Sometimes, you come across some pretty weird genre combinations for games. Irisu Syndrome in particular, is a cross between a horror game, and block matching puzzle game in the vein of Tetris. I would definitely consider it a good game that is effective at conveying a moody, depressive atmosphere through a non-typical backdrop.

I’m actually having a bit of a difficult time remembering Irisu Syndrome’s story, and that’s not just because it was several months ago that I played it. It’s also because it’s told to you in a very abstract manner where you get text added to the game’s file the further you progress in the game, similarly to Doki Doki Literature Club and IMSCARED, only Irisu Syndrome did it before either of them.

The story is something about how you are with a group of friends, and one of the girls, the titular Irisu, wants to kill another girl cause she has a crush on the same guy that Irisu has a crush on. And the puzzle game you are playing is one that Irisu plays to keep herself sane and not commit murder. If you consistently fail to reach a certain number of points, she does it

Unfortunately, none of this is really made clear while playing the game so you don’t get to see an engrossing horror story play out. It’s more like you’re just playing a puzzle game that will occasionally do creepy shit to remind you this isn’t just a puzzle game. Some example include Irisu’s face turning into this creepy pitch black shadow with horrifying red eyes if you manage to get beyond a certain threshold. There’s also one specific 4th wall breaking interface screw about half way through, that really fucked with me the first time I played it.

Even without understanding the story, there is a haunting and harrowing atmosphere that comes when you are focused on a simplistic yet difficult puzzle game, likely for several hours in order to get past the point threshold for the best endings, and the music you heat are somber, depressing tracks titled “Zero Communication,” “I Didn’t Talk to Anyone Again Today,” and “About 10 Hours Staring at the Ceiling.” This is an excellent way of putting the player into the shoes of someone who is basically trying to fend off oncoming madness.

Taking a bit to deviate from the intended script, I’ll just say that reading the summary of the game’s story and what all this stuff meant. It didn’t just fill me with clarity, it also felt me with dread. I’m in a bit of a predicament where I don’t know if I should rewrite the first paragraph of this review since I just looked it up after writing that, and it changes everything. Yeah, I went ahead and changed it, which is why you don’t get what I’m referring to. I’ll just link the summary here, but you should play through the game yourself first, even if you don’t fully get it.

I’m not sure how I feel about the abstract direction the story took. I know that some people like games like this, but I always feel that stories should provide a base for one to start with their introspection and theories, rather than just “make everything confusing as hell to begin with so you have to guess the main story.” Subtlety is good and all, but sometimes there can be too much of it.

As for the gameplay, it’s pretty fun. The main goal is to shoot blocks of the same color into each other to make them disappear, and to prevent them from being stacked to the top of the screen. What makes Irisu Syndrome different from other puzzle games of this type, aside from all the horror shit, is the physics based gameplay that requires you to take the angle you shoot at falling blocks into account.

The blocks also don’t disappear until they touch the ground, so you can also try to create combos by getting them to touch other blocks of the same color. However, this creates a risk factor where they can cause other blocks to fall, and blocks will vanish without awarding you any points if they are in the air for too long.

When you unlock Metsu mode, the rules get slightly changed so that all blocks are circles, that some float in the air unless you click on them, and they enter from both the top and bottom of the screen. This changes up the rules enough so that even if you’ve mastered the normal mode, you need to get used to a whole bunch of new shit. Yet there’s also enough in common that it isn’t unfair. Both modes are rather addicting in their own right, and would be enough for the game to hold up even without the unique story and horror elements.

Overall, Irisu Syndrome is a very unique game that is worth giving a look if you have not. The game is free to play, so there’s not much to lose. Despite the odd combination of puzzle and horror, the game works surprisingly well, and will be sure to leave a lasting impact.

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