Team Evaluation: Dead Letter Dept. (PC)

In today’s world, where most of our lives are spent glued to a computer, firing off emails or filling out forms, you’d think the last thing anyone would want is a game where you’re stuck at a virtual computer on your actual computer. Yet, here we are with Dead Letter Dept., a game that turns the mundane into something downright unsettling. This bizarre, eerie adventure is something you need to experience to believe. I can’t help but recall the monotonous hours I spent in my old admin job, mindlessly entering data while getting lost in my Spotify playlists.

Dead Letter Dept. is a unique first-person horror experience that thrusts you into the role of someone tasked with inputting details from old, undelivered mail. Sometimes it’s letters, sometimes it’s newspaper clippings, and occasionally it’s cryptic symbols that defy earthly explanation. You play as an ordinary person, navigating life in a cramped, unpacked apartment, having recently moved to the city for a temporary data entry job. The game’s setting is grim and industrial, featuring shadowy, endlessly extending hallways, which somehow felt familiar and comforting once I found the ancient computer designated for my tasks. It looked innocently outdated, like something straight out of the 90s.

Your first day in the game is straightforward enough, but there’s an undercurrent of unease. Although my typing skills clock in at a reasonable 67-69 words per minute with high accuracy according to some online test, precision and speed aren’t your main concerns here; it’s the growing sense of dread as you progress that pulls you in. As days pass, the content on your screen starts to feel more disturbing, hinting at something sinister. Trust me, this game’s atmosphere will have you nervously eyeing your monitor, bracing for its unconventional scares.

Dead Letter Dept. isn’t about blood-curdling horror; it’s about a quiet, creeping fear. It’s that sensation of being watched over your shoulder while you’re absorbed in your tasks. It takes those standard typing exercises and turns them into a torturous dive into darkness, where everything seems connected to a deeper, more personal nightmare.

The game unfolds over six workdays and can be tackled in just a few hours, making it ripe for multiple playthroughs, each with its own unique ending. It’s designed for those who can commit to a solid chunk of gameplay without constant interruptions. Pausing too often breaks the chilling immersion, reducing it to just a typing simulator.

Despite generally avoiding horror games, I found Dead Letter Dept. refreshingly engaging. The way it blends horror with the somewhat niche genre of typing games is clever, widening its appeal beyond traditional fans of eerie tales. Here, you’ll find a game that stands out with its stunningly bleak visuals and fitting audio, crafting an experience more akin to a nightmarish short story you’ll want to revisit.

For those of us who typically need a hand to hold when venturing into horror territory, this is a game that manages to be both thrilling and accessible. This review was based on a copy supplied by the publisher, and I can confidently say, Dead Letter Dept. delivers a spine-chilling ride into madness, turning even mundane data entry into a source of terror. Whether you’re a horror aficionado or someone who usually steers clear of the genre, this is one creepy experience worth diving into.