The Last Door Chapter 2: Memories Review

By – Armaan Khan

The introductory moments of The Last Door Chapter 2: Memories will be familiar to anyone who’s played the first.  A black screen contains one line of text, in this case a prayer.  You are then put in control of a character—this time a priest—and get to perform an action.  Then another black screen/line of prayer, another action, until the riveting conclusion.  It was an effective opening in the first game, and remains so here.

Once that’s over, you’re thrust back into the role of Jeremiah Devitt.  He’s in a psychiatrist’s office, trying to make sense of what he’s learned in Chapter 1, as well as recall some distant memory he’s forgotten (or, perhaps, repressed).  Eventually Devitt decides to return to the his old boarding school—now renovated into a church-run hospital—in the hopes that he can find some answers hidden within its walls.

There’s not much to say about the gameplay other than it’s standard point-and-click fare.  In my review of Chapter 1, I commented that it felt less like a real game and more like an interactive short story, because most of the puzzles were simple lock-and-key affairs.  Chapter 2, on the other hand, feels like a proper game.  The puzzles are more complicated, and many of them require multiple steps to solve.  You’ll have to combine inventory items and talk with other people in order to advance.  There are also a couple clever moments, such as one where you need to outwit a blind man.  I’m not trying to suggest that this installment is hard, but it’s more involved than the previous chapter, so those who like their games to be “games” should find some meat to sink their teeth into.

There isn’t a whole lot of meat, though.  My first run through took a little less than an hour to complete, but that’s not bad for a game that will (eventually) be free.  Besides, there’s more to entertainment than length, and the core strength of The Last Door remains intact: the terrific feeling of tension and dread.  Chapter 1 had you exploring an abandoned mansion in the English countryside, and evoked a powerful sense of creepiness that goes along with such a setting.  Chapter 2 builds on these emotions.  Even though the hospital you investigate here is inhabited by several characters, it still feels bleak and ghastly.  The painfully slow pace of Devitt’s discoveries add to the tension, to the point that, by the end of the adventure, I was literally on the edge of my seat.  And that ending… oh, God, that ending….

Conclusion—Is It Worth Paying for Early Access?

I said The Last Door Chapter 2 will “eventually” be free.  That happens in September, when Chapter 3 is released.  You can, however, play it right now, if you’re willing to contribute a bit of money to the development process. That’s why I’ve titled this section, “Is it Worth Paying for Early Access?”  The answer is, “Yes.”  Despite the game’s short length, the level of production value and strength of the overall experience is worth dropping a few dollars for.  How many dollars is up to you, but any amount helps, and I look forward to seeing how the story progresses in Chapter 3.

*Due to being a browser-based title, the Technical Summary section is limited.