By Randalf

Also available in its written form below the video

So, when looking for stuff for the horrify.world editorial team to review, I sometimes find it hard to find the people making a particular game that I figure would be a good fit, because the steam store page doesn’t exactly link to developers email, and some developers there don’t even have an email, or a twitter, or anything.

So sometimes I look on other platforms. Itch is good and I like that, but more recently I’ve been trolling subreddits because I figure that if people are on there advertising their no name indie games, then they’re probably interested in getting some exposure from us, and that’s how I found todays game, Cut to the Core.

THE PREMISE

So Cut to the Core is a little hard to talk without A: spoiling it a little bit, or B: making it sound boring. So if you’re already thinking about buying it just based on the footage you’re seeing now, then do that and let me know down below what you thought of it, but if you’re not then this is for you.

I wouldn’t normally spoil anything in these kinds of reviews, but Cut to the Core does have a weird slow burn start that doesn’t really start to hook the player until about 30 minutes in. It is on purpose because it makes what happens later on oh so more startling because of it, but I can absolutely see how it can turn some people off.

Anyways, the game opens up with our protagonist Jack and his partner David discussing a business deal that doesn’t seem like it was quite as successful as either of them would have hoped. And when Jack heads home to greet his wife who asks him about the deal and he lies through his teeth and then they get it on to celebrate.

Later they host a celebratory dinner for all their friends, and David, Jack’s partner, has brought his sort of girlfriend, and she spills the beans at the dinner table that the deal didn’t go through, and that none of them are rich.

Sophie, Jack’s wife rightfully freaks out over this, as she has in classic toxic relationship style, put her own life and career on hold to support Jack in what is apparently not his first, 2nd or 3rd business venture.

They have a huge fight, and a few days later, Jack goes to see his doctor, Lacey, who was also at the party and saw the whole thing go down.

Jack is there for a check up, but Lacey has other plans, and she sedates him, torches her doctors office, and we learn later that she managed to fake Jack’s death.

What unfolds from here on out, is a now one legged Jack’s harrowing quest to escape his new prison in Lacey’s basement, mean while his friends and family and enemies, deal with his demise, and their understandably complicated feelings for him, and it’s a wild wild wild ride….

WHAT IS IT EXACTLY?

If you have functional vision, then you’re probably wondering. Why does this look like a comic book and what exactly does it play like? And the answer is, it doesn’t.

You can click through every line of dialogue if you want to, but I don’t know why you would. I put it on auto play and just sat back and enjoyed a really good story that’s like reading a comic book but a lot more immersive because you have a little motion here and there, and you have a brilliant soundscape.

I’ve been purposefully vague on the games story and that’s on purpose. It’s a little slow to start, but it’s absolutely brilliant. If you’re not sensitive to body horror, you have to play this and you have to see where this story goes, because trust me, you have no idea, whatever you think this crazy lady is gonna do to this man, it’s not that. Experiencing a story that you don’t know where is going like you know so many others… It's refreshing to say the least.

IS IT WORTH IT

Yes, unequivocally yes, it’s not a game, it’s a motion comic and it’s great. It’s something like 4 dollars and it’s 2-3 hours of entertainment, and it’s gonna tell you a story that you won’t see anywhere else, and if you’re even remotely interested in those old pulpy stories, Junji Ito, or want to know what those kids horror shows like Tales from the Crypt or Are You Afraid of the Dark, would be like if they were made for adults, then you have to check out this game and give the developer your money so they can keep making more.

Since I played this game, I’ve actually tracked down quite a few other motion comics like Cepheus Protocol and Mycorrhiza, the last one being interesting because it isn’t like if Junji Ito was American but if Junti Ito made motion comics period, because straight up trying to emulate his style and to pretty good success.

What confuses me though is…. Why is there not a hub for these things separate from Steam and Itch and what not. Why havn’t someone made a platform for motion comics, because I have never heard anyone say: Oh yeah motion comics, yeah they’re shit. To the contrary, people seem to really like sitting back and enjoying a story like in a visual novel, but without the pretense of it being a real game.

There has to be a market for it, and if anyone wants some unsolicited business advice, it would be to make a platform for motion comics….

Buy the game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1777000/Cut_to_the_Core/