What a great premise Apartment Story is with its PlayStation One look, a red room that'd make Lynch flutter, and some introductory measures to make you believe you're making that transition from being a spectator of a film to being the protagonist. Oh, this is the tutorial?
The intro to Blue Rider Interactive's game plays out like a cinema lobby with its set dressing; as part of the mise-en-scene, we have an area to showcase the controls. Food preparation is critical in the game, so, picking up an apple, I ate it only, cut up the core, poured it onto some cereal, and then attempted to eat the cereal box. Hmm... let's exit the stage and try the game.
Apartment Story Review
Is that a gun in your pocke- oh, it's your penis. The first thing that greeted me when stepping into this Apartment Story was Arthur's cock. That's not something to brag about, yet as nobody was telling me to put some clothes on, I continued to stroll about stark-bollock naked, smoking a spliff and staring at the neighbours. I then headed to my laptop, wrote, cracked one off, wrote again, and then bashed another one out. This game is genius. How many other people live this exact life?
Jeitaro
Between playing the game and writing this review, I had all these ideas for describing Apartment Story. I managed to do it in one word, which unfortunately is conceived as unfavourable: monotonous. Before you start folding your arms, I mean it as a massive positive. Sitting on the couch watching nothing, admiring the raindrops on the window, cooking absolute crap and then devouring it... this is arthouse cinema, and I adore it.
A Man's Needs
Yes, I'm an indie darling who studied film, so this is totally my thing. I got so carried away with doing nothing, yet everything - making my own camera angles, flashing the neighbours, and finding joy is the most inane thing. Apparently, someone is coming up to my gaff at 9 pm. I'm not wearing any clothes and told to get dressed. Despite the persistent doorbell, I ignore it and take another shower. Shit. I've cocked up the narrative, haven't I? This isn't my first demise either, as I'd started the game, ran downstairs to make a brew, got distracted, and then realised Arthur 'died'.
You see, Apartment Story is like controlling a character in The Sims. They have needs: hunger, hygiene, comfort breaks, and a five-knuckle shuffle at the laptop. If these aren't fulfilled, the parameters drop, and so does Arthur's life. A lot rides on your culinary skill, but I was confident of survival based on that cereal box-munching. My student days were spent with my parents, so I ate like a king. However, based on my diet in Apartment Story, I reckon I could do another stint at uni for a good few years, cooking up beans, cardboard and moonbeams.
Don't Miss A Beat
Anyways, there's a plot in the game, which is entirely optional - as I discovered the hard way a handful of times. That person coming to your gaff is your ex-roommate. Ross met Rachel, and then there was a third cog, but they're not so accommodating of the others bumping uglies. Cue some elements of menace, OCD, and ensuring you get in your daily wank. This makes Sean Wenham's game sound crass, and in some respects, it can be. But again, a complete flip on the negative as it's an excellent observation of 'the human condition'. We could go nuts on film theory, but a) that's not why I started a website, and b) it's a bloody game, and we should have a safe space away from academia.
Apartment Story isn't without some jank, though. As implied, interactions are sometimes off, and Arthur will come across as an utter plank when eating objects. Lining up the cursor on the Steam Deck or with a mouse for the cooking parts or escorting a game controller over to the sofa to hold it like a boomerang and then discarding it on the floor was silly. The same with some of the timings when the narrative beat kicks in, and Arthur needs a piss. But... you don't see that so much in film, so making that transition to... interactive moving imagery gets one up on cinema, primarily through autonomy.
Apartment Story Review Summary
I found Apartment Story to be conceptually bewitching. It's almost like an experiment in storytelling, gaming, and masturbation. That sounds facetious, though not my intention. I enjoyed this a lot, and it'll certainly appeal to arthouse cinema fans, narrative-driven folk, and those who want to try something unique. Just be mindful of the running time of this feature-length experience, as it's not your typical three-act tale.
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