Developer: Cybernetic Walrus
Publisher: Oro Interactive, Drillhounds
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Order 13 – Review
Among the mundane tasks you could be forced to do for a living, working for Amazon certainly sounds rather hellish at times. And it would be a lot worse if there were monsters roaming the warehouse. In Order 13, that is exactly the situation you are stuck in. But you can’t quit the job when you have a cute cat to take care of. Order 13 is a horror survival game by Cybernetic Walrus that provides a tense atmosphere and ample scares with an interesting gimmick. But do you dare descend to a deeper level?
Story
Order 13 doesn’t spend much time on fleshing out its lore, and is more focused on getting right into the frights. You live in a small room in a warehouse. In your room, you have everything you need to survive, and a computer on which you can print order tickets. Fulfill these tickets and ship them out to earn money. But be careful, since monsters lurk between the shelves. Why are you stuck in this warehouse? Who is ordering all these random items? And what kind of deranged company are you working for? All those questions remain unanswered. It’s a shame, as we’d have loved to see them fleshed out a little more.
Graphics
The game definitely looks great. We enjoyed the creepy atmosphere, which is helped significantly by the lighting and overall design of the warehouse location. We were also glad to see that every basement you unlock has a bit of a unique look to it. Similarly, the enemies on every level are visually slightly different, even if they are essentially a reskin of the exact same monster model. When a monster comes near, this is also noticed by how the visuals react, turning red and gaining static. The layout of the warehouse can change between runs, which means the map isn’t always the same if you play through multiple deaths.
Sound
Another great contributing factor to the scariness of this game is the sound design. While you’re in your safe room, you have pleasant music and your cat meowing away with every pet. But the moment you step outside, a tense silence takes over. The warehouse is full of smaller jump-scares through unexpected noises and eerie sounds from nearby or far off. The monsters can be heard by their heavy footfalls, and their screech when spotting you is downright spine-chilling. We thought the noises the monsters made were incredibly unnerving, albeit in a good way.
Gameplay
Order 13 is mainly a survival horror game, though the store page also describes it as an immersive simulation game, and perhaps this isn’t completely inaccurate. You will be spending most of your time printing orders, going to the appropriate shelf displayed on the ticket, grabbing the item after opening the shelf with a code, and then carrying the item back so it can be packed and shipped off. In other words, this is a warehouse worker simulator. You are rewarded with money for doing your job correctly, and each day you need to reach a certain quota. This quota gradually gets higher and higher, turning up the pressure. Especially since you also have a cat to take care of. If you leave this cat alone too long, its happiness decreases fast. Should it drop to zero, you’ll even fail the shift. So, keeping your cat happy is important.
This is a lot easier said than done if the warehouse is also full of horrifying creatures. These creatures can be avoided only by sneaking your way around. If you’re spotted, you’ll have to hide until they wander off. Sometimes, after locking on, they can patrol that small area for quite some time. Even to the degree of it feeling unfair and frustrating. Aside from these occurrences, however, the routine of sneaking through the warehouse to grab items was very entertaining, and the game rewards you for planning out strategic routes. Having to keep your cat satisfied adds a timed element, so you can’t just wait for a safe moment; sometimes you need to take a risk to hurry things along. Once you’ve reached your quota, you can end your shift by going to sleep. But you can also test your luck by filling more orders for extra money.
This money can be spent on various upgrades. The main one is unlocking deeper basements of the warehouse. These basements are more dangerous, but the orders you’ll get for stuff from down there are worth more money. Another type of upgrade is cat care items that permanently or temporarily heighten your cat’s happiness. Lastly, some basic upgrades make your job easier, like running shoes that enhance your stamina, a backpack to carry multiple orders at once, or a scanner so you don’t have to memorize each ticket. Right now, the game offers about four to five hours of gameplay, with the campaign having an ending for those who like a nice tidy conclusion. The devs are planning to perhaps add a challenge mode and a chill mode, further expanding the content the game has to offer.
Conclusion
Order 13 is a short but effective survival horror game with some interesting elements, like taking care of your kitty, and decent scares throughout the experience. While we certainly would have loved more content, we don’t feel disappointed by what’s already there. This is a great game to play through once in a while when you want to experience some frights.
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