{"id":315618,"date":"2022-04-07T05:00:38","date_gmt":"2022-04-07T10:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/?post_type=eg_reviews&p=315618"},"modified":"2022-04-07T11:44:53","modified_gmt":"2022-04-07T16:44:53","slug":"review-janitor-bleeds-pc-indie-lo-fi-horror","status":"publish","type":"eg_reviews","link":"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/reviews\/review-janitor-bleeds-pc-indie-lo-fi-horror\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Janitor Bleeds"},"content":{"rendered":"

I won’t hurt you unless you cheat<\/h2>

I\u2019ve been reviewing a lot of short-form horror games recently, and that can only mean one thing: a lot of short-form horror games have been getting released. I like them because they\u2019re quick, inventive treats. Developers have become reasonably good at providing thrills and boners through the interactive medium, but someone\u2019s fears are a constantly moving target. It\u2019s fun to watch all the ways people think to hit that.<\/p>

Janitor Bleeds <\/i>tweaked my interest valve for a couple of reasons: it\u2019s set in an arcade, and unraveling its mysteries requires you to play an old arcade cabinet. The \u201cJanitor\u201d in its name I had initially expected to be alluding to some grumpy old caretaker who haunts the place. Unfortunately, there is no such tortured soul shrieking about how hard it is to get nacho cheese out of the carpeting.<\/p>

\"Janitor<\/p>

Janitor Bleeds<\/em> (PC<\/a>)
Developer: Korpus
Publisher: Bonus Stage Publishing
Released: April 7, 2022
MSRP: $12.99
<\/strong><\/p>

Your car is wrecked, and I don\u2019t know how you managed to pull that one off. You hit a light post on the side of the gentlest curve imaginable. How did you miss that? Let me rephrase: how did you hit that? You were checking your phone again, weren\u2019t you? Who\u2019s been texting you? Is it that harlot from the office again? My mother was right about you.<\/p>

You wind up in an abandoned arcade. After a bit of exploration, you find a cabinet stashed away called \u201cJanitor\u201d and inadvertently release a strange entity upon the darkened screens. You would think your job would simply be to leave or call for help, but I guess you want to explore the arcade. That might be fun if something wasn\u2019t trying to kill you.<\/p>

<\/iframe><\/p>

Janitor Bleeds<\/i> is a linear experience. While you eventually open the entire arcade to explore, there\u2019s a pretty strict sequence for things. Along the way, you continually encounter the mysterious Janitor game and use it to unlock the way forward. This is done through a variety of reality-bending puzzles. As you continue, you\u2019re pursued by the entity. It\u2019s a slasher horror set-up, but this one is hard to look at and casts an eerie light everywhere it goes. The thing is kind of imposing at first, but not the most credible threat.<\/p>

It\u2019s used sparingly at first, hinting at impending danger before it starts giving chase in earnest. It mostly shows up during specific sequences to add tension while you try to solve a puzzle. Then it wanders around ineffectively until it\u2019s needed again. Even when you do get in deep with it, the entity really isn\u2019t very effective. It tends to have difficulty navigating the environments, which just made me feel sorry for it.<\/p>

Adding to this, the titular Janitor arcade game isn\u2019t skill-based; it\u2019s just for solving simple puzzles. It does its job blending reality and the cabinet, but it misses out on creating tension by making you focus while Janitor Bleeds <\/i>tries to screw with you. There really isn\u2019t a penalty for backing away from the game to check what a noise was or to hide from the entity.<\/p>

\"Janitor<\/p>

Gameplay aside, I don\u2019t think Janitor Bleeds<\/i> is effective in building atmosphere, tension, or its narrative. There are notes scattered around that give the backstory of this strange arcade cabinet, but its effect on the arcade is disappointing. Without spoiling anything, greater attention to the backstory would have gone a long way to making the arcade a terrifying place to be.<\/p>

The stakes aren\u2019t communicated well. When you crash, one end of the road is blocked by a regular pine tree, while the other is pylons and wooden A-frames. The protagonist isn\u2019t stranded; they\u2019re just lazy. You’re corralled through the woods, which seems like the stupidest way to look for help.<\/p>

And once you\u2019re in the arcade, there isn\u2019t much keeping you there. There\u2019s no lost friend or deeper motivation. Nun Massacre<\/i><\/a> had a missing kid. In Bloodwash<\/i><\/a>, it was the only 24\/7 laundromat, and you really needed clean clothes. The front entrance to Janitor Bleeds<\/i> is blocked, but the back has a car in the way. There\u2019s this vague implication that \u201cthe light\u201d is drawing your character there, but it\u2019s not enough to just say that in an interactive medium. Show, don\u2019t tell.<\/p>

\"The<\/p>

There isn\u2019t much that Janitor Bleeds<\/i> really nails, which is the real shame. The concept itself is tantalizing enough, but the scares and the narrative needed more consideration. It neither subverts expectations nor does it execute standard horror cliches very well. It\u2019s not a total wash, it just lands so consistently in the middle that it\u2019s hard not to be disappointed. Like many of the games in the derelict arcade, this one is, unfortunately, out of order.<\/p>

[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]<\/sub><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":315622,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"tags":[176,19109,20275,19112,20070,19152],"article_type":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nReview: Janitor Bleeds – Destructoid<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A former member of the Haunted PS1 Demo Disc, Janitor Bleeds puts you in an derelict arcade where you're haunted by a cabinet and its friends.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jbsgame.com\/reviews\/review-janitor-bleeds-pc-indie-lo-fi-horror\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review: 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