From my experience, mask imagery, particularly that of the perpetual, unnatural smile, is frequently employed as a metaphor for the falsity of the performative happiness that a society often expects from its populace, and the consequential suppression or discouragement of true, diverse emotional expression. It appears this game, thus far, is using the image of a flimsy “paper” smile to demonstrate how an authoritarian system enforces the adoption of blissful ignorance, uniformity, and mental dissociation in order to quell potential dissension and solidify their control. I’ve certainly seen this concept explored before, though it’s always fascinating to delve into the irony of how the seemingly laudable goal of attaining “perfect”, ubiquitous happiness necessitates torture, emotional manipulation and abuse, the cessation of freedom, and the revocation of individualism. Additionally, the monochromatic color palette was an effective choice atmospherically and thematically, as the duality of “black and white”, “light and dark”, and “positive and negative emotions” seems to be a rather prevalent discussion. Overall, I would be interested in seeing the future direction and developments this narrative will undertake, and I hope it manages to retain intrigue, uniqueness, and compelling gameplay moving forward.
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