By Iman Ahsan
Dino999z, the creator of Vincent: The Secret of Myers and Morfosi, presents you with a visual novel game called Therapy with Dr. Albert Krueger. Here you play as Taylor Lee, a college-age student who finds themself in a dream therapy session with Dr. Albert Krueger, the CEO of Krueger Health Solutions Corporation. However, there is one huge problem with this.
Taylor doesn’t recall ever signing up for this session.
So, the question is, how did they end up there and why? The player must play through the game quite a few times in order to understand the game’s plot.
The game is relatively simple. Dr. Krueger will offer a series of psych tests in which the player must answer. The more you progress through the game, the more you begin to find out what type of person Dr. Krueger is, and the more you realize there is something very off about Dr. Krueger and his corporation.
The game has a total of three endings and each choice the player makes will affect the progression of the gameplay and the overall ending. This forces the player to play through the game multiple times, but replaying the game doesn’t feel tedious but rather rewarding as the player gets to see different dialogue and gameplay options that will show up through the repeated gameplays.
The game is relatively enjoyable and contains a lot of hidden surprises and interesting details that players may miss during their first playthrough of the game. However, the game issues a disclaimer at the beginning in which it warns players of jumpscares, gore, and violent imagery. This takes away the fear factor for the player, but it does leave them feeling rather unsettled and disturbed as the game progresses.
Despite the disclaimer, the jumpscares in this game don’t feel cheap at all. They’re unexpected and catch the player off guard, and the jumpscares greatly contribute to the overall uncanny atmosphere of the game. Additionally, the dialogue for Dr. Albert Krueger is done extremely well, making the player feel uneasy yet intrigued to learn more about him.
The overall aesthetic of the game is quite enjoyable and fun to look at. The game takes on an old-school pixelated horror aesthetic, and the bright neon colors give a futuristic, cyberpunk feel to the game. Additionally, the characters, the background, and the audio contributes to the game’s aesthetic and makes the overall experience more captivating.
While the game is visually pleasing and compelling, it does fall flat a few times. Taylor is a likable character overall, but their characterization feels rather plain. There isn’t anything remotely interesting about Taylor that makes the player want to know more about them as opposed to Dr. Krueger. There’s nothing about them that suggests they’re essential to the story, so swapping them out for another character or even a player insert wouldn’t affect the gameplay at all.
Furthermore, the game doesn’t feel quite as interactive because most of the time, the player is just sitting there and watching Taylor give a generic answer to Dr. Krueger’s questions. Personally, I think the game would’ve been more fun and immersive if the player was allowed to choose dialogue options for Dr. Krueger to react to. It would’ve been interesting to see how certain chosen dialogue options would impact the overall ending and Dr. Krueger’s feelings towards the player.
Overall, I believe that Therapy with Dr. Albert Krueger is definitely worth your time. It’s a highly enjoyable game with pleasing visuals and it has a surreal charm to it. Although the game does contain jumpscares and gore, it has a bit of humor to them, which makes the whole experience feel more laid-back and amusing.
So if you’re a fan of visual novels with interactive mini-games, and you don’t mind jumpscares and gore, then Therapy with Dr. Albert Krueger is for you.
You can download this game for free on itch.io.
