OpenCritic
The Gap is an FPP psychological horror adventure game. The player tries to cure the unusual illness of the main character with the help of technology that allows the exploration of memories, as well as opening gates to alternate realities.
Videos and Screens
[1:19] The Gap The Gap - Nintendo Switch Launch Trailer
[1:18] The Gap launch trailer
WayTooManyGames: 7 / 10 by Oliver Shellding
The Gap doesn’t drop breadcrumbs to lead players to the end, it uses megaphones to scream answers at you while also keeping you completely in the dark. It’s like if Verbal had started his conversation with “I’m Keyser Soze” but then been frustratingly vague about what he was doing on the day in question. The result is something that’s an interesting and big swing in the world of game storytelling, but it only gets a piece of the ball: it doesn’t connect enough for a homerun.
Digitally Downloaded: 3 / 5 by Matt Sainsbury
The Gap is in an intriguing and compelling idea. Unfortunately, it’s underdeveloped, and structured in a way that undermines something critical for any psychological thriller: if you’re not connected to an invested in the characters, then you’re not going to care about what they’re going through enough for it to chill you. The Gap also comes across as something that is badly trying to be analysed in intellectual terms, but fails to land on a distinctive theme that it can call its own. It’s great to see projects like this, from a games-as-art perspective, but it’s not one of the finest examples of that, either.
Nintendo Life: 7 / 10 by Mitch Vogel
The Gap may suffer from some overly basic puzzle design and visual ticks, but this is ultimately an enjoyably mysterious narrative that's still worth the few hours it takes to see through. Its launch price feels a bit high for what’s on offer here, but we’d suggest scooping this one up the first time it goes on sale.
The Gap Description
The Gap is a psychological horror adventure game. It was developed by the Slovenian studio Label This, and published by the Polish company Crunching Koalas.
Plot
The main character of the game is Joshua Hayes - a neuroscientist, whose family is affected by a rare genetic disease, slowly devouring the minds of the sick. Hope for rescue is given by an experimental program run by the company Neuraxis. It soon turns out, too, that the process used in it has an unusual side effect, namely, it causes gates to alternative realities to open.
In an attempt to heal himself, the protagonist becomes embroiled in a dark corporate intrigue and discovers the secrets of Neuraxis.
Game mechanics
The Gap is an adventure game, in which events are observed from a first-person perspective. We explore locations, make decisions and solve logic puzzles.
The gameplay is diversified by the fact that the plot forces the player to explore the protagonist's most important memories - both the good and the bad ones, which provides a variety of sequences.
Game modes
The game offers a single-player mode only.
Technical aspects
The Gap features attractive three-dimensional graphics built on the Unreal Engine.
The Gap Summary
Platforms:
PC / Windows October 19, 2023
PlayStation 5 October 19, 2023
Xbox Series X/S October 19, 2023
Switch April 4, 2024
PlayStation 4 October 19, 2023
Xbox One October 19, 2023
Developer: Label This
Publisher: Crunching Koalas
Age restrictions: 16+
The Gap System Requirements
PC / Windows
Minimum: Intel Core i5-2500 3.3 GHz / AMD Ryzen 3 1200 3.1 GHz, 4 GB RAM, graphic card 2 GB GeForce GTX 760 / Radeon HD 7950 or better, 2 GB HDD, Windows 10 64-bit