It seems like people are finally realising the genius of publisher Critical Reflex. At least, my colleagues are. I’ve been singing its praises for a good while, thanks at first to Arctic Eggs, then to Mouthwashing, and finally to Threshold, all of which released this year. Mouthwashing is the only one to take hold on my fellows’ minds, probably because it’s the best of the three, but you should all pay attention to the others.
Critical Reflex has a clear modus operandi. PS2-style graphics. Psychological horror. A generally unsettling atmosphere. So if you like one of its games, I’d say that you’ll enjoy the rest.
Personally, I’d move straight from Mouthwashing to Arctic Eggs. You could probably already tell that from the title of this feature, but bear with me and I’ll explain why. Or go and play it and then read the rest of it. That’s what I’d recommend in reality – two clicks are better than one after all.
Eggs At The End Of The World
Arctic Eggs is like Mouthwashing if it was a Cooking Mama sequel. Cookingwashing? Mouth Mama? Okay that’s enough of that. Let’s try something different. What if Bennett Foddy tried to make breakfast?
The basic premise is simple: cook eggs. But everything about cooking those eggs is brilliant. Mechanically, the cooking is like no game I’ve ever played. You use your mouse to control the pan, the in-game physics perfectly replicating your movements. Flick your wrist to flip your egg, tilt it slightly to make sure it doesn’t stick. Go too far, though, and your delicious yolk is on the icy floor.
I need to see someone turn a Wii Remote into a fully-functional frying pan peripheral for the ultimate Arctic Eggs experience.
But then you have to cook cigarettes. Whole fish. Puffer fish. More elements are added to your pan, more components to make the most sickening meal you’ve ever imagined, more ways to go wrong. You need a steady hand and a cheffing mind or you’ll surely be overwhelmed.
How does this relate to Mouthwashing? The atmosphere. That unsettling energy that all Critical Reflex games seem to exude. The dozens, hundreds of caged chickens watching you cook their precious eggs. The dystopian soldiers who act as your customers. The arctic ice that surrounds you. Very little is explained, but that makes it all the more creepy.
From Eating Eggs To Eating Glass
After you’ve finished Mouthwashing and Arctic Eggs (it shouldn’t take too long, they’re both short), load up Threshold. It’s in a Steam bundle with Mouthwashing at the moment, so you should already own it. What, you didn’t get the- well buy it first, then play it.
Threshold is probably my least favourite of the three games Critical Reflex has published this year, but it’s still a darn good time. Good in the sense that eating glass is good. Because you do a lot of that.
You’re a train repair man. Your job is to keep the trains running. Simple, right? Wrong. Your number one job is blowing a whistle to keep the trains running. The problem with that is the thin air up in the mountains. Expelling a lungful on a whistle can leave you breathless and incapacitated. But that’s why the company provided you with a bunch of handy tubes full of oxygen. But the tubes have no opening.
No other sound in video games has shot through me like the crunch of glass as you bite into the tubes in Threshold, gulping down lifegiving oxygen and razor shards of glass at the same time. My gums feel sore even now just thinking about it. This central dichotomy, around needing to expel air to do your job and needing to harm your wellbeing in order to stay alive, is the core of Threshold. And it pushes you to the brink.
Wrapped around this gruesome core mechanic is another dystopian tale taking aim at capitalism, the nature of work, and healthcare in the modern world. There’s a mystery to solve here, an almost-linear narrative to follow, and surprises around every corner. Who knew that picking what country you’re from would impact the gameplay so drastically? I’ll say no more.
As we all discuss our games of the year for 2024, I want to shout out Critical Reflex as my Publisher of the Year. I’m glad to see Mouthwashing finally getting its flowers, but CR’s two other releases this year also deserve your attention. Both do exciting things narratively and mechanically, things that I have never seen in games before. The indie scene is pulsating with originality, and Critical Reflex is spearheading this movement towards weird, short games that try new things and tell new stories. I can’t wait to see what it’s got cooking for 2025. Hopefully eggs and cigarettes. My favourite.
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