Under the Warehouse (Nintendo Switch) Review

Like with Silent Hill, Under the Warehouse takes something mundane, and somehow makes the player feel as if in a dream. This quest begins in a bunch of dimly-lit alleys, and yet there's something… off here. Is it the fact that nothing moves or that there's no sound apart from a melancholic tune? Maybe it's how you finally meet the one who called you to ask for a favour, that someone turns out to be a kid, and the favour is about going into the titular warehouse and finding a coloured egg. Yup, just a coloured egg.

Of course there's more that meets the eye here. This isn't just about a coloured egg. Having said that, and while part of the fun here is unveiling the mystery behind the warehouse and what's underneath it, there's not much of a story to be found here apart from a few pieces of lore. Atmosphere does all the heavy lifting, and it's what will keep most invested in what's going on. Despite the initial "realistic" setting, the game constantly throws in small doses of weirdness that add to the whole surreal feel of it all, and fans of such bizarreness will find a lot to like here. Sadly, there's also a game at hand.

Under the Warehouse's idea of an adventure game is that of a two-hour key-hunt. There are actual puzzles at offer, but they are rare occurrences and quite easy to solve. Unfortunately the bulk of the experience has you running around, and trying to find key items. Want to enter a door? You need a key. You've found the one who holds the key? He needs to eat a meal. You've found the meal? You need a certain document to take it. That guy has said document? Well, guess what? He has a boring favour to ask as well.

This constant back and forth between NPCs to do such trivial tasks kills the otherwise strong atmosphere of the game, and turns what is a decent-to-good kind of deal into a painfully tedious one. Like all titles of its kind, this is not supposed to be something with much meat on its bones. It's a simple, low-budget, solo(?) indie creation, which takes an hour or so to be completed, and is quite cheap. That doesn't mean it can get a free pass, though. Add a few more coins, and you can easily buy something much better.