Sorry We're Closed is about love in all its forms - romantic, platonic, forbidden, and lost - wrapped in an entertaining package that respects both its influences and its audience
In Sorry We're Closed, love isn't just in the air - it's in the demonic underworld, the mortal realm, and everywhere in between. This genre-bending adventure follows Michelle, a shop assistant whose mundane life takes a supernatural turn when she catches the eye of The Duchess, a powerful demon with an intense desire for love. Given just a couple of days before your soul is claimed, you must navigate both the physical and supernatural worlds while helping her friends with their own romantic entanglements.
The narrative weaves together multiple storylines about different forms of love, from the desperate yearning of The Duchess to the complicated relationships between angels and demons, and even the everyday romantic struggles of Michelle's friends. The story manages to be both deeply personal and cosmically significant, touching on themes of self-worth, acceptance, and the price we're willing to pay for love.
Michelle herself is a compelling protagonist, still processing a breakup from years ago while suddenly thrust into a supernatural romance she never asked for. The game treats her sexuality and past relationship with natural grace - it's simply part of who she is, not a defining characteristic or plot device.
The supporting cast is equally well-realized and your interactions with them range from a mix of light-hearted banter and heartfelt conversations to more serious, emotional moments where you might ruin their love lives. Yes, the game has choices and based on your choices, you end up with different endings. The game does a great job of balancing the supernatural elements with the mundane, creating a cohesive world that feels both fantastical and relatable.
Sorry We're Closed's gameplay is an intriguing mix of classic survival horror mechanics and relationship-building elements. The fixed camera angles and resource management immediately evoke memories of classic PlayStation-era horror games, but the implementation here feels fresh and modern.
The game's most unique feature is the Third Eye mechanic. With a simple button press, Michelle can reveal the demon world existing alongside reality. This isn't just a visual trick - it fundamentally changes how you approach both exploration and combat. Pathways that are blocked in one realm might be accessible in another, and enemies that seem invulnerable in the real world may expose their weaknesses in the demon realm.
Combat takes place in first-person view, creating an interesting tension with the fixed-camera exploration. When facing demons, you'll need to use your Third Eye to reveal their hearts - their literal weak points. The shooting feels satisfying thanks to generous aim assist, and there's a pleasant rhythm to revealing hearts, taking your shots, and managing your position relative to multiple enemies.
While the game includes survival horror elements like limited resources and health items (represented by water bottles), it's balanced to favor story progression over challenge. You'll rarely find yourself completely out of ammunition or healing items, which keeps the focus on the narrative and character interactions rather than survival stress.
Between combat-heavy dungeon segments, you'll spend time in the town or in the demon hotel helping various characters with their relationships or with some fetch quests. These sections offer branching dialogue choices and time-sensitive opportunities to influence outcomes. While not as complex as a dedicated dating sim, these elements add depth to the world and its characters.
The game's visual aesthetic is striking, blending low-poly PS1-era inspired graphics with modern lighting and effects. The Third Eye mechanic creates dramatic visual transitions, with environments morphing between normal reality and a neon-tinged demon world. Character designs are distinctive, especially for the supernatural beings who manage to be both attractive and unsettling.
The sound design deserves special mention, with a soundtrack that shifts seamlessly between reality and the demon world. Another thing in regard to the sound are the hip-hop tracks that play during the boss fights. They come totally out of nowhere in a surprising way, but are a nice addition to the game that add to the overall vibes of the game.
While Sorry We're Closed excels in many areas, it's not without its quirks. The transition between third-person exploration and first-person combat can feel awkward at times, particularly in tight spaces and that can get annoying during some of the boss fights where you have just a couple of seconds to shoot out the demon's hearts.
The puzzle elements, while clever in their use of the Third Eye mechanic, rarely present much of a challenge. However, this allows the game to maintain its pacing without getting bogged down in complex puzzle-solving.
Sorry We're Closed is the rare game that can be completed in a single sitting, took me less than 5 hours to complete, while still delivering a satisfying and complete experience. The pacing is excellent, with a good balance between character interactions, combat sequences, and story development. The multiple endings provide some replay value, encouraging you to explore different relationship outcomes and see how their choices affect the final resolution of Michelle's supernatural romance.
Sorry We're Closed is a refreshing take on both survival horror and romance games. It successfully combines seemingly disparate elements into a cohesive whole that's greater than the sum of its parts. The game's unique blend of relationship drama and supernatural action, combined with its distinctive visual style and clever Third Eye mechanic, creates an experience that stands out in today's gaming landscape. It's a game about love in all its forms - romantic, platonic, forbidden, and lost - wrapped in an entertaining package that respects both its influences and its audience. I highly recommend it. Thanks for reading!
The game was reviewed on a PS5 via a code provided by the developer. Sorry We're Closed is available on PS5, Xbox, Switch and PC.
