Life Gallery

Undeniably disturbing and oddly charming nonetheless, Life Gallery is a wildly unique puzzle game where all sorts of fleshy nightmares come to life. Featuring an inventive and bizarre visual style, this is one of those games that sticks with you long after you've finished playing – for better or for worse, in this case.

Through its morbid world, Life Gallery tells an engaging story that relies on puzzles and ghastly illustrations to craft the developer's unique creative vision. Life Gallery might not be a horror game in the strict sense of the word, but it's certainly a uniquely unnerving experience unlike any other.

Macabre Machinations

Even though the ghoulish illustrations of Life Gallery might be the center of attention for anyone looking at the game for the first time, the real star of the show is the puzzles. As you explore the titular gallery, you'll notice that every illustration hides a different brainteaser, which plays similarly to what we saw in games like Professor Layton and the Curious Village.

From cryptic to downright bizarre, each puzzle feels remarkably unique. However, there's a small yet significant issue with some of the puzzles: the game lacks any form of clues. You can spend hours lost in a riddle, with your only hope being that you can somehow brute force your way to a solution – which is never ideal in a puzzle game.

Enjoy the Art

Once you've banged your head against the wall enough times to solve some of the most demanding puzzles Life Gallery throws at you, maybe then you'll have some newfound appreciation for the game's morbid art style.

It certainly isn't a game for just about any type of gamer: although the game seems to emulate the presentation style we saw in games like Pentiment, the macabre illustrations might be a bit too much for some players. Perhaps that's the reason why the game comes with a notice detailing just how disturbing Life Gallery can be.

Body Horror

As I mentioned before, Life Gallery works perfectly well as a bizarre attempt at psychological horror. The fact that the game's plot uses small snippets to tell a complete story works perfectly well for short games like this. If you're familiar with the other game in the development's catalog, Cat Museum, then you should know exactly what to expect here.

Short and to the point, the game doesn't waste any time delivering some of the most grotesque scenes players have ever seen. If you're a fan of games like The Binding of Isaac, then Life Gallery might be just your type of puzzle adventure.

Pros

• Challenging puzzles
• Fascinating art style keeps the player guessing what might come next
• The story is short and well-written

Cons

• No hints at all for the puzzles
• The game can get a bit too grotesque for some players