[MacBlayne]

RULE OF ROSE (2006)

Highly controversial survival horror that was effectively banned in Europe after some politicians claimed players could murder children in it. Complete lies, but even if they hadn't made up nonsense, the game's story and themes would have generated massive uproar.

Rule of Rose follows Jennifer, a young woman in 1930s England who finds herself lost in a seemingly abandoned orphanage. She is attacked, and awakens in an airship overrun by orphans (mostly girls). The orphans have formed their own ruling class, where those on top (the pretty ones and their friends) get to bully those below. Guess where Jennifer lands.

It won't be of any surprise to anyone that Jennifer's experience is a metaphor for past events in her life, but it's what happened, and how it is presented, that makes Rule of Rose compelling. This is art with a capital A. It uses clever visuals and framing to tell its tale of lust, lesbian awakening, gender dysphoria, paedophilia, classism, jealousy, suicide, and murder. A heady mixture for sure. If Brian DePalma was convinced to make a video game, then this is what he would produce.

However, for all of its nasty subject matter, Rule of Rose is not explicit. In terms of what is directly shown, the game pushes a hard 12 or soft 15 certificate. But what is implied creates a very unsettling ambience, and I swear I could feel my skin trying to crawl away from me.

So yes, you should definitely play Rule of Rose for its beautiful storytelling and disturbing horror. Not so much for its gameplay. It's not exactly bad gameplay. It does everything Resident Evil does, but slightly worse. Jennifer is weaker than a kitten when it comes to combat. The only thing weaker than Jennifer are the game's enemies. So, it's not a difficult game, rather a game that drags on and on. One boss battle took almost 20 minutes to beat. It wasn't hard - it's just that it took too long to reduce its health. I only died once during my playthrough, and that was on purpose.

Exploration is fine for the most part. You have a faithful dog to help you, which is easily the best gameplay feature. Said dog will help you find useful items and guide you along the correct path. But sometimes the game needs you to go somewhere without the dog knowing where. You backtrack hoping a new path has opened, but it hasn't. Then you desperately try every locked door, only to find out that a random door is now open. Why? Buggered if I know, but it's open now. And this happens a few more times too. A switch or a key could have helped a lot here.

For the most part though, the gameplay is fine. It's the storytelling that captivates. Rule of Rose is an astonishing example of games as art. It plays with the heart as much as it challenges the mind. When that final shot closes, it felt like a tonne of bricks crashed on me.

If you have a decent PC, you can download an emulated version from here. The emulation is fantastic. The only hiccup was during the end credits, where the ending song briefly paused twice.