Game Review: Mothered

By Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC

I've played a lot of horror games over the years, but I don't think any have come close to creeping me out in the way that Mothered has. Styled as a "role-playing horror game", it comes to us by way of Delores Entertainment, and is available on just about every major platform. We're going to be taking a look at the Nintendo Switch release today, and seeing as there's a lot of ground to cover here, we're going to get right into it!

Mothered has one of the strangest stories I've ever experience in a video game, but I'll do my best to explain it. You take on the role of Liana, a young girl who's returning home after an operation that has caused her to be apart from her mother for quite some time. She is taken to her mother's home by her father, but he mysteriously doesn't want to show his face. Things get weirder from there, and you learn that no member of Liana's family seems quite right. Her brother only sometimes talks to her through his door, never leaving his room, and her mother appears to be a mannequin. I actually thought that last part was just a quirk of the graphic style being used, but it becomes apparent over the course of the game that Liana is in fact seeing her mother as something other than human. That feeling is apparently mutual though, as Liana's mother seems to have trouble adjusting to her daughter being home again. Things get weirder from there as Liana's mother gives her various tasks to fill up her week at home. That's the other thing, Liana isn't going to stay at her mother's home forever, and she’s actually set to be picked up again by her father after only seven days. What starts out as a family reunion quickly turns horrific in ways that I can't really get into without also going into spoilers. This all might sound very confusing when laid out like this, but rest assured that it all (mostly) makes sense within the context of the game. I'm going to circle back around to the story in a bit, but I want to get it out the way now that I think it's by far the strongest aspect of the game, and it's sure to keep players glued to their screens.

There isn't a lot of gameplay in Mothered, but I guess it could be classified as a first person adventure game. As mentioned earlier, he game refers to itself as a role-playing horror game, but the only role-playing elements I can think of come in the form of a level up mechanic I'll explain later. Most of the game sees you move around the house in a first person view, and interacting with people and objects using the shoulder buttons. The game has something of an in-game clock, with the week slowly advancing as you complete each task given to you by Mother. These "tasks" are all rather simple things like talking to Mother, eating Liana's favorite breakfast, answering the phone when Liana's father calls, or even picking apples. Speaking of picking apples, I want to get that part of the game out of the way now as it's the only section that made me truly feel frustrated. At one point of the game you're tasked by Liana's mother to pick eight apples, but there appear to only be exactly eight apples available to be picked and the graphics do you no favors in seeing said apples in the trees. This single task took me about 30 minutes to complete, and I was so done with the game at that moment that a lot of the weight and impact of what should've been a very creepy scene was lost. That's probably the only task worth really describing, as most of them are far simpler to complete. You usually simply have to find mother, and do whatever she asks you to. Or maybe you don't...

I don't want to give away the specifics, but Mothered actually operates on a loop. More than likely you'll finish the game the first time only to see it loop back around to the beginning. One of your goals is to figure out how to break this cycle. I only mention this bit of a spoiler as I think it's not quite obvious that this is what your greater task is. I only kept playing out of sheer curiosity, but I could see others simply give up there. That's not even a bad thing admittedly, as leaving the game at that point does still give you a good sense of what is happening in-game. It's also easy to lock yourself out of changing things up in subsequent playthroughs as the game autosaves at the beginning of each day. And that's pretty much it for gameplay in Mothered. Figure out what tasks are expected of you, and either do them or don't. While this does mean that the game technically has multiple endings, only one can be classified as the "true" ending. On an interesting note, I think it may be possible to accidentally stumble into said true ending on your first playthrough if you either know what you're doing, or if you're simply someone who thinks a bit outside the box. I'm sort of going in circles at this point, but that's mostly because there's very little else to discuss as far as gameplay is concerned. I mentioned levelling up earlier, and there is something of a mechanic where you gain an important in-game percentage each time you perform certain actions. This is related to the ending you'll eventually get, so it's something you're going to want to watch out for. This might all sound like I'm being vague for the sake of being vague, but that's mostly because I truly want to preserve that first-time experience for those who may want to get right into the game after reading this review.

Very recently I reviewed a similar game that was also published by Delores Entertainment called The Enigma Machine (You can find that review HERE), and Mothered actually shares a lot of similarities with that game when it comes to presentation. There may be no computer interface this time around, but Mothered has the same low-poly, PS1-era 3D feel that the exploration segments do in The Enigma Machine. They once again remind me of a Puppet Combo title, but even more so this time around since this game leans far more into its horror elements. I once again have to admit that the visuals are something of an acquired taste, but I personally fell in love with the glitchy, VHS-style look of the game. The graphics complement the game perfectly, and I can't imagine it being presented in any other style. Amazingly, I can also say pretty much the same things about the game's sound. There isn't a lot in the way of traditional music here, but there's a lot of spooky and atmospheric tracks that accentuate whatever is on screen at any given time. It may sound rather trite to say that the music has a movie-like quality to it, but the only thing wrong with that statement would be that I rarely hear music this good in any horror movie. There's even a lot of jump scares that work better than anything I've seen before, and they work almost exclusively thanks to their attached sound effects. It's probably the hardest thing to describe in writing, but seeing and hearing the game is action is truly something else.

Mothered is by no means a long game. First time players can easily clear it in about 1-2 hours, even if they too get stuck in the orchard scene like I did. There is the loop mechanic I mentioned earlier though, so I think full completion falls more in the 2-3 hour range. Obviously this means it's a very short experience, but at just $4.99 it offers more than enough content for its price. Actually, that's not really fair as I'd have to say that its price feels almost too low for how great this game is. Saying that I enjoyed my time with Mothered would be an understatement. It actually worked its way so deep into my head that I now count it among my favorite games of all time. I've never experienced a horror story told in this fashion, and it's simply executed perfectly. I mentioned The Enigma Machine earlier, but now it's time for me to reveal that there's a bigger reason as to why and Mothered look so similar. Though I can't seem to find much about their release dates online, Mothered appears to be a prequel to The Enigma Machine. I didn't reveal that game's story in my review, and I won't reveal more of Mothered's here, but the connections are so deep and jarring that I don't think I'll ever forget playing them for the rest of my life. I'm so glad that random chance brought me to play them practically back-to-back. I really don't want to be hyperbolic, but these games are just that good.

Do I even have to say how I feel about the game overall? Not only do I give Mothered the highest of recommendations, but I suggest you grab The Enigma Machine along with it. The fact that both games will cost you less than ten dollars almost feels criminal, but it also means that you pretty much have no excuse to not grab them both right now. Pick them up on whatever platform you can, clear your weekend, turn down the lights, boot up the game, and thank me later. These are some of the best horror games I've ever played, and they deserve a high spot when discussing excellent video games in general. Even though these both seem to have released quite a while ago, I hope that it's not the last we see from this series. (If one can even call it that.) Anyway, I'm done here. It's time for us all to hurry along, we wouldn't want to keep Mother waiting.

Check Out Mothered on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/mothered-a-role-playing-horror-game-switch/

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​Story: A+
Gameplay: B
Graphics: A
Music/Sound: A
Value: A+

Overall: A

Pros:
+ A truly creepy horror experience that is like no other.
+ One of the best written stories I've seen in a video game across any genre.
+ Breaking the loop and achieving the "true" ending really requires a lot of thought and action on the part of the player.
+ The low poly graphics give off a very nostalgic PS1 feel.
+ The atmospheric soundtrack sounds like it belongs in a horror movie far above this game's budget.
+ At just $4.99, both Mothered and The Enigma Machine are clear must-buys.

Cons:
- The controls can be a bit clunky at times.
- The graphics and subject matter may not be for everyone.
- That orchard section is sure to try the patience of most players... but maybe it's meant to?

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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It's Wednesday, my dudes!

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