Title: The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication
Developer: SOFTSTAR ENTERTAINMENT
Publisher: PQUBE LTD
Release Date: PC Release: May 9, 2024 / Console Release: October 24, 2024
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Price: $24.99 (USD) (Review key provided by publisher)
Based loosely on the Taiwanese film series of the same name, The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication is a first-person supernatural horror adventure focusing on the investigation and uncovering of various unsolved missing persons cases at the fictional Wen Hua University. Told from the perspective of four characters, The Extrication weaves an interconnected narrative where each of these character’s stories intersect and diverge from one another as the game progresses, with each chapter containing its own unique puzzles, gameplay mechanics, and supernatural pursuers to overcome. While the previous entry in the series The Bridge Curse: Road to Salvation is more or less a direct adaptation of the first The Bridge Curse film, The Extrication follows an original narrative with some inspiration seemingly stemming from the real life disappearance and death of Elisa Lam in 2013.
As a fan of horror media, I was impressed by The Extrication‘s commitment to patiently building tension and using the fear of the unknown to cause feelings of unnerve rather than leaning into momentary shock value like many of its indie horror contemporaries. This isn’t to say that there aren’t a few jump scares woven in, but thankfully it does not depend on them to earn its horror label as there are some genuinely spine-chilling moments throughout the game’s modest runtime. Unfortunately, the gradual suspense accumulated while playing is frequently undercut by B-Horror movie adjacent dialogue that injects comedy into the narrative. While this added humor likely has the benefit of making the experience more welcoming to those less comfortable with the horror genre, I felt it often resulted in the tone feeling confused and inconsistent. On a related note, I would highly recommend that anyone seeking to be immersed within The Extrication‘s supernatural story to opt for the Chinese voice dialogue option as I found it to feel significantly more grounded and believable compared to the cartoonish and overacted English alternative.
Plot Synopsis
Following several mysterious disappearances over the decades, countless precarious rumors have spawned around the famed Wen Hua University. While many assume these occurrences to be mere coincidence or even urban legend, the truth behind these reports begins to unravel as a determined news reporter and three unassuming student filmmakers find themselves pursued and trapped within the university’s haunted halls.
Gameplay
As you may expect from a game based loosely on a series of films, The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication takes a heavily cinematic approach to its gameplay and storytelling. The first two chapters of the story in particular begin with extended periods of dialogue, where large amounts of exposition and context for the motivations of the characters are established. There are brief moments where you gain control but player agency is frequently stripped away for further bouts of dialogue. I found these introduction segments a bit too drawn out and long-winded, especially considering this is where most of the interjected comedic writing that I previously alluded to takes place, but I can appreciate wanting to spend an appropriate amount of time establishing the setting and its characters. Thankfully, the stakes primarily being set within the first two chapters allows those following to flow more organically with significantly less downtime.
After exposition has been established and the stage for each chapter has been set, exploration of the labyrinthian and ever-changing layout of Wen Hua University begins. The Extrication‘s primary gameplay loop consists of exploring the supernaturally-altered halls of the university while uncovering various clues and solving a handful of puzzles along the way. While the clues primarily serve the purpose of world-building, the puzzles are much more engrossing and contribute directly to progressing through the narrative. There is a surprising variety within the puzzle designs though they rarely diverge from survival horror staples that have been seen countless times over the years such as solving locker combinations, setting a clock to a specific date/time, or rearranging wires within a fuse box to open a locked door. Not all of these puzzles hit the mark, and a few felt too easy to brute force without putting much thought into but others had me pulling out a pen and paper to track various pieces of information, which is something I personally enjoy doing. There are also a number of optional collectibles and secrets hidden within the environments that are fun to stumble upon, though I didn’t feel inclined to seek out and uncover them all.
In addition to each chapter containing a unique handful of puzzles, they also each contain their own distinct supernatural pursuer. These tend to get introduced later in the chapter after a good deal of build up has been done within the narrative. Ranging from a twisted broken-necked corpse to a deadly mannequin ballerina, these pursuers are visually distinct, often grotesque, and of course, threatening. While the moments surrounding these encounters are the tensest the game has to offer, I also found them to usually be the most frustrating. This is primarily due to the chase sequences all feeling heavily scripted with very little room for player intervention or problem solving. To The Extrication‘s credit, these moments are highly cinematic and visually impressive, but I personally have a heavy distaste for control being stripped away from me, especially when its during what I feel should have been the peak of the gameplay experience. These supernatural encounters are also often paired with under baked stealth segments that mostly consist of crouching under various objects to avoid the gaze of your pursuer. Again, these moments are heavily cinematic but are lacking from a gameplay perspective.
Presentation
The visuals and sound design of The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication are generally well done with some detailed, near photo-realistic environments and a minimalistic, ominous soundscape serving as a constant backdrop. Each of the game’s supernatural pursuers are appropriately imposing and grotesque; however, I did find the characters themselves to have a sort of uncanny appearance to them that often took me out of the experience. There are some brief moments, usually during the climax of each chapter, where the art direction absolutely goes through the roof with creativity. The “Mad Ballerina” sequence in particular is seared into my mind due to how seamlessly the lethal motion-captured dance sequences are synced to a foreboding classical ballad; this is easily the high point of the entire game in my opinion and the portion that will stick with me long into the future.
Final Score
The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication weaves a chilling and engaging, if not occasionally inconsistent, supernatural tale; but I found its gameplay to lack substantial depth or ingenuity. While there are some occasional shining moments, such as the impressive “Mad Ballerina” sequence alluded to previously, little else managed to stick with me upon completion of The Extrication‘s two endings. Those looking for a suspenseful cinematic adventure with very few fail states may find something to love here, but I found the overall lack of player agency and creativity within the gameplay to overshadow the rest of the experience a bit too often.
Boss Rush Network awards The Bridge Curse 2 two and a half stars out of five.
Have you played The Bridge Curse 2 or have you watched any of the related films? How do you feel about video games taking control away from the player in order to produce a more cinematic experience? Let us know in the comments or on the Boss Rush Discord.
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