Rewind Or Die
Greetings, ‘Rewind or Die’ is a video game from 2023 that was developed by COMP-3 Interactive and was published by Torture Star Video. The publishing company has been around since 2020 and specialises in Indie Horror games with previous titles such as ‘These Trees Are Spectral Fingers’, ‘The Enigma of Salazar House’ and ‘Night at the Gates of Hell’ among their works. The game is a short one as it consists of only 5 chapters and takes a matter of hours to complete in full. This title was later released across multiple platforms including PlayStation, X-Box and Nintendo consoles in 2024. Being an independent game, the cast understandably doesn’t contain any notable stars but includes Mike Lythgöe as the protagonist Tony, Reece Bridger as the journalist Timothy and a voice actor who goes by the stage name of Sc4rebear as the monstrous Slaw. The music was composed by an artist known as Wobbegong who does a nice job of helping create a tense atmosphere through their soundtrack.
The game is set on the night of 29th November 1997 in London and begins with Tony Brown relaxing in his grubby apartment. While about to make himself a quick snack and settle down for the night, Tony’s peace is soon disturbed by an unexpected phone call which is answered by his roommate Franky. The call ruins Tony’s plans as he has been ordered back to his job at Video-2-Go, a VHS rental store, to cover a shift for one of his co-workers. An irritated Tony agrees to go and makes his way to the store. He goes his usual route which includes walking through a filthy alleyway as a shortcut. During his walk, he encounters a dog called Zakk and his homeless owner warming themselves by a fire in a barrel. The hobo accosts and physically restrains Tony as he warns that the stench of death is in the air. Tony breaks free and cusses the hobo out before starting his shift at the store.
The night starts badly as Tony has to interact with trivia spouting film buffs and contend with perverted customers renting out adult movies but it gets a lot worse from there. While searching for his fellow worker Dave in the staff room, he only finds his mobile phone on a nearby table. The phone has a brief voice mail from a woman which ends with her screaming much to Tony’s utter confusion. He eventually finds Dave having a nap in the lavatory. Shortly after the discovery, a journalist named Timothy enters the store and he asks the clerks if they had any information on a spate of disappearances that occurred recently in the neighbourhood. Tony apologetically comments that he is unable to help as he knows no more that Timothy. Content that he would get no new information here, the journalist leaves the store and overhears a vehicular crash. He rushes over to the site before being set upon by a mysterious figure.
I very much enjoyed this game and especially appreciated the retro feel that was incorporated into every facet of it including the menu page. The opening chapters being set in a VHS rental store was a nice choice and it was oddly fun completing everyday tasks, such as restocking shelves or picking up carelessly discarded litter, before the main story unfolded. There is even a homage to the 2014 craze of Flappy Bird, which serves as a mini-game and unlocks a secret once the high score has been beaten, that now has a bit of nostalgia value to it. While the puzzles were not particularly hard to solve, the key to getting the best possible ending wasn’t overtly obvious and leads to a showdown with a secret boss. This boss fight changes the game in its final moments from a gritty horror story and takes it into the realm of the supernatural. After liking this one so much, I might be tempted to try out a few other releases by Torture Star Video.
Plot=7/10
Characters=7/10
Graphics=7/10
Overall=7/10
Quote of the Day
Kiss me, fatboy!
Pennywise the Dancing Clown
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