The workplace appears to be empty save for a grinning little woman who yells “hey mister, get up!” in what appears like newbie Simmish, then instantly vanishes across the nook. The constructing consists of grainy, glass-walled compartments lined with illuminated facades displaying kanji letters, organized alongside a central hall. I believe I am on the ninth ground.
It’s all, dare I say, a bit liminal. The partitions and desks have the feel of ash. The fluorescent ceiling tubes taper off and vanish into the black interiors of mirrored alcoves at both finish of the hall. There are piercing crimson bulbs right here and there that would point out one of the best path to the exit, and what I believe are deactivated elevators with parted doorways.
It will most likely really feel much less eerie if I had been extra cell. As I’ll have talked about, I am taped to a chair. To maneuver, I’ve to wiggle my physique mass frantically with the WASD keys, whereas peering round with the mouse controls. I’ve by no means been taped to an workplace chair IRL, considerably to my shock, however Chairbound looks like a fairly genuine and hi-fi recreation of the expertise, in that getting anyplace is frustrating. Oh and sure, there’s that LED timer strapped to my chest, its 10-minute countdown considerately angled upward. This creates a sure urgency.
I’ve tried to beat Chairbound 4 occasions to date. Every try started with my squirming and writhing my manner out into the central hall, in pursuit of the bizarre little woman. There may be all the time a squeaky rubber duck on a desk close by. If I do not thoughts sacrificing a number of seconds, I can trundle up shut and seize the duck in my left or proper hand. Then I can squeeze it, bringing a word of comedy to my tragic plight. It might be the duck has another, grander function to play on this epic drama, or it might be that the builders/my captors have positioned it there to fuck with me. I strongly suspect the duck to be a take a look at of my character.
As soon as the query of whether or not to take the duck is resolved, I’ve to fret about getting down the steps on the finish of the corridor. There could also be different stuff to search out within the different rooms, even perhaps a strategically hidden pair of scissors, however when you’ve got a timer strapped to your chest, it is laborious to consider collectibles.
Every staircase has an entry ramp that appears handy however invariably ideas me over after I attain the underside, and if you flip over in Chairbound, you are toast. The primary time it occurs, I try and jerk myself throughout the touchdown to the subsequent staircase down, hoping that I would tumble rightway up, but it surely’s unattainable to construct momentum whereas inclined. I ponder ready for the timer to run down, then take the coward’s manner out and hit the restart button.
The following two makes an attempt go a lot the identical manner. On the fourth strive, I make an necessary discovery, so epochal and historic that I’m going to swathe it in spoiler tags. There’s one other, unoccupied rolling chair I can shunt down the ramp to function a buffer, breaking my slide and stopping me falling over. Armed with this information, I can courageous the mysteries of the eighth ground. What is going to I discover there? Let’s reconvene to debate my progress tomorrow, 1st August, when Chairbound releases on Steam.
