Detention is a point-and-click adventure game set in Taiwan during the White Terror of the 1960s. The game is split between two perspectives, which is nice, even though it is a short game. The story and gameplay are very good.
TLDR: A Creepy Survival Horror Game based on Taiwanese History
What was the White Terror?
The game takes place during the White Terror, a period of Taiwanese history that lasted from roughly 1949 to 1987 or 1992, depending on the source you look up. Some historians mark the end of this period as the end of martial law or the repeal of repressive laws.
The root cause of this crackdown by the government was the February 28 incident, which was a popular uprising in Taiwan. Thousands of civilians died during this. This uprising caused the government to consolidate power and turn the island into a police state.
I’m glossing over a lot of information here. I encourage you to look this up if you want to know more. The key takeaways are that the government had absolute control, there was a lot of censorship, and people were encouraged to turn each other into the authorities for promoting communism.
Narrative
Wei is in class. He falls asleep as Instructor Bai asks Mrs. Yin about a list that he found. We don’t know this list, but we’ll find out later. Next, we see Wei wake up alone in an abandoned class.
There is a warning on the chalkboard about an incoming Typhoon. You play as Wei and wander around the school until you get to the auditorium. This is where you find Ray asleep on a chair on the stage.
You wake her up, and the two of you decide to leave. As you leave the school, you find that the only bridge has collapsed, and the river is red. Wei believes it is just chemicals that were dumped into the river. The two of them head back to the school.
They come up with a plan to get help and prepare to stay in the school for the night. As Wei leaves to call someone and gather the supplies they need, the perspective changes to Ray, and the school shifts to a nightmare version of itself.
Ray backtracks to the auditorium, where she finds Wei hanging upside down. He is dead. Ray explores a bit more, and this is where you start running into evil spirits. Ray gets a creepy phone call telling her to go to the councilors office.
As you play, it is revealed where you are and what Ray did to the other people in the story. To me, this is a story about admitting what you did wrong. It is a nice story.
Gameplay
Overall, I like the gameplay in Detention. It is a short game with some easy puzzles, but the Nintendo Switch controls are sometimes a little odd. I had issues with being able to do some of the tasks in a timely manner to avoid the enemies.
The game felt like it was going too slow to do anything. There were times when I had to use a few items in quick succession, and I found this to be a little hard to pull off. Most of the time, I was doing something wrong and had to look up how to do it.
The puzzles weren’t hard to figure out. The items you need are easy to find, and learning what you need is easy. The game also gives you clues about getting away from enemies. You also have a notebook where all of your clues are stored. If you get stuck, look up a clue in your book.
This is a brilliant system. I loved that I could easily go back and see what I needed to do. I didn’t need this too often, but it was great that it was still there when I needed it.
The gameplay is very good. The developers seemed to want you to focus on the story, and the gameplay doesn’t distract from that. It is set up for you to get through the game and learn about the characters in the game. There are a few possible endings, which is nice.
Visuals
This is a very unsettling game at times. It feels isolating because it takes place in an abandoned school filled with strange sounds and odd imagery. Your character even comments on how strange everything looks at times.
The river of blood that you discover early on looks great. I like that the characters try to rationalize what they’re seeing. It is something that many people would try to do so they don’t have to accept the reality of their situation.
The cutscenes in the game are great. They add to the strange atmosphere. Having little knowledge of the historical events behind the story, these cutscenes added a lot for me.
I liked the transition from the real world to the nightmare world. It was fantastic to see it, and I’m glad it was here. There is more to this, but that would be giving away the ending.
It was a little hard to avoid the enemies in the game. I played on the Nintendo Switch, so other versions might not have this problem. I would find myself wandering into enemies before I could avoid the spirits.
The graphics are very good. I like how the game looks, and having it as a side-scroller makes it feel more dangerous than it is. At times, the game seems depressing and oppressive, but having this take place in a school makes it feel different.
I’m looking at this from a US perspective, so I might not get all the subtext or references in the game. I can only tell you how I feel about it. The graphics give me the impression that this is a strictly controlled world where you have to be on your toes the whole time.
8.5/10. Detention is a short story with decent controls and great graphics. It isn’t too hard, but I had some issues with the enemies when playing on the Nintendo Switch.
Pros
- Great Graphics
- Spectacular Story
- Creepy
Cons
- Short Game
- Controls on the Switch felt off
Conclusion
After playing this game, I wanted to watch the 2019 movie of the same name. There is also a 2020 Netflix series based on the video game. I am not interested in watching the Netflix series because I don’t want to sign up for an account again. I hope it is great.
Back to the game. I liked it a lot. This time period could be the setting for many creative projects, especially since it is over and the government doesn’t seem as crazy as it used to be. The political situation in Taiwan wasn’t my area of focus when I was in school, so if I’m wrong, I apologize.
I can tell you a lot about the bizarre stuff happening in several African countries, but I can’t tell you much about the rest of the world. I know this is a video game review, but I fell down a rabbit hole, and it touched on some parts of my former job. The history behind the game to be highly compelling.
Detention is a wonderful and creepy story about Taiwanese history. There are many things in it that I had to look up to understand better, but this isn’t necessary to enjoy the game. I enjoyed this game so much as I played through it.
This is one of the best horror games I’ve played this year. I like it as much as Scarlet Hollow and the Oxenfree games. I also like the media that has come from this story, even if I’m not interested in the Nexflix series.