Sound is sparsely used in the game but generally to good effect. There is a steady background ambient throughout that is much less intrusive than a full musical score. Mechanisms make realistic noises and Laura’s steps echo (though strangely, only when she goes up and down stairs). Voice work is limited to the paternal apparitions and occasional gasps from Laura, but this is for the best as the performances are less than stellar. The game also plays music any time a significant event occurs. Like Laura, this can get a bit over-theatrical at times, playing dramatic chords to announce a new disturbing scene.

The puzzles are all fairly straightforward. There is no facility for combining inventory items and you only ever have access to a handful of locations at any one time. The last object you acquired is the one actively selected when opening the inventory, and it's invariably the item you need, which removes the standard search and selection in most adventures. As a result, most puzzles can be solved by merely wandering around the available locations resolutely looking at everything if no inspiration strikes. Any codes or lock combinations required are "hidden" in plain sight, including one that is quite literally painted in digits six inches high on a door.

With this degree of simplicity, it is unlikely that any moderately experienced adventure gamer will need to resort to the in-game hint system, which is good, since it leaves a lot to be desired. The compact in Laura’s inventory from the start has magical abilities (Internet sources say it was a gift from her mother but neither the game nor the manual explain its origins) and looking in it shows you a picture of where you need to go next. However, this is only useful if you’ve actually seen the location shown and can recognise it from the small depiction presented, and after each use the compact gains a crack and eventually become useless.

Since the puzzles are unlikely to slow down any experienced adventurer, it appears that the designers have taken other steps to impede the player and push them nearer to the time limit. Throughout her journey in this world of horror, Laura walks at a speed for which the title “snail’s pace” is only a slight exaggeration. The latter part of the game includes a rotating room where, to get all the items and information you need, you have to perform the rotating action no less than an astounding 30 times. (Even on a second play through where I didn’t need information, I could only get this down to 18.) This part of the game also includes a quick time sequence that gamers of my vintage will recognise as having its origins in the arcade game Dragon’s Lair, and since popularized again in more recent games such as Fahrenheit.

The plot is not overly complex. For most of the game you simply wander through this surreal world with only the occasional clue to the overall story. Rather than spend time on fleshing out the story, the game is mostly content to just scare you with horrific sights and apparently life-threatening situations. There is an additional backstory involving Laura’s past (which was toned down from the Japanese original due to its controversial distastefulness) presented in visions brought on by strange hallucinogenic bugs that Laura happens across. It’s not particularly hard to work out what the "D" of the title refers to, but you’ll only get the full story in the clumsy exposition at the end of the game.

Ultimately, D isn’t really a game I can recommend anyone searching for. The plot is uninvolving and the tactics used to slow the player down can make parts of the game feel like a chore. It is also far too short with minimal replay value. The game manual hints at multiple endings, but in reality there are only three. To obtain two of the endings (the “good” and “bad” ones), you will need to play through the entire game, only changing the decision you make at the end. The third ending occurs when the time limit runs out, and the only way most people will achieve that is by waiting for it, as even on my first ever play through I had a good 15 to 20 minutes to spare at the end. Only a completist or a reviewer will actually go for all three, and most players will just go straight for the good ending (the best choice being pretty obvious at the end)

If the game has any real value at this point, it is as a snapshot of the time it was made. This game exhibited some technical advances that went on to be better implemented in subsequent games. As such it might be worth picking up if you happen across a copy as a curio of that past age. I was able to run the PC version of the game under DOSBox 0.72 with default settings, so at least technical compatibility isn't an issue. The game was also made for the 3DO, Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation, which serves as a reminder of just how old the game really is. If you’ve got one of those old consoles lurking in the attic, then you could squeeze a couple hours more use out of it with this game. Everyone else is probably better off giving it a miss, as it's roughly deserving a score little better than its title.