DOOR: Inner Child opens in Early Access on Steam

Written by Will Aickman — December 8, 2020 at 11:46

We often say that emotionally isolated people keep their feelings “locked away;” we invite them to “open up” and “let others in.” These are just expressions, of course, but in DOOR: Inner Child, a new project by one-man Korean developer PLAY Mephistowaltz, this concept takes on a much more literal meaning as players unlock and move past barriers on a quest to heal a dreamlike world that has fallen dangerously out of balance.

As Nia, a denizen of the “Soul World” with the ability to “heal emotional scars,” it’s your job to help those who have suffered emotional trauma as a result of “breaking up, deaths, loneliness, failure, and more.” Nia, who “has always lived in the peaceful part of the Soul World,” has a premonition of impending danger. Sensing that the realm is in danger after “a storm tears through,” she must now embark upon an adventure to save her world, continuing in her duty to “open closed doors to heal broken hearts” along the way.

The gameplay in DOOR features puzzle solving and light platforming elements throughout a world with 3D graphics that evoke a hand-drawn aesthetic. Each distinct stage is based on a different emotion, with the various motifs “displayed through the color scheme or camera perspectives,” so that one emotion might “lock your perspective” while another will “flip and tear apart the screen.” As the game progresses, “character movement, types of puzzles, and your playstyle will change” to reflect the emotion you’re currently exploring.

DOOR: Inner Child has launched on Steam Early Access with four chapters and thirty stages available to play, with new chapters and stages to be added as the game remains in development for “quite a few months.”