Developer: Serafini Productions
Publisher: Wired Productions
Platforms: Xbox Series X/S (reviewed), PC, PlayStation 5
Release Date: Out Now
Key Provided: Yes
Serafini’s BrokenLore series first appeared back in early 2025, and quickly established itself as a collection of slick and imaginative psychological horrors. Set in Japan, the series explores several emotive issues, including loneliness, mental health, and difficult relationships. This standalone episode stars a young woman called Junko, physically trapped in her small apartment, but experiencing extreme dreams and visions, much of it involving icky ocular imagery.
Junko is a hikikomori, an ominous term that essentially means a modern-day hermit. Like her peers, Junko has consciously withdrawn from society, remaining within the four walls of her home. The psychological effects of this isolation, added to Junko’s own troubled past, conspire to transform her apartment and mind into a terrible prison that merges both reality and the horror of her deepest fears.
Don’t Lie is a first-person horror game in which the player controls Junko throughout her home and dreams. Junko passes the time by playing a videogame, controlling Fantasy Boy in a retro-style platformer. As her obsession grows, the enemies of the game bleed into Junko’s dreams, eventually leading to a turbulent showdown.
Throughout increasingly weird liminal spaces, Junko travels her subconscious, solving moderate puzzles and navigating mind-bending mazes while dodging the evil presence stalking her. Only by covering her eyes can she prevent its relentless pursuit, although obviously this restricts her own vision, turning Don’t Lie into a deadly game of cat and mouse.
Publisher Wired Productions has a decent reputation with narrative games, and Don’t Lie is no exception. The game builds well, leaning into Junko’s fears and repressed emotions, leading to a surprising conclusion that reveals the true inner workings of her personality. Other than the game’s story, cartoon treasure chests, mimicking the ones inside the Fantasy Boy game, appear throughout. Junko searches for keys to unlock them, and each reveals another piece of backstory. There is limited combat, with the player occasionally wielding Fantasy Boy’s sword as the retro game’s Mario-esque antagonists attack Junko.
BrokenLore: Don’t Lie is a short narrative horror with a maximum runtime of three hours, including a proper exploration of its warped world. Experienced gamers will have little trouble with its mechanics, and while there’s a good atmosphere, its genre is a competitive field these days, and Steam players in particular may find better value elsewhere. Nevertheless, it’s a lovingly crafted game with a fascinating story that, for once, very much justifies the psychological horror tag.
Pros: Good atmosphere and story; easy to play.
Cons: Short for the price; (and we admit this isn’t strictly a con) you’ll get more value from it if you’ve played the other Brokenlore games.
CONCLUSION
An atmospheric and inventive psychological horror with an interesting narrative drive that sadly lacks a little in the gameplay department.
