Do Not Open from Nox Noctis and Sony Interactive Entertainment is a first-person horror escape game on PlayStation 5. Check our Do Not Open review!
Do Not Open from Nox Noctis and Sony Interactive Entertainment is a first-person horror escape game on PlayStation 5. It’s one that offers a real challenge since there are no tutorials and no handholding whatsoever. Once you boot up the game and the intro is over, you are very much on your own. I have to say I loved every minute of Do Not Open. I was scared witless! Not scared of the game per se, but scared of getting caught. The music amplified that feeling, and my heart honestly skipped more than a few beats while in hiding, waiting for the right time to make my move. I lost count of how many times I hesitated. I had to be extra careful because the consequence of being caught would mean I’d be eaten. Yes, you read that right, eaten!
You play as Michael, who has inherited a giant house from his aunt. He somehow got separated from his wife and kid. Inside the house is some type of monster waiting for you to make a mistake. You need to find your family and escape alive if you can! When you start, you find yourself in a creepy web-riddled room. You can’t get out because the door has a combination padlock. You’ll have to search for clues to solve that particular puzzle. The twist? The puzzles are randomized for every run! I learned this the hard way after dying for the first time. Even the rooms are randomized on each death! The puzzles in the game pretty much follow the same formula for every room. Find a puzzle, look for clues, and solve it. The only problem with this is you are on a timer, so you can’t really take things slowly as you search for solutions. There is an easier mode that you can play that doesn’t have the timer, but the tense gameplay is still there, just with less stress.
The game is great. The story is told in flashbacks, which I enjoyed. The thing that bugged me the most was it took too long to escape the rooms. You solve a puzzle, the tempo of the music changes, and your controller rattles at the sound of the footsteps of the monster lady. Your movement is highly restricted. You can’t run to hide since you move at a snail’s space in the hope of making it to a hiding spot, be it under a table or in a closet, or wherever else it’s safe for you to be. You only have a few seconds to try and escape because once the monster finds you, she won’t go away, and she’ll pace around looking for you.
The game has a full trophy list with a Platinum trophy waiting for you… if you can manage to hide from danger! The list includes 3 Bronze trophies, 3 Silver trophies, and 10 Gold trophies. One trophy will pop when you hide for the first time. There’s another one for solving all puzzles in the game. Finish the game, and you’ll get another one. Finish the game without failing any puzzles, and you’ll get one more trophy. There are also trophies for completing each section of the game. If you need some help, you can check out this Do Not Open Trophy Guide.
Do Not Open is, in general, a good game and definitely one worth your time and money if you want a game that will scare you into making daft mistakes along the way. I did find the game to be a bit too dark and was unable to see in dark corners when I was searching for clues, so it is recommended to brighten up the game slightly from the menu settings. The music is eerie, and even more so when the monster is around since the music really makes your heart skip so many beats as you try to plan a safe route out before she gets you. Do Not Open is out on PlayStation 5 with a $19.99 asking price.
Disclaimer
This Do Not Open review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment.
