Detention Reviews

actually such a cool and eerie experience

"Detention" is a truly unique experience, set in a place and a time period that virtually no other game has explored. It's like a "Silent Hill" spin-off that takes place in Taiwan, at the time of The White Terror. Featuring an impressive and memorable visual and audio presentation, it tells the very human story of Fang Ray-Xin (方芮欣) as she explores what appears to be an otherwordly representation of her school, all the while trying to survive among deadly spirits, and hopefully learn the truth behind the terrifying predicament she finds herself in. Despite its short length, "Detention" is a one-of-a-kind horror tale that I'd recommend every time.

A very nice and unexpected surprise, this is a very atmospheric 2D adventure game, with a dark and mysterious theme mixing the supernatural and religious with real-life political and social situations in 1960s Taiwan. The puzzles will keep you engaged, they are all challenging. You might solve some of them quite easily, but it doesn't take away from the cleverness of the implementation of the theme. The atmosphere changes from dark to magical, to sinister, to depressing. There is a very engaging plot, and the fact that the imaginary events of the game have real-life inspirations and themes behind them, makes it even more deep. Once you see past the supernatural, the reality is even scarier. The graphics are very decent, with desaturated colours really bring out the more fantastical/bloodier scenes, adding to the whole atmosphere. Same goes for the music and audio design; the whole artistic package compliments the theme perfectly. I totally recommend this game. It's a short play (about 4 hours or thereabouts) so maybe get it on sale, but you will definitely not regret spending your time and money on this.

As a person who as of writing this isnt really into horror games (not bad at all, they just typically dont interest me) This is absolute cinema. One of my favorite indie games of all time. I cant say much without spoilers but its much more than what the game seems. I have almost nothing but praise. The game made me feel things few other games or other media have. Only criticism is that some of the puzzles are a bit confusing, but its not bad and most of them work quite well. STRON RECOMMEND

This was a gift from a beloved friend of mine. I haven't really played any games like this, so when I told her "I like Indie games", and when she replied, "You should play Detention then. It's really good and atmospheric horror. You'll love it.", nothing really rang through my mind. I looked up the game, saw that it's on sale, and she offered to buy it for me. It was relatively cheap, so it was fine. Little did I know that I'd love this game so much. The atmosphere, the puzzles, and most importantly the story, is so so so amazing. It's dark, gritty, but at the same time very very intriguing to someone who loves philosophy like me. I am so glad I picked up this game. I really adore it. It's so good. Please play this game. You, are me.

truly an incredible game. in the beginning you'd think it's a typical asian school horror cliche, but Detention is so much more than that. very beautiful and very sad. it is scary to think that it is based on real historical events

Great story telling relatively short play with cohesive plot progression. fantastic story and interesting play style

I'm usually not into horror games, but this game is intriguing enough at the beginning to have kept me playing and got progressively better, as it stopped trying to scare the player and focused instead on the artistic and narrative aspects. The unusuall (to a western player) setting and political themes add flavor to the overall well delivered psychological drama. For more insights into taiwanese life and culture and another artistically impressive study of family relationships gone wrong I would highly recommend the second game by Red Candle Games "Devotion", available in developer's store DRM free.

truly an incredible game. in the beginning you'd think it's a typical asian school horror cliche, but Detention is so much more than that. very beautiful and very sad. and maybe the scariest thing about this game is that events like this actually happened in history.

This game is as bleak and harrowing as reality. If you understand that choice and agency are but illusions and yet, still regret your choices in life, then you will likely find this game hauntingly beautiful. I normally don't like point-and-click games but in this case, it was appropriate. The slow pace made me feel like I was trudging along with the protagonist toward her inevitable fate. There is apparently a "true ending" and a "bad" or "evil" ending but in reality, only the "bad" ending fits, and how. If you feel like only negative or dark emotions are honest and genuine, then know that this game delivers those in spades. It might be uncomfortable or even painful if you're unaccustomed to it, but at least it's relatable. It makes you feel as you should. The only drawback for me was that the puzzles were obtuse at times, but even that fits the atmosphere of the game. You don't ever really know what you're doing or where you're going in life, and your only certainty is that you're filled with sadness and regret because you're inevitably being led there anyway. If you haven't yet realised that you're cattle to the elite and that everything you say, think, or do is being controlled, then playing that game might ease you into it somewhat, when realisation finally dawns. (If it never does, I envy you that.) That's another strong point about this game; the realism with which notions of societal control and oppression are depicted in this game are truly horrific. This game isn't a horror game because of cheap jump scares or scary visuals, but because the protagonist's utter lack of agency rings all too true. Play this if you're awakened and appropriately sad.