How far are you willing to go to save yourself? Would you do anything while forsaking your morals? These are the questions that I kept asking myself while playing Beholder‘s DLC, Blissful Sleep.
The new content is a separate story from the base game that focuses on Hector. Hector is the previous apartment manager whom you see being hauled away in the beginning of the main Beholder game. What you’ll experience are the events that led to him being replaced.
Vanilla Beholder, in case you forgot, is a point-and-click adventure developed by Warm Lamp Games. Both the DLC and game tell the story of a man serving his totalitarian government. The game is uncomfortable, unnerving, and spooky.
Blissful Sleep is a bit different than the main game. At the very start of the game you are given an ultimatum: you are scheduled for the “blissful sleep”. That’s the nice way of saying euthanasia for citizens at age 85. Problem is, Hector is not that old, and it’s a blatant setup.
To avoid this dire fate and survive, you must follow their commands. You are given the protocol to gather DNA samples from everyone within your building. This task is part of the government’s “genetic purity” agenda. (And yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like.)
From a gameplay perspective, this DLC is identical to the main game. The only difference is that the time constraint is much shorter, and there aren’t quite as many missions to complete. So you can never really lose track of the main objective — not wanting to die.
Again, you need to work your way into your tenants’ lives. It feels easier here, as Hector is more likable. To find out the necessary details to keep yourself alive, you need to be everyone’s friend — well, to an extent anyway.
Everyone will offer a quest, and you’ll play errand boy to find a necessary item. This may or may not involve some dealings with a black market dealer. After you gain their trust, your reputation increases. The more trust you gain will eventually increase your chances to obtain those DNA samples in their rooms.
Aesthetically speaking, Blissful Sleep still maintains what makes Beholder uncomfortably creepy. The music still features the same eerie tracks you’re used to, and the character art really accentuates a sense of soullessness — as we can only see their silhouettes and white eyes.
The only real downside to this DLC is, well, the game itself. Everything you’re being asked to do is so very wrong if you think about it morally. But that’s what makes it great. Not many games can make you feel like a dirt bag, but Beholder (and the Blissful Sleep DLC) does so effortlessly.
Verdict
If you want to relive your Beholder experience, this DLC is for you. Once again, you get to spy on your tenants, serve a horrible government, and throw our morals straight into the dumpster.
If you looking for an unnerving point and click adventure experience, then Beholder: Blissful Sleep is definitely for you. The DLC is available now via Steam.
[Note: Publisher Alawar Premium provided a copy of the game for the purposes of this review.]
