Apartment Complex

Apartment Complex
https://kinerus.itch.io/apartment-complex

Apartment Complex is a short and free-to-download narrative exploration game set in a mostly abandoned apartment building. The only human occupants of this building are its two landlords. You play as one of the owners, who is middle-aged, jobless, and depressed. In an effort to do something with his life, your character takes it upon himself to check in with the tenants, who are not even remotely human.

The game only takes about twenty minutes to play, and the gameplay consists of walking through the three-story building and talking to the tenants. Just to put this out on front street, Apartment Complex has a message, and that message is that landlords are bad. I don’t disagree, but the game isn’t shy about being didactic. Putting the armchair Marxism aside, the writing is a lot of fun.

Each of the eight tenants (inasmuch as they can be counted) is a Lovecraftian monstrosity that defies Euclidean logic but still needs a place to stay on this particular plane of reality. Perhaps because of his depression, your character isn’t the least bit bothered by the ontology of these beings. Regardless of whether he’s talking to the fungus-infested remains of the former co-landlord, a divorced dad with multiple alligator mouths, or a colossal all-seeing eye of the abyss, this guy takes each of these conversations in stride.

And honestly, this is such a mood. I get it. Sanity-altering cosmic abnormalities are a dime a dozen, but you know what’s really fucked up? The unequal distribution of wealth across class lines. Again, Apartment Complex has a message, but it’s not wrong.

Also, given that the creator is only twenty years old, I admire the accuracy of the game’s portrayal of the jaded middle-aged mindset. Like does it really matter that your neighbor is an eldritch abomination who exists in the shadows of reality? Does it even matter.

Where Apartment Complex shines is the boldness and creativity of its 16-bit pixel art. The floorplan and room layouts of the building are bog-standard, but the way each tenant occupies the space has to be seen to be believed. If you’ve ever wondered just how weird Earthbound-style graphics can get, this game is for you. The character portraits displayed during conversations are incredible.

From its eye-catching color palette to the dry tone of its absurdist humor, Apartment Complex makes me nostalgic for Welcome to Night Vale in the best possible way. This is a chill and fantastically creative game about monster friends and postmodern malaise, and honestly? It’s super relatable.