The Works Of Mercy is shaping up to be an interesting psychological thriller with a compelling, if not exactly unique premise; you get a phone call from an unknown number, and a man you've never met before tells you he wants to play a game (more or less). He's kidnapped your daughter, and he'll kill her, unless you find it within yourself to kill someone else. A few someones, to be exact. The first order of business is to rent a call girl, and trick her into unknowingly offing herself using... toothpaste. If you do it, she dies, and you're a dick. If you don't, your daughter dies. The twist? I'm pretty sure the killer is Norm Macdonald.
Inspired by the classics of Roman Polanski's "Repulsion," "The Tenant" and Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining", the official synopsis sounds like a desperate journey into anxiety: "The game tells a story of a personal tragedy and wrecked psyche. When a cryptic tormentor forces the protagonist to kill people in order to save his family, the game’s hero is posed with a series of dramatic questions. Who is the tormentor? Why is he so vengeful toward the protagonist’s family? How far do you have to go to satisfy him? How can you justify the killing in the sake of saving someone’s life? And how will you cope with the sense of guilt?"
Give the trailer a look here, and watch the first 6 minutes of gameplay below. I am loving the look at feel of this, but I'm not sure if I can get over how much the killer sounds like Norm to me. Don't get me wrong, I love Norm's comedy, and if you haven't seen Dirty Work, you are doing yourself a grave disservice, but he's not exactly the most threatening guy I've ever come across, especially over the phone.
Is this just in my head? Am I off base here? I swear the disembodied voice sounds almost exactly like Norm. Let me know in the comments.
Can't wait for the release, this game looks awesome!