Gates Motel Looks like something I should backspace over, but no, it’s an actual thing. Grounded in the very obvious reference in its title, the game will require players to survive a night in this Psycho-inspired locale, collecting items in an effort to reach a phone and call the police.

Judging by the pre-Alpha footage, it appears that the progression will take players through the motel and up to the scarily-reproduced version of the “Gates” house. Gameplay appears to be a little rudimentary, but it’s early yet, and the inclusion of the word “puzzles” can be a red herring. Puzzles these days can be as simple or as complex as the developer sees fit, and I’ve played about as many “wander around this spooky environment and collect things” as I can stomach.

Here’s the basic premise (from the Steam page):

The game puts players in a motel off the main road, where they will play as a woman who has to confront two kinds of nightmares: The owner of the establishment as well as her own, deep, dark fears. Your job is to avoid the same fate previous tenants had to suffer while making your way to the telephone to notify local authorities and be rescued.

A video of the pre-Alpha footage can fill in some of the details for you:

The black-and-white art style is a nice touch and a bold one, as well. It hearkens back to the Hitchcockian aesthetic of the inspirational material. I especially dig the main menu screen, but a menu screen does not a game make. The early question, the one right out of the gate, is: what of what we see right now will be intact in the final, released version?

Odds are, the name, at the very least, will have to change…unless the developers really dig lawsuits and whatnot. What intrigues me more is what fundamental aspects of Gates Motel will go through an overhaul. Sure, the title’s difference from the movie is the equivalent of a faulty keyboard press, but there are also plenty of cosmetic similarities that render the game a giant question mark. Can they get away with a virtually identical reproduction of the motel / house from Psycho?

And then, if all of that is changed, then what is interesting about it? The mechanics are a mystery, as of this writing. It appears to be a collectibles-based survival game, where progression is based on what you pick up through searching. However, if we come to the game for the mouthfeel of a Hitchcockian experience, and it changes, then what is going to be the appeal?

Gates Motel is on track for a fourth quarter release on PC from Patagonia Art, whose previous release is entitled Pixel Survivors. No word on VR support just yet. It’s in a pre-Alpha state right now, so it’s unplayable at present moment, but it is up for voting over on Steam Greenlight. If that’s something you’d like to see on Steam, then go check it out.