Commuting home from work turns mighty spooky in this indie game
The Plane Effect is a moody isometric adventure
The Plane Effect is a moody isometric adventure game about a guy trying to get home. Pretty normal stuff, except there is a cosmic anomaly looming over the city that seems to be causing some weirdness, so good luck with that. Out now, the game will have you puzzling through levels full of high-contrast moody lighting. It reminds me a bit of Inside, if Inside had rooms full of scary-looking red lasers.
You play as an office worker who's just clocked off his very last shift. I don't think he's quit his job though, it seems like the world might be ending. As good a time as any to set off home, I suppose.
"As you progress through the dystopic cityscape, you quickly realise all is not as it should be," the Steam page says. "Did it always take this long? Were the streets always a labyrinth? Where even is 'home'? All you know is that you must keep pushing ever onwards, you must keep going."
I'm intrigued by the varied locations in the trailer, they all look unpleasant places to be alone. He goes from a dingy office cubicle, to an abandoned train track, then a strange wasteland, a red room full of lasers, and even underwater near some sharks at some point.
I'm also a big fan of how high-contrast everything is. If there's one thing that draws me to games like this, it's bright neon lighting breaking through darkness. It's cool to look at, sure, but it's also excellently unsettling.
The Plane Effect looks like a pretty spooky time, and it is very nearly the spooky month, after all. It's available on Steam, GOG and the Epic Games Store, and it'll cost you £12/€14/$14.
You can also try out a free demo on Steam and GOG, which takes you through a prologue.