Guinea-Pig is a 2D action adventure survival horror platformer developed by IndieLip, who are known for other groundbreaking titles such as Clumsy Chef or Favorite Miner. Like previous installments of the riveting IndieLip Sagas, Guinea-Pig will have the player traversing treacherous environments, collecting a key object, and reaching the exit without touching hazards.

The game is leaden with heavy symbolism, telling what is essentially two stories at once. The one that most normies will encounter is one about a "guinea pig" who is, in fact, a rabbit, traversing a series of laboratories and collecting mysterious pills before a little door takes him to the next area. At face value, this is the story and there is nothing else to it. I must digress, however, as the game's true narrative is chock full of so much more. Allow me to elaborate:

The story follows our unfortunate protagonist, Guinea-Pig (that is his name, it is established early on that he is actually a rabbit), attempting to break free from a retro 1950s-era laboratory from which he was experimented on. In Guinea-Pig's mind, the lab is testing his mettle and tenacity against hazardous spikes and mushroom PNG images which kill him on contact. He is partially correct; they (the scientists) are observing his tenacity in the face of peril. What Guinea-Pig doesn't know, however, is that the pills he's taking aren't like the others. He's not being tested on for shampoo or medicine; those are black pills. He wishes to obtain forbidden knowledge, much of it too painful for the average organism to bear, and thus he does everything in his power to achieve such. While there is no cutscene to reward completing the game, nor is there any dialogue, music, or sound effects, the beautifully crafted environments tell the story quite well. This game tells the harrowing tale of a rabbit who will tempt fate time and time again, learning what should not be learnt, and still persevering against all odds. The pills are his greatest challenge, and they continue to batter him with unholy truths, but his willpower is the only thing keeping him going. His desire to churn through each those blackpills and digest "whitepills" instead. Door after door, Guinea-Pig, against all odds, overcomes any sense of despair with his unflinching and unrelenting strength and eventually becomes what he sought out to be: not just a rabbit, but a "based" individual. He is free now, and you can be too if you are strong enough to overcome all obstacles. Many may find the lack of audio to be a jarring and strange decision, however even that is just another genius design choice, existing to bridge the gap between gameplay and story; cutting down on "ludonarrative dissonance", if you will. For verily, there is nothing more eerie than the sound of endless silence, and that is the oppressive atmosphere the developers wanted to create. You are alone with your thoughts, taking blackpills and hoping to come out okay in the end. It breeds tension and uncertainty that no other piece of media out there could ever hope to replicate.


On a technical level, this game is an absolute marvel. Animations are smooth and punchy, and hitboxes are immaculately crafted with love and care to make the controls feel tight and responsive. The development team really packed a lot of detail into the rich environmental storytelling, with the beautiful color palettes representing each stage of the hero's journey. Despite not having an Intel Core i9 processor like the requirements section said I should, the game ran exceptionally well while still looking very pleasing to the eye. This is a must-have for open-minded, and strong-willed people who want to engross themselves in a deep and involving narrative that will have them captivated for hours.