Just Ignore Them

About Just Ignore Them

Just Ignore Them is a point-and-click horror adventure by the small studio Stranga Games, made in Adventure Game Studio and published on Steam by GrabTheGames in April 2017, with an itch.io release that August. Ratalaika Games brought it to PlayStation 4 and PS Vita, Xbox One and Switch in October 2019. The maker says it is mainly story driven and written to read more like a film script than a game.

You play Mark, an eight-year-old boy who lives with his mother, who works from home so she can look after him. Monsters live in the house with him: tall figures in black with pale faces and blood running from their eyes. One night can feel like a lifetime of pain and terror to a child, and that night is where the game begins. From there the story jumps ahead to show how the choices you make shape his future, and you work out the mystery of where the monsters come from.

You move him around small top-down pixel rooms, from his bedroom and bathroom to a diner and a roadside motel, click on objects and people, talk, and use what you pick up to get past what blocks you. At key moments you make choices that the maker says change which lives are saved or lost and alter the ending, while the main plot stays the same. The maker has said there are two endings.

Its horror is in what is shown and implied rather than in chases: the maker says it was not built as a jumpscare game but written as psychological horror with a 90s thriller feel. There is blood and violence, and the console versions are rated Mature 17+. A first run takes about two hours.

Steam players rate it Mostly Positive. Critics on Switch were cooler: Switch Player praised its look and its eerie lighting but found the story weak and the puzzles vague, and other reviews say the game gives little guidance on how to use items. It suits players who like short, strange horror stories told in pixel art, and who do not mind a little trial and error.

How to play Just Ignore Them

1. Start a new game and move Mark around the house with the mouse.
2. Click on objects and people to look, talk and pick things up.
3. Use the items you find on the room around you to get past each obstacle and move the story on.
4. When the game asks you to choose, think about it: critical choices change who lives and the ending.
5. Play again and choose differently to see the other ending.

Tips

• Try the free demo on Steam or itch.io first, as the maker suggests.
• Click everywhere in a room before moving on; reviewers note the game gives few hints about where an item is used.
• Save before a big choice so you can see where the other path leads.
• Achievement and trophy hunters need to play through twice to see both endings.

Questions