Sunday, March 12, 2017

The Missing Parts of Maria Gwozdek (PC)


“The devil doesn’t come dressed in a red cape and pointy horns. He comes as everything you’ve ever wished for.”

Source: Screen Capture from Game

The Missing Parts of Maria Gwozdek is a horrifying, visual novel style game created by senokos. In this game, you play as a young woman named Maria who is down on her luck. Struggling to find work, and on the verge of being evicted, Maria is desperate for a solution. While out walking one night, Maria is confronted by a figure who introduces himself as Orin. Orin tells Maria that he can grant wishes, and that he will grant her wish and give her the job she desires in exchange for one of her organs/body parts.

Horrified, Maria flees back to her apartment for safety. Once there, she finds a piece of paper—a contract—that details the agreement. In exchange for a wish, Maria will sacrifice… and a blank space. Maria is able to fill the space with an organ to give up and get her dream job. By doing this, Maria agrees to the terms of the contract, although the extent of those terms is something Maria maybe should ask about before... oh, never mind, we're just going to sign it. Maria can choose to lose an eye or an ear. I played through multiple times to see the differences, but personally I feel I would rather give up an ear.

Source: Screen Capture from Game

When Maria goes to sleep, she dreams of a red room, named the Carmine Room, and muffled voices. The room has no exits, and the walls absorb every sound. Suddenly, a dark figure appears to, painfully, relieve Maria of her chosen body part….

In the morning, Maria receives a call, finding that she did get the job she wanted, and so desperately needed. Maybe sacrificing one body part isn’t so bad…? Things seem to be going so much better for Maria. She and her sister and getting along better, Maria has a new boyfriend, a great job…

After some time, however, Maria and her boyfriend have an altercation and her boyfriend is angry about the hours she has been working, going as far as asking if she is having an affair with her boss. He storms off and Maria laments, “I wish he understood what it was like to be missing a part of himself…” Unfortunately, Orin shows up again to tell Maria that she technically made a wish, so whether she likes it or not… it’s time to lose another body part. This time… we get to choose between an arm or a leg.

Source: Screen Capture from Game

Once again, Maria is subjected to the Carmine room and loses either an arm or a leg. Afterwards, you'll have one more choice left to make, but I won’t spoil it. Your final choice is tied more to the ending you receive.

The graphics in this game are nice. I like the minimalist backgrounds of the homes, and the pictures of the characters that show next to the dialogue boxes show only a shadow and eyes, adding to the feeling of darkness and unease.

Overall, I found this game horrifying, yet enthralling. It takes about a half an hour to complete one play through, and I played through twice to test out what losing the other body parts were like, and testing a different ending. If you enjoy psychological horror, then this is for you. You can download and play this game from free for its itch.io page *here*.

Happy Gaming, Friends!
Bell

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