You'll smile for me...right?
Ah, another day, another indie game that has surprise horror elements in it. Or at least has creepy moments.
Per troping policy, all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.
- When bedtime rolls around, the world will suddenly darken and Flower Kid's vision will become blurry and woozy. This can be a surprise if you're not paying attention to the clock, and it suddenly hits you while you're in the middle of a conversation.
- If you don't make it to your room in time, you're treated to "Dr. Habit's Bed-Time Stories for Insomniacs and Bad Children". They consist of still images of seemingly abandoned locations while Dr. Habit gives you some vaguely threatening words reminding you who's in control around here, all while eerie ambient music plays. It absolutely does not help that Dr. Habit likes to add heaping helpings of Paranoia Fuel and Nothing Is Scarier in several of these "special episodes."
- Since you are only required to help 11 of the 22 Habiticians, it's possible for the other 11 to stay behind during the ending. The laughing gas makes them act mindlessly happy and turns their heads into photo-realistic objects. Some are more humorous, like Trevor turning into a Pomeranian, but most fall deep into the Uncanny Valley. Tim-Tam's head becomes a giant eyeball, Millie's turns into a burning baby-doll head. Worse still, their appearances may just be Flower Kid's own laughing gas-induced hallucinations, meaning they have to face Habit while trying not to succumb to its effects.
- If you helped everyone and they all leave,then they are instead replaced by the Carlas, Dr. Habit's floating paper "children," during the ending. It's very unsettling to see nearly dozens of these things pop out of the darkness, like they're about to grab you and drag you away.
- Wallus the janitor. Despite being a sweet guy himself, there's an eeriness to the fact that taking his photo only produces an image of pure darkness (due to him hiding in an unlit wall.) Once you get the camera upgraded with a flash feature, however, reveals he's staring directly at you.
- Dr. Habit himself is scary enough on his own, given that the climax involves him strapping Flower Kid to a dentist's chair and yanking out a few of their teeth as he rambles about his plans, but what about his dad? If you have access to the rooftop and a pair of shears, it's possible to enter a room where you're treated to a lovely slideshow
of a child Habit with his favorite flower, a lily, and he seems to be genuinely enjoying himself... and then he sees his father, who proceeds to beat him bloody. Whether it was for any perceived "feminine" behavior or something else, it's horrifically jarring, and a far cry from the all-knowing Psychopathic Manchild we've been seeing so far. It also doubles as a Tearjerker once you begin to consider the severity of abuse it would take to produce someone as messed up as Habit.- It doesn't help that according to the illustrations, the Slasher Smile seems to run in the family.◊
- It doesn't help that according to the illustrations, the Slasher Smile seems to run in the family.
- And then there's the good doctor himself. A mysterious eccentric man that opened a group home made to make people happy again, almost having the personality of an even more childish Willy Wonka...said persona becomes painfully clear to be fake very early on, and he's not quite as compassionate as he makes himself to be. How painful? Let's count off the foreshadowing...
- The more people you help in the Habitat, the more Habit gets jealous on how you're doing a better job than him, and how he starts to call you out on it in his regular PSA's, with the last one being a bit of a highlight.
- Exploring the Habitat shows a lot of pictures and images of Habit, a lot of them being on the happy side...and others subtly showing his sanity is not quite all up there.
- Talking to some of the Habiticians has them scoffing at Dr. Habit's methods, but others are genuinely put off by the guy, like Nat, the first person you talk to, who has a suspicious feeling that something bad might happen, and she tells you about the PSA's, and how they've gotten creepier even before Flower Kid shows up.
- Earlier in the tutorial, Dr. Habit talks to you with a cute animated portrait version of himself. However, there are times when his portrait gets covered completely in shadow, only his nose, mouth, and eyes were visible to see; which speaking of, were glowing red. He also gives Flower Kid (AKA You) some thinly-veiled threats of letting him do his job, as well as urging you to get to bed, hinting at something worse going on. Oh and that portrait comes back in the climax, and it's even more creepier there.
- And of course...THAT GODAWFUL SMILE!!! Giving the Joker a run for his money on how wide and creepy his grin can get. Worst part of it? You're strapped to a dentist's chair, while he rambles about his plans, and you have to see it while he pulls out your teeth!
- Speaking of said grin, it's implied that all of those teeth? Are not all his... That's worse than gross, that's just freaking depraved! Oh wait."
- There are several self portraits of Dr. Habit that can be found all around the Habitat. While a majority of them depict the doctor smiling as usual, there are a few that are... concerning. Whereas Habit's other portraits were presumably made to brighten the place up, these almost seem like a cry for help (and considering his backstory and Sanity Slippage before the beginning of the game, they might as well be.) Honorable mentions include:
- A smiling Habit with what looks to be a very much intentional bloody nose, judging by the way it drips onto the potrait's clothes.
- A blank silhouette with multiple eyes, staring ominously.
- A mural that takes up an entire wall and seems to have been painted in the middle of a breakdown.
- A smiling Habit with what looks to be a very much intentional bloody nose,
- The Big Event itself. You wake up either to find the Habitat either completely devoid of life, its residents having evacuated the night before, or the remaining few that you didn't help drugged out of their minds (and given how the world distorts around you despite it being daytime, you probably aren't far behind.) When you wake up in Dr. Habit's office, the issue isn't so much a matter of how to attack than it is how to make it out relatively unscathed, given that you're effectively trapped in the building with Habit at the height of his insanity. Habit also makes it very clear that he won't hesitate to inflict bodily harm in his current state - it's impossible to make it out of his Motive Rant without losing a few of your own teeth in the process. Sure, he ends up being easily disarmed and is all but outright stated to have been in the throes of an acute manic episode, but Jesus.
