Psychological horror Short horror 2D horror Surreal horror

DISTRAINT: Deluxe Edition

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Seize an old woman's home, then pay the price for it.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Stores: Steam, GOG
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (93% of 12,970 reviews); Metacritic 76 from 8 critics (PC); 4.3 of 5 from 540 ratings on the US PlayStation Store; 3.8 of 5 from 96 reviews on GOG
Length: about 2 hours
Players: 1
Made by: Jesse Makkonen
Released: 2015

On PlayStation: one of the PlayStation horror games.

No. 28 of the apartment horror games · No. 14 of the office horror games · No. 4 of the horror games about madness

Get it on Steam PlayStation Store (PS4 and PS Vita)Xbox Nintendo eShop GOG (DRM-free)

What frightens To win a partnership at his firm, Price seizes an elderly woman's home, and from that moment his world turns grim and grotesque: the side-scrolling streets, flats and offices he walks warp into scenes of his regret, with sudden horrors, blood and dark humour along the way.
Content: blood and gore, self-harm, alcohol and drugs, strong language, disturbing imagery.

DISTRAINT is a short 2D psychological horror adventure by Jesse Makkonen. Price, an ambitious young bailiff, seizes an elderly woman's property to win a partnership, and his conscience turns the world around him into a nightmare. The Deluxe Edition, now the version sold, adds colour, new lighting and better sound.

About DISTRAINT: Deluxe Edition

DISTRAINT is a side-scrolling psychological horror adventure made by one developer, Jesse Makkonen, and released on Steam on 21 October 2015. In September 2017 it received a free update to the Deluxe Edition: colour in place of the original grey, more environmental lighting instead of a lantern, enhanced animation and refined audio. Ratalaika Games brought the Deluxe Edition to PlayStation 4 and PS Vita, Xbox and Switch in September 2019, and it is also sold DRM-free on GOG.

You play Price, an ambitious young man who wants to be made a partner at the firm of McDade, Bruton and Moore. His job is to seize the homes of three residents, and with the first, an elderly woman, he learns what his humanity costs. The rest of the game is his story and the tale of his regrets, told as a horror novel would tell it, moving quickly through flats, streets, offices and stranger places.

Play is simple: you walk left and right along long corridors and streets, look at things, talk to people and pick up what you need. Price carries up to three items at a time, and most puzzles ask you to find an object and use it in the right place. Conversations are linear, with no choices to make. The fear comes from the atmosphere, the hand-drawn pixel art and the sound: ordinary rooms grow red fleshy growths, washrooms fill with things hanging from the ceiling, and Price meets things that should not be there. Reviewers note that it builds tension rather than relying on jumpscares. The maker calls it dark and grim with its share of dark humour, and warns of alcohol, drugs and self-harm.

It takes around two hours. It suits players who want a short horror story with a moral weight to it, and it leads straight into DISTRAINT 2, which continues Price's story.

How to play DISTRAINT: Deluxe Edition

Buy it on Steam, GOG, the PlayStation Store, the Xbox store or the Nintendo eShop.
Walk Price left and right through each scene and read what he says about it.
Pick up the items you find (Price holds up to three) and use them where the story is blocked.
Follow the story through each place until it moves you on to the next.

Screenshots

Price tells a crying old woman in a rocking chair: But I must seize this property, as red fleshy growths hang from her ceiling

Price faces the three identical mustached partners of McDade, Bruton and Moore among money bags in a pink-lit office

Price under a wide hat on a rainy night street between glowing lamps, a wooden building and an iron fence

Price in a grimy, cobwebbed, magenta-lit flat captioned Apartment 24 - Living Room, with red streaks across the wall

Price in a grimy tiled bathroom with a bathtub and a lit lamp, as dark bloody shapes hang from the ceiling

A boy by a green door in a murky tiled bathroom, saying: I've a superb bladder, I can hold it for a day or two

A pale figure sits between armchairs in a decaying room with peeling wallpaper, washed in red, orange and purple light

Tips

Examine everything in a room before you leave it; a missing item is usually two screens back.
Play with headphones; much of the dread is in the sound.
Play DISTRAINT 2 after it; the story carries on.

Questions

How long is DISTRAINT?

The developer says a playthrough lasts around two hours, and HowLongToBeat puts the main story at about two hours and everything at about two and a half.

What is the difference between DISTRAINT and the Deluxe Edition?

The Deluxe Edition replaces the original grey with colour, drops the lantern for more environmental lighting, and improves the animation, sound and interface. It came to Steam as a free update in 2017, and it is the version sold on every store now.

Is DISTRAINT on consoles?

Yes. The Deluxe Edition is on PlayStation 4 and PS Vita (one purchase gives both), Xbox One and Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.

Is DISTRAINT suitable for younger players?

It is rated Mature by the ESRB for blood and gore, strong language, use of drugs and violence, and PEGI 16 on Switch. The maker warns of alcohol, drugs and self-harm.

Is DISTRAINT voiced?

No. Its text can be read in English and eleven other languages on Steam, including German, French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and Simplified Chinese, but there is no spoken dialogue.