8Bit/Digi

Say No to Your Boss and the Monster

If I can force myself to stop calling this game Careless Whisper for a moment, I want to share a few notes about it, sing some praises, in fact. But I would have guilty fingers if I didn’t also inform everyone about its flaws. Casting Whispers is trying to perform a difficult dance, a set of steps that seem simple in concept, yet once it’s actually out there on the floor and everyone is doing it, all the feet get in the way. Some art just can’t help but trip over itself.  

We’re here for some psychological horror; simple, elegant, and Casting Whispers managed to surprise me a couple of times, warts and all. Players take on the role of Victoria, a young lab assistant who wants to get home before a major storm hits the town of Corburgh, Connecticut, but her boss, Professor Zubringer, calls, needing her help. Victoria had no way of knowing that agreeing to go to that old apartment building would change her life forever. Now she’s locked inside, facing down strange residents, hallucinations, and trying to solve the mystery of what happened to her friend, but she should be worried about her own sanity—her own life. There are some strong Silent Hill 4: The Room vibes here, and as straightforward as the concept is, the mystery goes quite deep.

I love the 1960s setting, which marries perfectly with this looming Lovecraftian threat. There is plenty of lore around, we just have to read for it, and thankfully, it sounds like the developer is trying to make that easier to see (along with several other accessibility options). I had a lot of trouble with the visibility of these letters and often found myself cursing certain typefaces. There is some substance here, not only with the story itself and what lies beneath, but the themes. We hear a lot about being alone, and going with that, we aren’t allowed to see the faces of most of the NPCs we interact with, as they are constantly hiding behind something, blurred, or even invisible. Our sanity is questioned, often, and people seem lost during conversations with us, but reality itself is starting to seem sketchy as well. There are flashbacks, twisted visions, and interactions where Victoria needs to stand up, prove herself. She’s trying, but it is so tempting to take the easy way out (do it, you coward!). It feels like there’s a little more here, too, under the surface, scratching to get out.   

Be Careful What You Say

The gameplay is simple to pick up, as there aren’t many options for how to interact, and it is more about trial and error. Use the mouse and keyboard to pick up and investigate items or interact with elements in the environment. Most of this feels fine, aside from some of the worst door mechanics I’ve seen in a while. I can’t express how many times I got stuck on a door or hung up trying to figure out if I was supposed to be able to open it or not. The mechanic that may draw more people into the game is the ability to shut our eyes and listen to those whispers, among other things. This allows us to hear when machines are messing up, listen to private conversations, and my favorite part was using it to crack a safe. I wish it were used more, honestly, as I sometimes forgot about the option, and that there was a jump button. This ability also protects us, because there are some things from beyond this realm that humans simply were not meant to see. It comes with a drawback, however, causing an already claustrophobic environment to feel even darker and closed in, making things a bit scarier when we can’t see what’s happening around us, and our surroundings keep changing.

We’re given several objectives to accomplish, but not so many that it becomes overwhelming. There are small extra tidbits to find, and it seems like several of these things can be done out of order, early on, at least. Even if it feels wrong, trust those instincts. There are times when it isn’t very clear what the game wants from us, leading to trial and error, more exploring, and backtracking. Thankfully, the exploration and puzzles are decent, except for the music puzzle. That almost broke me. It also stinks that there aren’t more phones, the device we used to save our progress, as it is easy to get stuck away from one or restart the game and have a good bit to do over. I would also kill for an actual inventory system, something to just show what I’ve collected and help me wrap my brain around where I need to go and what I’m looking for.

Sometimes the game also takes time out to screw with us, make players question what we saw or should do in a stressful situation, and numerous times I had to ask if it was the game trying to play me or just glitching. There are instances where the game gives us options that may result in instant death, letting us screw ourselves over, and sometimes it just says ‘no,’ almost breaking the fourth wall. Most of the time, it’s simply meant to cause pause and confuse us. A little of that is good, keeps us on our toes, but too many times, I had to restart the game because I was convinced something broke (even if I was simply looking in the wrong corners).

Stay out of the Sub-Basement!

Careless—uh, almost got me. Casting Whispers will take most people around six to eight hours to complete, depending on the amount of time it takes to figure some things out, solve puzzles, and how much players need to backtrack or get lost. For a game that takes place mostly in this one apartment building, it is so easy to take a few wrong turns, and I don’t just mean in the liminal spaces. The beginning is a little shaky, and there are sections that feel like they aren’t paced well, but this game goes by quickly and encourages additional playthroughs for the little secrets and multiple endings.

The game has some faults. At times, Casting Whispers feels held together by glue and duct tape, while other scenes look crisp and high quality. Sadly, there was a good bit of lag, mis-clicking, stuttering when moving too fast, and I had to restart a couple of times due to not being able to interact with the environments, plus it crashed on me about five times, mostly during the last boss fight. That said, there are some excellent visuals to keep us going, and the sound design feels almost perfect, especially that raging storm, and that’s because the developer, Lantern Bay, has a lot of experience doing sound design for major titles.

Lantern Bay is actually a solo developer (though others worked on parts), and I hear he’s listening to feedback about the game and has been responsive. That’s awesome, because although this game stumbles in parts and has problems, I was into it enough to replay the last few parts multiple times, trying to unlock different endings, even if the crashes kept me from getting one of them. Casting Whispers is an amazing first offering, giving people something with a lot of punch in a small package. It also makes me realize what could be in store in the future, imagining what they could do with a full team or more money, even if it’s just another version of this adventure. This feels like getting in on the ground floor of something extremely cool, just be careful what’s lurking in the shadows, or hearing phantom saxophone music.

Disclaimer: The publisher, through a PR representative, provided the game used for this review.

This review is the critique and thoughts of one writer. If you want to see how other critics felt, then check it out on OpenCritic.

8Bit/Digi is an independent media outlet that provides insight into the gamer community of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Casting Whispers (PC)

7

Good

7.0/10

Pros

• Intriguing story and main character.
• Some wonderful atmosphere and setting.
• Puzzles and exploration.
• Crisp sound design.

Cons

• Feels a little disjointed, easy to get lost.
• Game crashes and glitches; some are hard to detect.
• The worst doors ever.