A pretty niche horror/driving-sim with very minimalist design that is effective at creating an oppressive atmosphere.

Story is simple to the point of it barely being there but it works. You begin in a witches cabin discussing a ritual that will grant the player what ever they desire at a price. You simply type in your wish then begin the first half of the ritual after which you are sent to retrieve 3 items for the latter half. You set off in your car and the game begins.

Your car is driven with the WASD keys which feels kind of stiff but I found it fairly easy to adjust to after the first leg. It definitely feels like you're fighting to stay on the road at times but the spirit is definitely in the same vein as survival horror tank-controls. The twist is that the road changes depending on your mental state, driving is simple when you are mentally well taken care of but increasingly severe hallucinations begin to set in as your mental well being deteriorates. These hallucinations range from bits of gore occasionally dropping on the windshield to complete breaks from reality. It makes for some pretty tense moments in the rural backwater outside of the sporadic urban environments, especially when driving with damage and a dwindling fuel reserve.

Money can be earned picking up hitchhikers who occasionally appear on the side of the road. There's some nice sound design as their footfalls crunch in the gravel as they approach your car. They do little else than sit silently in the backseat and look menacing in the rear view but the presence of a scowling face staring back at you as you try to navigate the night is pretty off putting.

Your main goal is pursued in the dozen or so cities on the map. Exploration is basic, you click on a list of locations to enter. You will mainly be upgrading your car and making repairs at the mechanics, seeking aid for your mental health in the form of medicine or cigarettes at the pharmacy or convenience store and purchasing one of the three objective items in the pawn shop. There are back alleys to explore that can yield some loot but I didn't engage with this much as it usually didn't turn out well for me. Basic as they are, the cities are a nice little break from driving and contribute to the atmosphere. The shopkeepers are all unfriendly and shrouded in shadow making the world feel just a tiny bit more hostile and the static images of skylines add a little diversity to the scenery after driving through the dark countryside and decaying outskirts.

Graphically it looks like a 5th gen console game with the jagged polygons and dithering. NPC's have a nice hand drawn look to them, making them pop out in the gritty interiors and the hallucinatory distortions that pop up during driving are effectively creepy and disturbing. Like everything else its simple and dirty in a way that benefits the experience.

There's some small complaints here and there, points where the players mental health seemed entirely drained regardless of how many drugs and cigarettes consumed and the random obstacles sometimes felt a little cheap. It can also run on the short end depending on your luck with which items spawn where (i'd say 30 minutes to an hour and a half has been my ballpark time to complete after 2 or 3 runs) and the ending is kind of predictably underwhelming. Regardless, its a gem and a pretty original horror experience.

8/10