may also like these reviews:
The Night is Grey – Shadows of the Afterland – Birth – Fran Bow

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