Sorry We're Closed review: a bewitching, bizarre and often frustrating horror cocktail

Sorry We're Closed is a game that lures you in with a neon-soaked, retro-horror visual design and beautifully illustrated character art, then traps you in an existential nightmare. The game lays traps, sucks you in, and before you know it, you're not quite sure what you're playing but you keep going further regardless.

Already released on PC to great acclaim, Sorry We're Closed is a quirky blend of Silent Hill and Persona, with a dash of Paradise Killer, rendered in a retro aesthetic that recalls PS1's heyday of horror adventures. (Read our best retro consoles guide if you love classic games.) Now on PS5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch, Sorry We're Closed offers new features, including new difficulty modes, New Game+, a Time Attack mode and motion-controlled aiming on Switch and PS5.

As Michelle, a shop assistant on a backstreet that's seen more action than Albert Square, you have more things on your mind than snarky customers and a humdrum life – in true Atlus-y style Michelle's real problem is a lusty demoness who wants her heart… quite literally.

Style and substance

At first glance, Sorry We're Closed has all the trappings of a retro horror revival – there are Resident Evil-styled fixed camera angles, eerie corridors, locked doors, and noises lurking just off-camera that you just know are going to be a problem. I love the game pipes these tropes through VHS grime and wet neon gloom (perfect use of Unity), but Sorry We're Closed has more going for it than an ode to my old game collection and a fresh style.

This is a surprisingly involved narrative-led game that manages to worm a compelling supernatural mystery around these visuals. The game connects social sim-style game design, with classic exploration and choice-led dialogue paths that can take your adventure in surprising new directions.

Michelle has a lot on her mind, from that demonic supernatural stalker to trying to overcome a messy break-up with her girlfriend; which means she spends much of her time interacting with a cast of nightmare-loving deadbeats and weirdos, who may just be the allies she needs. These relationships are messy and interesting, and each night you get to explore them further in Persona-like ways, making Sorry We're Closed a more layered survival horror than I was expecting.

Persona horror

The game's loop is very Persona-like in approach, as each night Michelle ventures out to explore her street, meet the game's cast – dependable Robyn, party-bro Darrel, dancer Clarissa and Lucy, who has her own eerie secret – before venturing into the game's demonic dungeons that exist behind Michelle's reality. These dungeons neatly mix classic Resident Evil key-and-lock puzzles and item management with a Silent Hill-like reality shift feature – Michelle can move in and out of her demonic realm using her 'Third Eye' to get past obstacles, see hidden routes and view creatures' weak spots.

Just like Resident Evil of old the game is directed to keep you on edge, with a mix of fixed cameras that hide dangers just out of view and free-moving cameras to speed up the pace at key moments. Capcom set the rules of survival horror back on PS1 and à la Mode Games is having great fun with them.

Visually it's a treat, in a very retro way. The on-screen action is low-textured and grubby, but it drops in moments of modernist neon and the kind of creature design clarity you wouldn't find on PS1; for example the Third Eye ability turns drab, messy creatures into vibrant outlined designs, showing heart-shaped vulnerabilities to shoot.

Ah yes, the combat

While Sorry We're Closed is a pitch-perfect ode to classic PS1 survival horror and manages to weave on a Persona-like design and character, when it comes to combat it's perhaps too stuck in the past. Michelle has a mix of weapons to hand – an axe, pistol and shotgun – that are used in first-person. Using Third Eye, those weak spots are shot in a kind of rhythm – hit a glowing spot and the creature flexes to a new position, pauses for a second, and a new weakness appears. Miss a shot and you're in trouble.

The combat works but there is an issue with swapping from third-to-first-person cameras and back, over time it becomes a grind that pulls you from the game's nicely crafted atmosphere. When multiple enemies appear it can become a bit of a mess to try and keep track of everything, as the camera pings in and out chaotically.

In many ways, combat in survival horror games has always been hit-and-miss, going all the way back to Silent Hill. If you can forgive Sorry We're Closed combat then you'll find one of the best new horror games, one that manages to mix old and new game design to great effect. It's clearly an area of the game developer à la Mode Games has been working on for this console release, as the new difficulty settings do ease the pain and motion-control smooths out targeting, making things more accessible.

Verdict

Every time I feel frustrated by the combat, Sorry We're Closed will pop up with a beautiful character design, drop a great puzzle, squeeze out some catchy, snarky dialogue and then push me into a dungeon that recalls the heyday of survival horror. So, can I overlook it's one misstep, of course I can – particularly as this console release has made moves to smooth out this issue. Sorry We're Closed is an adventure worth opening.

Have you played Sorry We're Closed? What do you think of the game's retro visual design?