A surprising subgenre in games are ‘admin simulators’; games such as Papers, Please and CorpoNation: The Sorting Process that consist mostly of carrying out admin tasks, usually carrying political or societal messaging in the process. Indie horror game Dead Letter Dept. by Belief Engine (Mike Monroe) is the latest of these.
We have just moved to the city to start a new life and have picked up a night shift job as a Data Conversion Operator to get by until we find something better. Each night we travel from our dingey apartment to our ‘office’, an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere which our manager promises is a ‘temporary’ situation. Sat alone in the dimly lit room, our task is to simply type out letters, postal addresses, or excerpts that computers are unable to automatically scan, whether that be because of poor handwriting or damage to the parcel.
Gradually, things start to grow more disturbing, as the items to type up start to carry certain themes or we see names repeated. Who is Teodora Hammonds and what happened to her? Why are we seeing book extracts on disturbing topics such as spontaneous combustion and cannibalism? We’ll also see little side stories unfold as letters from the same people start appearing, such as the lady who is writing to a friend about the death of one of her lovebirds and having to watch the other grieve. Each night gets more disturbing as we are seemingly haunted by the computer in front of us; noises happen around the room, technical glitches occur and sometimes it seems as though we’re not entirely alone.
Dead Letter Dept. has multiple endings and different mail will come up on each playthrough, making it quite replayable if you enjoy the gameplay loop. On top of this, each playthrough ends with a roundup summary of your writing efficiency, such as typing speed and whether any letters had to be reprocessed because you had typed up the wrong address. Some addresses are unreadable due to the letters’ damage, so you can take parts of it, such as the zip code and street name, and allow the computer to give you hints.
What would have made this even more effective, however, would be a currency system, similar to Papers, Please and CorpoNation. Throughout the game, we find out that we are running out of money and this job isn’t paying enough to sustain our new city living. This could have had more urgency added to it if we were actually on the clock and trying to meet targets when typing up letters, and were then given the choice on what to spend this on at the end of each shift. It would just add an extra layer to the game for players to work towards or try to do better at and also add some pressure on not only typing up the letters correctly, but quickly too, so that hint system really gets utilised.
Dead Letter Dept. nails its atmosphere when it comes to generating horror through the simple task of typing up letters. The audio design is done really well, with the click-clacking noise of the keyboard sounding almost therapeutic as we type up book excerpts on spontaneous combustion. I also love the visual style. It looks like a PlayStation 1 horror game but with the contrast turned up to the max, giving everything a strange, lucid dream look which matches the atmosphere perfectly and really reflects the dreary-eyed feeling of anti-social work shifts and living automatically, paycheque to paycheque.
The only thing I will say with the overall visual design is that it was way too dark in parts and there was one segment where I genuinely couldn’t see where I was going because the brightness was so low – with no option to turn it up in the settings.
Overall, Dead Letter Dept. brings an interesting concept to the ‘admin simulator’ genre and runs with it to create a short horror game that is surprisingly intense and has quite a bit of replayability if you’re willing to explore further and experiment with the conversion system. Though I think some kind of currency/target system would have made the experience even better, it’s still a really neat and unique indie horror game.
Jess reviewed Dead Letter Dept. on PC with a review code.
Dead Letter Dept. blends mundane tasks with an unsettling atmosphere, creating a unique experience. The slow buildup of eerie themes and the repetitive nature of the job add to the sense of growing unease. As players delve deeper, the disturbing letters and strange occurrences draw them further into a mystery that keeps you coming back for more. Its replayable nature, with different letters and endings, ensures that each playthrough offers something new, making it a compelling experience for fans of both indie horror and narrative-driven games.
Dead Letter Dept. effectively uses the repetitive nature of admin work to create a creeping sense of dread. The transition from simple tasks to unraveling a dark narrative is cleverly executed, and the game’s atmosphere gets under your skin with every passing night. The mystery surrounding the letters and the growing sense of isolation are what make this game stand out, offering both a chilling experience and a reflection on the weight of seemingly mundane tasks. It’s a brilliant example of how the most ordinary setting can become a breeding ground for horror.