Criss-cross applesauce
Are you in the mood for an experimental narrative art game about people turning into apples and having to pay rent? I can see by your expression that you’re not sure. Okay, how about this: Do you have fifteen minutes and feel like spending it being inexplicably uncomfortable?
I see I have your attention.
In Apple Sauce Apartments, you play as a hapless lackey to a greedy landlord who gives you one task: collect rent from all the low-life tenants. Each one will give you a sob story about how rent is oppressive, society is exploitative, and maybe if the landlord wanted payment, he should fix the problem with the mold that turns people into fruit. You can ask questions to send them off on verbose, cryptic tangents until you’re presented with the choice to collect rent or don’t.
It’s a simple formula, but it’s aesthetically captivating. Its bizarre, distorted visuals and unsettling, looping soundtrack create the sort of gnawing feeling you get when you can’t remember if you left the stove on or not.
It’s also provided by ShallowLagoon for free! Or you could throw the creator a few bucks, because, even though Apple Sauce Apartments is a short experimental narrative, it’s still a creative endeavor, and that’s always worth something. At least check it out here on itch.io.