Have you ever wondered what would happen if Alan Wake and Little Nightmares adopted Concrete Genie? Me neither. However, developers of 2017’s Rime, Tequila Works, have and GYLT is their answer. Initially released for Google Stadia in 2019 and recently ported to consoles by Parallel Circles, GYLT is a light and eerie horror adventure. As Sally you must embrace childhood fears, face bullies and explore emotions (spoiler, this includes guilt) as you endeavor to save your younger cousin.
You can now take a GYLT trip on PlayStation, Xbox and Steam from £15.99 ($19.99).
Story – Twisted Reality
There is little set up for GYLT‘s story; immediately learning that younger cousin Emily is missing, we join player character Sally putting up missing posters. In a hurried attempt to get home and escape from bullies, Sally finds herself taking an impromptu ride in a cable car. Instead of bringing her closer to safety, this journey teleports us to a nightmarish reality. It’s here we discover monstrous manifestations of bad memories, dark thoughts, and creepy mannequin children.
Thorough exploration is essential if you wish to gain a deeper understanding of the story and plan to achieve the positive ending. Strange books are scattered throughout the world, containing diary entries from the Inhabitants and even Emily herself, the excerpts helping us better understand the darkness engulfing her mind. Without giving too much away, the most important contribution to achieving the “good” ending is releasing the Inhabitants in order to receive their ticket pieces.
Sally’s reality has been warped into a nightmare.
Gameplay – Torches and Inhalers
The majority of GYLT plays out from a warped version of Sally’s school. Mazes of desks, faulty electrical wiring and a handful of demonic monsters roaming the halls work as obstacles on your way. How you handle these enemies is up to you, choosing whether to utilise your overpowered torch, the flimsy R2 attack, or using circle to crouch and approaching with stealth. These creatures have their own unique appearances and attacks, and while they are all on the look out for a victim, the enemy AI seemed inconsistent with their field of vision.
On top of sneaking past and eviscerating monsters, there is some environmental problem solving and player intuition is needed. For instance, items with yellow handles can be pulled into different positions which can create platforms for you to cross. The throwable cans picked up from drinks machines not only distract monsters, but can also be used to activate unreachable switches or knock down items
Collectibles
Sally’s childhood torch can be used to shine beams of light at weak spots on monsters, as well as blinding the sentient eyeballs obstructing your path. However, you will need to keep your own eye on the battery’s power level, displayed on the back of the torch. Prolonged use or stealth attacks will use more energy, requiring you to collect batteries regularly. Other collectibles include the aforementioned books, as well as blood quartz, which are needed for freeing the rock-clad Inhabitants.
There are also med-kits lying about in the form of inhalers. While the thought of picking up a stranger’s inhaler off the floor and then using them is unhygienic to say the least, this is soon forgotten when holding triangle to heal in the midst of action. A slightly intrusive piece of game design which tags along with the collectibles is in the form of HUD text. This appears for every item you pick up, regardless of whether it is the first in a collection or not, and there is no option to turn these hints off.
Attacking enemies with the torch uses battery, the percentage of which is displayed on the torch itself.
Audio and Graphics – Burtonesque
The visual style of GYLT is wrapped with a plasticine-like sheen. Sally’s coat especially sticks out like Little Red’s in contrast to the gloomy forest of classrooms. Yet while the majority of the game is presented with Burtonesque style character dolls and settings, some cutscenes instead display as hand-drawn illustrations in separate frames. While the switch up between styles is disorientating, they are both equally charismatic and, at times, unsettling.
The score was composed by Cris Velasco and contributes to emotional story beats while maintaining a fantastical gothic tone in the roughly 12 hour play time. Although the soundtrack intensified the thrilling moments, it seemed to be misaligned with actual gameplay. Enemy music would reach a crescendo and carry on past their defeat. If anything, this synchronisation issue added another layer to the apprehension felt in stepping into the unknown, making you unsure of whether there is an encounter nearby.
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- Some cutscenes are presented in graphic novel style.
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- Symbolic imagery is used throughout.
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- Enemies appear in a handful of different ways, each with their own attacks and weaknesses.
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- The majority of puzzles require using the environment, except for the occasional fuse box.
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- Boss battles play out the same, each boss having a weakness to be exploited a few times.
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- Manipulating the environment and using resources in different ways is needed to progress.
GYLT was reviewed on PS5 with a key provided by Tequila Works.
