Heal

Release Date: April 10, 2020

Adventure, point-and-click, 2D, indie games, side-scroll, experimental/artistic, games for impact, singleplayer

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An atmospheric adventure game themed around aging and dementia. Heal has us playing as an elderly man, solving puzzles which hide his memories.

Plot
Mechanics
Technical aspects

Heal is an abstract point & click adventure game by Jesse Makkonen, known for Distraint and Afterdream. The game's enigmatic plot focuses on old age and memory loss, while the gameplay focuses on solving puzzles.

Plot

The game's plot is relayed ambiguously and unreliably. We play as an old man struggling with dementia. The world is difficult to interpret and so are his occasionally resurfacing memories, especially since the game is devoid of text.

Mechanics

Gameplay-wise, Heal resembles an escape room - each stage tasks us with solving all of its puzzles to unlock the next one. Most puzzles require logical thinking, though some challenge our reflexes instead.

Playing as an elderly man, we must interact with objects to switch to first-person mode and access puzzles. Sometimes only after solving several puzzles shall we gain hints for the subsequent ones. All challenges in Heal are memory-based - referencing the protagonist's past, requiring memorizing long patterns or symbols.

We'll need to dial the correct number on a rotary phone, set a radio frequency or navigate a ball through a maze.

Technical aspects

Heal is a 2D side-scroller with hand-drawn graphics. The color palette changes between dark and pastel colors, reflecting the protagonist's condition. The ambient soundtrack creates an atmosphere of uncertainty.

Videos and Screens

[0:43] Heal trailer #1