Brokenlore: DON'T WATCH

Brokenlore: DON'T WATCH is unsettling in a way that’s different from your usual horror scares. You play as Shinji, a young hikikomori who becomes trapped inside his apartment by some kind of unknown entity—and from the jump, the game leans hard into psychological discomfort rather than pure fear.

But the real skin-crawling element?

The eyes.

There are eyeballs everywhere. And not only are there eyeballs… you have to pop them with a knife.

Now, here’s where my personal nightmare fuel kicks in: I spent eight years as a certified ophthalmic assistant, with way too many hours assisting in minor eye procedures. So yeah—this game made me physically cringe. But not in a “this is bad” way. More like a “this is unhinged, deeply uncomfortable, and doing exactly what it set out to do” kind of way.

Story-wise, it’s actually pretty solid and not something you see every day. It’s weird, intimate, and disturbing without needing constant jumpscares. The gameplay itself is good too—even if my soul briefly left my body every time another eyeball showed up.

I do think the game is a bit too short, even by indie standards. That said, it’s not so short that I’d say it isn’t worth playing. It just leaves you wanting a little more time in its twisted little world.

This isn’t scary in the “I’m afraid to keep playing” sense—it’s scary in the “I bet that hurts” sense. And honestly? That’s its own kind of horror.

Overall, solid game. Weird, uncomfortable, memorable. Not mad at all that I played it. Just… gonna go avoid eyeballs for a while now. 👁️😬