They Breathe

About They Breathe

They Breathe is the first game by The Working Parts. It began on Xbox Live Indie Games, where it won attention for its atmosphere, and came to Steam in 2014 for Windows and Mac.

You play a lone frog sinking into the depths of a forest that has been flooded. Air is the one thing that matters: you collect bubbles to keep breathing, and so does everything else down there. Strange antlered creatures drift through the water, and part of the game is learning what they are and what the forest expects of you.

There is no dialogue and no tutorial. The store promises no hand-holding and a story told through play, and the horror grows from that silence: each deeper level makes the rules a little clearer and a little more terrible. The hand-drawn art is soft and pretty at first, which makes the turn harder to shake.

The whole descent takes about half an hour, so it suits players who want one evening's strange, unsettling experience rather than a long survival game. Players of LIMBO and INSIDE will recognise the quiet, side-on way it tells its story.

How to play They Breathe

1. Buy it on Steam for Windows or Mac and start the descent.
2. Swim the frog down through the flooded forest and catch air bubbles to keep breathing.
3. Watch the other creatures to learn what they need and how the forest works.
4. Keep going deeper to reach the bottom and see the ending.

Tips

• Pay attention to what the creatures do with the bubbles; that is the game's puzzle.
• Running out of air ends the run, so do not drift too far from a source of bubbles.
• Play it in one sitting with sound on; it is short and relies on mood.

Questions