Quick Thoughts On: Bermuda
Following up the delightful and unexpectedly self-aware Unhack, it’s astonishing how far developer Invert Mouse has fallen with the pitiful Bermuda, an underwater alien thriller that is so dysfunctional I wanted to shut it off to spare it anymore embarrassment. Invert Mouse’s main goal with Bermuda seems to be to try something more serious than the developer has done in the past, but rather than settle for conventional drama Bermuda jumps straight into science fiction absurdity. Plot devices are invented off-hand and then left suspending in space as if to serve as window dressing for the explosive non sequiturs which cap off each act. It’s as if in its feverish obsession to create “emotional moments” Bermuda forgets everything that took place before that scene, unconcerned with how far it has veered off course so long as it arrives at the next juicy twist.
But I couldn’t even find a way to enjoy Bermuda ironically because its flat writing leaves no room for camp or unintended hilarity. Characters are boring, single faceted shells for the equally uninspired plot which drone on and on, unaware that their audience has long since dozed off yet seeming just as bored with their lines. It doesn’t help that there are a lot of things about Bermuda which are more than a little weird. The religious undertones feel pigeoned in almost for the sake of being able to present Bermuda as a bizarre piece of Christian media, and the fetishistic relationship between two characters left me feeling dirty and creeped out.
It’s just an immensely unenjoyable experience all around, and one that seems intentionally so but without anything interesting with which to fill the black hole that seems to have enveloped Bermuda to ensure nothing joyful or humorous finds its way in. And so Bermuda comes and goes, full of drama yet lacking any presence and leaving me grasping for even the tiniest justification of the hour I just lost.
"Quick Thoughts" is a subset of my normal reviews for smaller games which might not fit into a full review but I still have something to say about.