This Bed We Made — a mystery-puzzle game where your snooping both tells the story and has consequences
It’s the 1950s and you’re a hotel maid named Sophie with a penchant for snooping through the guests’ belongings. However, actions have consequences, and the game opens in a black and white film noir setting, as you’re being escorted to an interrogation room at the local police station. There’s been a murder; what happened?
Well, your character Sophie actually may or may not know — she has some solid assumptions if you’ve played the game right. Puzzles, clues, and cleaning make this an immersive game that has you playing amateur detective, unraveling a mystery you weren’t expecting to find.
As Sophie, you find fun and challenging puzzles, as well as inconspicuous objects that tell a broader story. Notes, matchboxes, books — they all tell a story. As you unfold this mysterious plot as Sophie, you also relay it to your chosen confidant — either Beth, the gossip-loving front desk receptionist, or Andrew, the quiet book-loving concierge. I personally chose Beth, who I feel makes the game more fun, as well as adds an extra avenue to the game if you choose a romance path.
That’s right, you get to play as a queer 1950s hotel maid who may choose her own forbidden love story — not the only one that exists in this game that has been praised for its queer storytelling. It’s been nominated for a GLAAD Media Award, as well as three nominations at the Gayming Awards, recognition that this indie game from Lowbirth Games wholly deserves.
This aspect of the story makes things more precarious, and Sophie’s actions more consequential; remember, Sophie’s a maid, and she can’t afford to not clean up after herself. Others will depend on her for this.
This game provides about 4 hours of storytelling involving characters you get to know and feel for without ever meeting them; their stories are told inside these locked rooms and only you have the key. I was enthralled and desperately wanted to know more, to unravel this thread and follow it.
The game relies on choices, and mine…well, let’s just say I do plan on going back and giving the game another shot. This game definitely boasts replayability, with about 9 different possible endings. Every choice, and lack thereof, matters in the end, and others will face the brunt of the consequences; their fate is in your hands.
I have to say, I was absolutely delighted by this game; being made to care about characters you never meet is not an easy feat, but the environmental storytelling of this game does an amazing job. You care about your protagonist, your confidant, and those whose stories you become privy to. The puzzles are challenging but far from the rage-quit type, and fall in a genre that truly makes you feel like a detective.
I can’t do anything but recommend this game and give it a solid 5 out of 5 stars.
You can find This Bed We Made on all consoles and PC.
