DISCLAIMER: THE IMAGERY IN THIS REVIEW AND THIS GAME IS DISTURBING. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS IS A HORROR GAME AND THAT THE IMAGES BELOW ARE VIOLENT.
Imagine if you will that you are in your early 20s. You’ve received a red letter via courier with a job contract directing you to appear in person at a major corporation in the closest major metropolitan area. This is your big shot to get that job of your dreams and show everyone that you can make something of yourself. This is the situation that one Brian Pasternack finds himself in. Step into Brian’s shoes and you’ll find yourself at Sintracorp with some very questionable company. Your job at this paragon of corporate values? KILL THE WITCH!
Developer Baroque Decay and publisher Another Indie have brought us a unique horror tale with Yuppie Psycho: Executive Edition for the Nintendo Switch. Originally released last spring on Steam, this updated version of the game includes additional content, areas, bosses, and even endings which form the Executive Edition of the game. If you’ve never played the game before, be assured that all the content will blend smoothly and you just get a larger, more comprehensive game with about 3 hours of extra gameplay. Yuppie Psycho is, at its heart, a pixel-based horror game. As Brian, you’ll explore the various floors and departments of Sintracorp, confused and disoriented, hunting down the witch that has infiltrated the building. But that’s not the only thing wrong in this high-rise. Whole departments are filled with demons, monsters, and unholy creatures so revolting that it’s hard to really grasp what they are before they lunge hideously at you. You’ll have to solve the puzzles and figure out where things have been hidden to expose the witch and it won’t be easy.
It’s hard to understate how good the character designs, creature designs, and background work are in Yuppie Psycho. And don’t let the screenshots fool you, because the game looks much better in motion than the stills show. The pixel art is constantly twitching and moving in unsettling ways as you walk through the dimly lit corridors of the building. Yuppie Psycho revels in its corporate setting, merging familiar mythology with various types of office settings, furniture, and concepts, creating monsters that almost defy description. You know that this is a special game when you save for the first time, using the Witch Paper you’ve discovered in the photocopier to photocopy your soul. At that point, it’s icing on the cake that each save results in a different image of your face pressed against the copier glass!
You’ll have to follow the instructions of Sintracorp’s AI and various characters to proceed through the game. While your hand is never really held, you’ll always know where to go if you’re paying attention. Gameplay consists of controlling Brian, solving puzzles, and walking (or more commonly running as the walk speed is a tad slower than it should be) through floors looking for various items, searching every wastebasket and filing cabinet for clues, food, and items. Even the most mundane items can become useful in strange ways in Yuppie Psycho. Things like the wrapper from your sandwich or a cup of water from the water cooler become integral additions to your inventory. Never before in your life will you have been happier to find a number 2 pencil as you will in Yuppie Psycho! In addition to interacting with objects and people in rooms, you can look at or use items in your inventory in a variety of ways, allowing you to solve the puzzles and progress to the next room. Puzzles aren’t hard, but they do take patience and a bit of thought. And you’ll definitely be screwed if you don’t remember your Roman numerals!
As you start to piece together the weird occurrences commonplace to the Sintracorp building, there’s a feeling of almost palpable tension. The devs at Baroque Decay have absolutely nailed the visual presentation of the game and Yuppie Psycho brings you fear with a handful of pixels. For such a minimalist presentation, the shadow work and abject horror around you simply ooze out of the screen, recalling memories of games like Silent Hill 2 and Dead Space. Yuppie Psycho absolutely earns its M rating for the sheer gore, disturbing imagery, and shocking dialogue rife with profanity, paranoia, and fear.
But don’t think that’s all. As with all top tier horror games, sound plays a major role here. Unsurprisingly, the soundtrack for Yuppie Psycho is the product of musician Garoud, known for the VA-11 HALL-A soundtrack. It’s a fusion of soft jazz elevator music that perfectly suits the jaunty and forced casual nature of an office building and creates a disturbing dichotomy with the traumatic visuals and storyline of the game itself. While you’re tapping your toe to that light, snazzy soundtrack, you’ll be busy doing things like untying corpses from a railing where they used their tie to hang themselves or coaxing feral marketing executives out of their hidden cubicles with clever catch phrases that make them want to work. As the game progresses, you’ll slowly notice a subtle dark undercurrent inching its way into the music as the tension ratchets up, culminating in some intense tracks. The sound effects also play a huge role in Yuppie Psycho as unknowable things growl, hiss, and moan at you. It’s a unique effect not out of place in a well-written horror movie and that’s really what Yuppie Psycho is.
This is a game that really immerses you in its world and pulls you in. Players that are more concerned with graphics and aren’t partial to the charms of retro pixel art will probably skim right over Yuppie Psycho not giving it a fair chance, but any true horror aficionado will find that this is a labor of love that weaves common themes from various horror stories and movies into a completely unique and terrifying game that keeps you coming back for more. Honestly, it was hard to stop playing, even when it was time to go to bed, and the hours flew by. Sure, the game could be a little bit longer, but about 10 hours is a pretty solid playtime for a small indie horror game, especially at a horror-adjacent $16.66 price point. This isn’t a fast paced game and you certainly won’t be spoiling for a fight with every creature like Dead Space, but it has a unique charm and presence that’s rare in an indie title, especially in the shovel-ware filled pixel art genre.
If you’re looking for a dark, creepy title to finish off your Halloween season, look no further than Yuppie Psycho. It’s a fun game with a well-written and creepy storyline full of tongue and cheek gags, disturbing scenes, and a downright excellent visual and auditory experience. Load times are fast, controls are solid and intuitive, and the whole experience is exactly what a good horror game should be! This one will be nightmare fuel for a while, especially if you have any kind of office job and are actually still in the office! Don’t hesitate to check it out, just prepare to be unnerved!
This review is based on a digital copy of Yuppie Psycho: Executive Edition provided by the publisher. It was played on a Nintendo Switch in both docked and undocked modes and was outstanding in both! Definitely check it out with a pair of headphones on with the Switch undocked! Yuppie Psycho: Executive Edition is also available on PC for Steam. All screenshots are from actual gameplay. Don’t turn out the lights…
