Beholder

'Beholder' has a visual arrangement very similar to fellow dystopian game 'This War of Mine', where the action is on the 2D plane and the house is a cutaway ant farm. Carl gets around the floors by clicking around, and there's a level of stealth in avoiding residents who do not look kindly on having an uninvited landlord in their flats. The character models are pretty black and white cartoons, bereft of detail but still full of expression. Quests are done in text that is poorly translated, which is sometimes irritating and sometimes endearing, for its foreign quality.

Voice acting is limited to short lines during cutscenes and a sort of Eastern Bloc simlish when the camera is zoomed in on individuals. The music is amazing; it's apprehensive and menacing with just the right amount of caricature, especially when the cops show up and start beating people into submission.

'Beholder' is a somber, harsh experience in terms of both its theme and its gameplay. The naggy and sometimes baffling routines of the residents can get in the way of a good story at times, and it's too short overall. Still, it's an interesting addition to the growing "authoritarian state" genre, and well worth its small asking price.