The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories Download PC

The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories is a puzzle-platformer horror video game developed by Hidetaka Suehiro's White Owls Inc. for Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. It was published by Arc System Works and released on 12 October 2018.

Overview

The game's premise is that J.J. Macfield, the player character, is searching for her friend and love interest Emily after she goes missing on a camping trip. After J.J. is struck by lightning, she cannot die and must inflict grisly wounds on herself in order to solve the game's puzzles. Throughout, players unlock text messages that reveal her backstory and her motivation for her self-harm.

Reception

Kotaku highlighted the game for being "transgressive and shockingly frank in talking about LGTBQA+ issues". Metro appreciated the game's "surreal mix of coming of age drama and genuinely creepy survival horror", but noted tonal missteps and deficiencies in voice acting and writing. Destructoid, like Metro, considered SWERY to borrow perhaps too heavily from Twin Peaks, but found The Missing appealing as a "brave, subtle, and at times cruel ... adventure featuring gorgeous animation, affecting visuals, and stomach-churning sound effects".

The game was nominated for "Games for Impact" at The Game Awards 2018, and won both awards for "Game, Original Adventure" and "Song, Original or Adapted" with "The Missing" at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards.