Confetti’s Cozy Corner: This Bed We Made Retrospective – a neo-noir mystery and a nosy maid
Walking in the shoes of a nosy hotel maid never had me more on the edge of my seat! This Bed We Made created by LowBirth Games is a suspense driven narrative mystery game where you play as Sophie, a hotel maid who is a little too curious about the personal affairs of the guest and finds herself in the middle of scandals and a murder.
This Bed We Made takes place in 1950s Montreal the week of Valentines Day during a terrible winter storm. The game begins with our protagonist Sophie being escorted through a police station and the entire scene is in black and white. After a few questions, color takes over the screen and you’re transported back to where the story begins, with Sophie cleaning room 504 humming to the tune of Au parc Lafontaine by Lucille Dumont. Excitingly, you have the option to clean everything and snoop through the guests belongings.
After you are finished with 504 you meet the other staff members of the Clarington Hotel – Beth Lambert, Andrew Rossi, and Bernard Leduc. There are other hotel employees who we hear during the playthrough and see in photos, but never physically see in the gameplay and they are Linda, Eugene Finch, Wendy and Jacques.
The game is choice-based with multiple endings and a possibility of romance. As you interact with the hotel employees and learn more about the guests, you will be presented with choices that will affect how the game plays out, and ultimately which ending you get. It is your choice to snoop, toss out, clean, or do nothing through the entire playthrough. You will have to interact with evidence, and solve puzzles to continue through the story, but what you do with all of that is ultimately your choice. Will your choices lead you to solve the mysteries in the Clarington Hotel?
I want to emphasize that this game is MESSY with a capital M! The interactions with the staff, gossip you will overhear and read, and situations about hotel guests you will inevitably uncover are juicy… but a little mess and gossip makes the experience SO much fun! You will get involved with people’s messy relationships, see corruption first hand, and go through a journey of self-discovery.
The advertisements you’ll see throughout that game are reflections of societal attitudes from the 1950s. Some are ridiculous, like advertising Lys-Oil (aka Lysol) to make certain areas of your body smell nice for your husband, and others are a bit harder to read. LowBirth Games provides a list on This Bed We Made’s Steam page where content warnings are given – but be warned, some Content Warnings contain some spoilers. I won’t spoil anything in this review; however, I do encourage you to do your due diligence. The 1950s, not unlike now, were riddled in ‘isms’ and hate towards anyone who was not a straight white able bodied heterosexual man. I believe LowBirth Games handles these topics well in context to how things are unraveled and drives the story forward making it clear that hate has no place in a world progressing towards inclusivity.
The graphics in This Bed We Made are stunning. The attention to detail on everything from the smallest towel, to the hotel decor really makes you feel like you’re a guest at the Clarington Hotel. The music and sound also adds so much immersiveness to the experience. From the crunch of a paper, the wiping sounds of cleaning a tub, to the squeakiness of turning a screwdriver, all of the sounds are very satisfying. The soundtrack is superb.
Throughout your playthrough, there is a snowstorm outside that is keeping you trapped inside. It adds to the pressure if you should choose to snoop and have you on the edge of your seat wondering when a guest may return.
The story telling and suspense of This Bed We Made will have you at the edge of your seat. It is masterfully done. Even when you complete the game and get an ending you may just find yourself immediately starting another playthrough. I have personally earned every achievement in This Bed We Made and unlocked every ending with about 30 hours of total combined game time. The small details of this game are great to take in while also finding and reading every piece of lore the game has to offer.
If you are a streamer and playing this the first time I encourage you to playthrough this with your community and avoid spoilers at all costs. PLEASE let me know what ending you get! I am so interested in hearing everyone’s experience!
This Bed We Made is available on Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation 5 for $24.99. I cannot wait to see what LowBirth games come out with next!
Score: 5.0/5.0
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